To be hired as a police officers it is not enough to have the qualities and personality befitting a police office. Every year excellent police officer candidates with a passion for the job get passed over because they failed to pass the police officer selection test. Following the lead of New York State Police, police recruiting agencies are now ranking applicants based on their test scores exclusively.
Even more important, increasing competition means attaining a passing score is not adequate. To be guaranteed a place in the police force, you need a score that ranges from mid to high 90's. So how does one achieve such a high score? The secret is not in memorizing lots of facts and figures. Those who score highly are invariably the ones who use the right approach to tackle the questions. While academic knowledge is important, it is not the sole determiner of your final score.
You will be pleased to know that many police officer tests, especially those in the mold of Louisiana's Derrider Police Department; are not difficult so your academic proficiency is not a big issue. Even better, I promise you that by the end of this guide, you will have all the skills you need to apply common sense and judgment to achieve a perfect score in a law enforcement test.
How Ready are you for the Written Police Test?
The written law enforcement test is the first of several hurdles you will face in your bid to join the ranks of law enforcement officers. It is the first time you will be tested on your readiness to meet the demands of a career in the law enforcement field. As already stated above, your aim must be to earn the highest possible score in the written test considering its importance. To stand a good chance you need to show such a good performance as to be ranked among the top 5 percent of the candidates taking the test.
What Type of Questions Should you Expect?
It is worth noting that there are some obvious and other not so subtle differences in the written police exam tests in different areas of the country. This is because while some police recruiting agencies rent their written tests from specialist companies dealing with police entrance tests such as Stanard & Associates, some others rely on state based organizations such as Peace Officer Standards & Training (POST). Much less common are some municipalities where candidates are offered in-house standardized written exams. Some good examples of the latter is the Yonkers Police Department and the Nassau County PD.
The vast majority of exams comprise multiple choice type of questions. Some exams have true/false questions and some fill-in-the-blanks sections. In some cases, the written exams can have an essay section. Multiple choice exams, such as the one offered to candidates applying to join the Seattle Police Department are preferred as they are a very objective test of a candidates knowledge and suitability for the job. Other advantages of multiple choice tests include:-
Very easy to grade
Eliminate possibility of subjective answers as only one option answers the question correctly
A standard evaluation of the test will provide same results in all cases
Can be administered on a computer and an instant score and grade awarded
Tips for Preparing for the Written Exam
The important goal when preparing for the written exam is to gather all the relevant information. You should look for a recommended police officer study guide. But here are some actionable steps to ensure you are adequately prepared:
- Find out What the Test Will Cover
Use all the resources at your disposal to find out what will be covered in the test and the format to be used. Communicate with the recruiter for any guidance. You will also get more clues from the police department's website or their human resource office.
- Acquire a Police Officer Study Guide
There are comprehensive study guides compiled by experienced police examiners to offer you detailed insights on what to expect. They will also include a number of standardized sample tests so you can evaluate yourself in a practical setting.
- Practice other Elements of the Police Exam
It is worth noting that the written exam examines three particular skills: spelling, vocabulary and mathematics. These are elementary skills every police officers must have a god grasp of before being enlisted in the force. However, this exam cannot test other more intrinsic qualities of police work. These include a good memory, observation skills and arriving at judgments in a rational manner. These require even more preparation.
- Keep on Practicing to Enhance your Preparedness
When it comes to preparing for the police exam entrance test, you cannot afford to feel that you have put too much effort or time. Every minute and resource you can get hold of in your preparation period will go a long way to ensuring you are proficient with all the necessary knowledge and skills to be tested. As you prepare and take sample tests, remember that time too is a crucial testing parameter. Time yourself and only rest easy if you can complete all the questions satisfactorily within 75% of the time allocated for the entire test.
Even more importantly, you need to hone your skills for the police exam practice test. This will be taken to evaluate your actual hands-on skills in every day police work.
- Organize your Time Well
To be fully psychologically prepared for the test, you need to plan your time carefully. Having a regular schedule of study, self evaluation and revision will help you to keep on an even keel as the exam approaches. However, do not stress yourself too much by worrying if you have covered everything. The most important thing is to arrive in the exam center for your police officer written test and practice test with a relaxed and assured frame of mind.
POST test study guide
If you are actually well prepared for the exam, you will have the confidence to take the test and score a good mark. In the POST test study guide, you will learn about the importance of allocating the right time frames for each section of the police entrance written exam. There are four elements of the test and you should allocate time to each relative to their importance. These are the ideal times allocations for each of the sections :-
i. 20 Minutes for solving the 20 mathematical problems
ii. 25 minutes for tackling the 25 items in reading comprehension
iii. 15 minutes to tackle the 15 grammar questions
iv. 15 minutes devoted to the incident report writing section
Keep in mind the following tips and you will have an easy time of it with the police officer written test
Carefully read through the instructions issued by the test proctor administering the exam. If you have any question, no matter how trivial it appears, ask it before the exam commences
Divide your time as suggested exactly to ensure you answer all the questions. If the planned time elapses before you have tackled every question in tat section, proceed on to the next one and come back to finish the overdue questions later
Read each question keenly twice to ensure you have got the correct sense before you answer. Remember that some questions are framed a little ambiguously to trap you into picking the wrong answer
Do not spend too much time trying to answer one difficult question. If you are not sure about the right answer, move on to the next question. Once you have completed answering the most obvious questions you can go back to tackling the harder ones.