By Fatskills Exam Guides Team — the exam nerds behind 28,500+ quizzes and 2.1M practice questions across 500+ global exams.
The Police Officer Exam isn't a standardized test, and the exact format of the test depends primarily on the department administering the exam. As a result, it is very difficult to identify exactly what you will see on the version of the Police Officer Exam that you are planning to take. However, there are certain types of questions that will typically appear on every version of the exam regardless of where the exam is administered and there are certain skills that every version of the exam will assess. This means that there are certain types of questions that you should be prepared to handle, and certain skills that you should be prepared to demonstrate, regardless of where you are applying. With this information in mind, the first thing that you should note about the Police Officer Exam is that it isn't actually a single test, but is usually two separate tests. It typically consists of a written exam and a physical ability test. The written exam is designed to assess a number of different skills related to the critical thinking, reading, and writing skills that are required in order to perform the day-to-day tasks of a police officer. The physical ability test is designed to determine whether you have the physical strength and stamina to carry out the physical tasks that a police officer is required to perform on a frequent basis. Written examination The written examination, which is usually administered as the first part of the Police Officer Exam, typically consists of a series of multiple choice questions that are designed to assess an individual's ability to read, write, and analyze information. The exact number of questions and the types of questions included on the written examination will vary from department to department. However, most versions of the written examination will include the following types of questions:
Some versions of the written examination may also include
and other similar types of questions that are designed to test your basic English and/or mathematics skills. Most departments will give you five hours to complete the written examination, but the exact amount of time that you have to complete the exam can vary from department to department. Typical questions The six different types of questions that typically appear see on the Police Officer Exam's written examination will ask you to choose either the best answer, the correct answer, or the incorrect answer from the four choices that are available. Grammar/sentence structure questions Each grammar/sentence structure questions will present you with a single sentence or group of sentences and you will be asked to identify one of the following:
Judgment questions Each of the judgment questions will present you with a description of a specific situation, and you will be asked to identify the option that indicates the most reasonable response to that situation. These situations are similar to what you might encounter in real-life if you were a police officer. You will then be required to identify the option that indicates the best way for a police officer to respond in that situation. With this in mind, it is important to note that these questions will ask you to make a reasonable judgment based solely on the information that is available. This is an extremely important thing to keep in mind because it means that you will not be required to have any prior knowledge of police procedures or police protocol in order to answer the judgment questions on the exam. Map questions Map questions will present you with a map and you will be asked to identify the option that indicates the most direct route to a specific destination. The map questions on the exam are designed to test your ability to read a map and your ability to follow a series of directions so you will be required to use the map in order to find the shortest route - or the shortest legal route - to a specific street or other location. It is important to note the word 'legal' in the previous sentence, as some of the questions on the exam will require you to identify the shortest route regardless of traffic regulations, but most of the map questions on the exam will require you to obey all of the standard traffic regulations when you are choosing your route. Memorization questions Memorization questions are administered in a different format from the other types of questions that you may see on the exam. As a result, there is a specific process that the exam administrators will go through in order to administer the memorization questions. You will receive a memory sheet or a memory booklet before the exam begins. Once you have received the memory sheet or the memory booklet, you will be told to keep the sheet face down or keep the booklet closed as you will not be allowed to open the booklet or look at the sheet until you reach the memorization section of the exam. When you reach the memorization section of the exam period, you will be given a specific amount of time to read the memory booklet or sheet (the amount of time can range from 5 to 30 minutes depending on the length of the booklet and the rules of the department to which you are applying). Immediately after the reading period has expired, you will be asked to close the booklets, and the exam administrators will collect the materials. You will then answer a series of questions, which will each require you to use the information that you read or the images that you saw in the memorization booklet. Police form questions These questions are typically split into groups and each group of questions will present you with a form that is similar, or identical, to an actual form that a police officer would be required to fill out. You will be presented with a description of a