As with all parts of your application process, it is important to pay attention to what you are told by the program you are applying to. When you register to take your exam, get as much information as possible about what will be on your exam so you know how to prepare in advance. As with all standardized tests, preparation is the key to success.
However your written test is designed, it almost always takes the form of a standardized multiple-choice test, around 100 questions long. Once the test starts, you will open up your booklet and read and follow all the directions precisely. Whatever the directions may be—whether the section is timed and tells you when you can advance to the next page or particular instructions on how to answer certain topics or sections—you must follow them. Police work is about following directions and paying attention to all the details. Doing well on your exam is not only about choosing the correct answer, but also doing what is asked of you and paying attention to details.
Your police exam will test your aptitude in several categories. Let’s look at the basic categories found on most exams nationwide.
Your police exam is sure to contain questions that test your grasp of the English language, and specifically, law enforcement language. Questions that fall under this umbrella might ask you to do the following:
As we've mentioned, before you dive into any question, read the
instructions carefully, and understand what the question is asking before selecting an answer and moving on.
Some tests will test you on your knowledge of basic math. Rest assured, you will not be doing any advanced trigonometry or calculus. Besides the basics of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, you may find questions on topics like percentages, fractions, and basic geometry as well. The math questions you face will probably be presented in word problem format, where a scenario will contain mathematical information for you to solve.
Logic questions on police exams test your ability to read and interpret given information. These questions might ask you to do the following:
The questions in this section may be police related, but
will not test you on police procedures. All the information you need to answer the questions will be given to you on the exam.
This exam question category tests your skills of observation, visual logic, map reading, and ability to remember what you see. You will likely be asked to complete some or all of the following tasks on your police exam:
The best way to excel on this question type is to become familiar with what typical questions look like so you're not caught off guard on Test Day. You don't want to waste time trying to figure out what you're being asked to do.
Questions in this category test your ability to read and understand job-related information and also to make common sense decisions. Like all test questions, you are not expected to know anything that is not given to you on the test. What is being tested here is whether or not you can read a given police situation and have a good idea of what occurred, and if your instincts will guide you to make sound policing decisions. These questions might ask you to:
Remember: Everyone knows you are not yet a police officer! These questions are testing your common sense and logic skills.