specific situation, and asked what information, if any, should be placed into each spot on the form. With this in mind, it is important to note that the police form questions on the exam are designed to test your ability to follow directions, and not your knowledge of any specific police procedure or protocol. The exam will provide the directions for each of the forms that are included on the exam, so you don't need to memorize how to fill out every form that a police officer might use. Reading comprehension questions Reading comprehension questions are almost always included on the written examination, and they are very similar to the types of reading comprehension questions that you might have seen on other exams. Each of the reading comprehension questions on the exam will present you with a written passage that describes a specific situation or subject, and you will have to use the information in the passage to answer a series of questions related to the passage. Each of these questions will ask you to identify the main idea or a specific piece of information that is described in the passage, draw a conclusion based on the information presented in the passage, define a term based on how it is used in the passage, or identify the type of situation or the type of information that is described based on the information that is provided. The reading comprehension questions on the exam may be related to any of a number of different subjects, but will typically be related to situations that a police officer might see in real-life. However, you will not be required to know any specific police procedure or protocol in order to answer any of the reading comprehension questions that may appear on the exam. Other types of questions Most of the questions on the Police Officer Exam will fall into one of the six types of questions described in the previous section. However, some versions of the Police Officer Exam may include questions that are different from the types of questions mentioned above. As a result, you should be familiar with some of the other types of questions that are less common, but may still appear on certain versions of the exam. Analogy questions Analogy questions will present you with a set of three words in which the first two words will be related to each other. The set of words is followed by a series of options; each option identifies a word that may be related to the third word. You will have to choose the option that is related to the third word in the same way that the first two words are related. Exampletulip: flower: hammer The question is followed by four options. Each option provides a word that may be related to the word 'hammer'.(A) wrench(B) useful(C) tool(D) dangerous To answer the question, determine the relationship between the first word and the second word. In this case, a tulip is a type of flower. Choose the option that is related to the third word in the same way as the first two words. In this case, the word that describes what a hammer is a type of is 'C' - a hammer is a type of tool. Basic arithmetic questions Basic arithmetic questions present you with a word problem that requires you to add, subtract, divide, and/or multiply the appropriate numbers in order to solve the problem. These word problems will describe scenarios that are very similar to real-life police officer situations, such as determining the appropriate fine for a traffic violation, the total length of a crime scene, an individual's age from their birth date, etc. Most versions of the exam do not include any math questions. If there are math questions on the exam, they are usually very simple and do not require any complex calculations in order to solve any of them. Police coding questions Police coding question present you with a written passage and a list of abbreviations or codes that may be used in the passage. Each of these codes will consist of a single letter or number, a series of letters, or a series of numbers that are used to represent a specific type of information within the passage. Use the list of codes or abbreviations to decode the information. Example List of police codes: 242 = Battery 245 = Assault with a Deadly weapon 311 = Loud and Obscene Behavior 314 = Indecent Exposure 404 = Riot 447 = Arson 459 = Burglary Scenario: 'Eliza White was arrested for a 311.' Use the list of codes to answer the question: 'What crime was Eliza White arrested for?' Correct answer: Eliza White was arrested for loud and obscene behavior. The exam will provide you with all of the necessary information to answer each police coding question; you will not be required to know any specific police procedure or protocol in order to answer any of these questions on the exam. Spelling questions Each of these questions will present you with a list of words, a sentence or phrase with a missing word, or a single complete sentence. You will then be asked to identify the option that indicates the correct spelling of the missing word or identify the option that indicates which word in the list, phrase, or sentence is spelled incorrectly. These questions are usually very simple and you should able to answer each question simply be keeping your basic spelling rules in mind. Synonym questions These questions, which are also sometimes referred to as vocabulary questions, will give you with a word, a sentence with an underlined word, or a sentence with a missing word. Identify the option that indicates a word that has the same meaning as the word this is given or underlined, or identify the option that indicates a word that fits into the context of the sentence. Example:'The owner of the blue station wagon said that her car was decimated immediately upon impact.' You would then be given a series of options and each option would indicate a word that may have the same meaning as the word 'decimated'.
(A) Destroyed(B) Stopped(C) Spun(D) Repaired Choose the option that identifies a word that has the same meaning as the word 'decimated.' The answer for this example is choice 'A' as the word 'decimate' means 'to destroy.' Some of these questions may ask you to identify an antonym rather than a synonym, which means that you may be required to identify a word that has the opposite meaning of the given word. Important Note The Police Officer Exam is specifically designed to assess whether or not you have the basic skills necessary to carry out the tasks that a police officer has to perform on a daily basis. The Police Officer Exam is not designed to assess whether or not you know how to perform a specific police task and, you will not be required to know anything related to what a police officer is required to do on a daily basis, anything related to police procedures or protocol, or anything related to a specific law or regulation. Physical ability test The physical ability test, which is usually administered as the second part of the Police Officer Exam, typically consists of a series of exercise tests that are designed to test your endurance, flexibility, and strength. These exercise tests are designed to mimic some of the physical tasks that you will be required to perform as a police officer. These include:
and a variety of other similar tasks. Some of the exercises that you will be required to perform include a bench press test, dragging a dummy or heavy object for a designated distance, a push-up test, a sit and reach test, a sit-up test, a stair climb test, a timed run, a trigger pull test, a vehicle exit test, and a wall climb test. You will usually be required to perform the exercise in a certain amount of time, to perform a certain number of exercises, or press a certain amount of weight (in the case of the bench press test) to pass each exercise test. The specific exercises that you will be required to perform during the test will vary from department to department. Bench press tests In this exercise, you will be required bench press a certain amount of weight in order to pass the test. The amount of weight is usually based on a sliding scale that takes your age and gender into consideration, and varies from department to department. You will usually only have a certain number of tries to lift the required weight and you must remain seated on the bench during each press. Dummy drag tests In this exercise, you will be given a dummy or a weight. The weight is set by the department, and is typically between 150 – 200 pounds. You will be required to drag the dummy or weight out of a building or vehicle, or away from an area that is marked as a danger or hazard zone; the distance is usually marked by a finish line. The specific distance also varies, but you will typically be between 20 – 30 feet. This test is timed and you will have to complete the test in a certain amount of time in order to pass the test. Push-up tests In this exercise, you will be asked to perform a certain number of push-ups. The number of push-ups is usually based on a sliding scale that takes your age and gender into consideration, and can vary from department to department. Each push-up will only count if it meets the specific requirements set by the department regarding the placement of your hands, the positioning of your back, where the pushup begins, where the pushup ends, and the location that you must be at in order to rest. Sit and reach tests In this exercise, you will be asked to sit with your feet planted firmly against a box and place your hands over each other, and reach your arms down a yardstick or another similar gauge as far as you can without bending your knees. In order to pass the test, you will have to stretch and hold your arms at a certain distance for a certain length of time. The distance that you will be required to reach, and the amount of time you must hold your arms at that distance, is usually based on a sliding scale that takes your age and gender into consideration and varies from department to department. You will usually have a certain number of attempts to reach and hold your arms at the required distance. Sit-up tests In this exercise you will be asked to lie with your back flat on a mat and perform a certain number of sit-ups in a given amount of time. The number of sit-ups and amount of time allotted, as before, varies from department to department. You will typically receive a score based on the number of sit-ups that you are able to perform in a 1-minute, 3-minute, or 5-minute period. Each sit-up counts only if the sit-up meets the specific requirements set by the department regarding the placement of your feet, where you need to touch to end the sit-up, and where you need to touch to begin a new sit-up. Stair climb tests This exercise requires you to climb to the top of a staircase or to a certain level of the staircase, plant your feet on a specific mark, and then make your way to the bottom of the staircase as quickly as possible. The number of floors that you will be required to climb and then descend again will vary from department to department, but most departments will require you to climb from the bottom of the staircase to the second floor and then descend to the bottom of the staircase once you reach the mark on that floor. You must climb to the appropriate level and descend back to the bottom within the amount of time established by the department in order to pass the test. You are typically allowed to climb or descend the stairs in any way you like as long as you do so in a reasonably safe manner. Timed runs In this exercise you are be required to run a certain distance in a specific amount of time. The specific distance that you are required to run will vary from department to department, but typically follows the chart below.
Distance - Time Allotted 50 yards - 10-15 seconds 100 yards - 25-35 seconds 150 yards - 35-45 seconds 300 yards - 75-85 seconds 1 mile - 8-15 minutes 1.5 miles - 12-19 minutes 2 miles - 16-25 minutes Trigger pull tests This exercise requires you to hold a mock pistol at a certain height with your arms stretched for a specific period of time. The height at which you will be required to hold the pistol, and the specific period of time that you must hold the pistol at the specified height, varies from department to department, but the typical requirement is shoulder height for at least 60 seconds. If you fail to keep the pistol at the appropriate height for the appropriate period of time, you will usually receive one opportunity to return the pistol to the appropriate height. If you fail to keep the pistol at the appropriate height after you have used your one opportunity to return the pistol to the specified height, you will fail the trigger pull test.
Vehicle exit tests This exercise will require you to sit in the seat of a police cruiser or another similar vehicle with your seat belt on and the door of the vehicle open. You will then remove your seat belt and exit the vehicle as quickly as possible. This test is timed and you will be required to complete the test in a certain amount of time in order to pass the test. The specific amount of time that you will have to exit the vehicle will vary from department to department. Wall climb tests In this exercise you are required to climb up and over a wall or a fence. This test is timed and you will be required to climb up and over the wall in a certain amount of time in order to pass the test. The specific amount of time that you will have to climb over the wall will vary from department to department, as will the height and type of wall or fence that you will be required to climb. There is usually a rope or a series of rungs that you can use in order to climb the wall. Important Note The Police Officer Exam's Physical Ability Test will typically include some of the exercises mentioned in this section. However, there are a number of different exercises that each department may use and each version of the Physical Ability Test will include its own distinct set of exercises. As a result, you may be required to perform exercises in addition to, or instead of, the exercises mentioned in this section. It is also important to note that some departments may use exercises that are similar to the exercises described in this section, but are not exactly the same. For example, you might be required to perform an exercise known as a dummy raise, which is similar to a dummy drag except that you would be required to use a rope to lift and hold a dummy or a weight in a certain manner for a certain period of time instead of dragging the dummy. Additional exam components The Police Officer Exam typically includes a written examination and a physical ability test. The word 'typically' here is actually important to note because the Police Officer Exam does not necessarily have to include a written examination and a physical ability test. In fact, the Police Officer Exam may include one of these tests, both of these tests, neither of these tests, or a combination of these tests and some other similar tests. You may be required to take a version of the Police Officer Exam that doesn't focus on these two tests, or a version of the exam that includes several other tests in addition to these tests. In these cases, the additional tests will usually include an oral interview and/or a video-based examination. Oral interview In almost every case you will be required to pass through an interview before you will be offered a position with a local police department. This is true regardless of where you are applying. Having an interview is common protocol for most departments and other employers. The difference in the Police Officer exam is that, while sometimes an interview is just an interview, other times an interview is actually more of a test to see how you respond under pressure and how you respond to certain situations. This is an important distinction to make because an interview is always a test, but how much of a test can vary from interview to interview. Some police departments will use the interview primarily to get a better understanding of who you are, while other departments will use the interview as a chance to test your abilities. It is important for you to be prepared for the kinds of questions that you might encounter during the oral interview in case the interview turns into more of a test than you might have originally expected. Some of the skills assessed in an oral interview include decision-making skills, interpersonal skills, oral communication skills, problem-solving skills, reasoning skills, and stress management skills. The questions included in an oral interview are also typically designed to determine your level of confidence, your level of honesty, your level of integrity, your level of self-motivation, and how well you can work as a member of a team. Video-based examination Some departments use a video-based examination in addition to, or instead of, the written exam. These video-based examinations are designed to assess your critical thinking and judgment skills by asking you to watch and analyze pre-recorded scenarios that are similar to some of the real-life situations that you might encounter as a police officer. After you have watched each scenario, you will be asked to answer a series of multiple-choice questions related to the information presented in the scenario or respond to the individuals in the scenario as if you were actually standing in the room with those individuals. Most of the video-based examinations that require you to answer a series of multiple-choice questions will present each question on a TV or monitor that you have to watch and you will have to select the correct answer by filling in the appropriate choice on your answer sheet. These multiple-choice questions are typically related to the actions and attitudes of each of the characters that appear in the scenario and how you would respond if you were in a similar situation. The video-based examinations that require you to respond to the individuals in the scenario, on the other hand, will typically pause at certain points to record your response to each individual. This type of video-based examination will usually require you to act as if you were a police officer, so you need to ask questions and/or make statements similar to what you would actually say if you were involved in that situation.
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