What is the National Police Officer Selection Test?
What do you mean, “There is NO national Police Officer Selection Test?”
I receive many questions about “How do I prepare for the POST?” or “What questions are on the POST?” from people applying to become law enforcement officers. To their surprise, there is no single exam for the POST!
The term “POST” most often means the Police Officer Selection Test which is a generic name for the set of assessments given by law enforcement agencies for entry-level positions. In this broadest of definitions, the POST consists of several different steps in the hiring process, of which the Police Written Exam is just one. Other steps usually will include a Physical Abilities Test (PAT), the Psych Exam, the Polygraph and more. Many times, the term “POST” is used interchangeably to refer to the police written exam only. In California, the term POST also stands for Police Officer Standards and Training Commission which sets the minimum selection and training standards for California law enforcement agencies.
If you are reading this article, you are anxious to find out what topics will be found on the specific test you are going to take for the agencies you have applied to. Unfortunately, there is not a single, simple answer to this question as this article will explain.
Surprise! There is No National Standard for Police Officer Selection Tests
Each state defines their own minimum standards for their Police Officer Selection Tests.
Surprise! There is no standard in the U.S for entry-level law enforcement testing. Each state has a commission that sets the minimum standards for what should be on their POST. These standards are typically based upon a 12th grade education. However, even within the same state, different agencies might use different exams as long as they meet the minimum state requirements. In a few states, a single test format has been successfully chosen. Examples are Florida uses the CJBAT (Criminal Justice Basic Abilities Test) and Utah uses the NPOST (National Police Officer Selection Test.) But these are the exceptions.
Hiring agencies usually contract with a professional testing company to provide the test. Some companies provide complete testing services, wherein they administer the registration and scoring of the exams for the agency. It is rare that an agency nowadays prepares their own exam, but it does occur.
There are about a dozen different vendors of police officer selection tests. Many of these companies provide a range of human resource services to city and state government agencies. You may hear names like I/O Solutions (IOS), Stanard and Associates, National Testing Network (NTN), Daraney & Associates, and more.
How Difficult is the Police Written Exam?
Police Officer Selection Tests vary widely across the country.
It should be clear from the above, that some tests will cover only a few basic topics and others may be very extensive. Serious job applicants will know that their ranking on the eligibility list for a specific agency will be higher when their test scores are higher. Good preparation is required, but you don’t want to waste your time study topics that won’t be on your test. The following table illustrates the wide range of difficulty you may run into.
How to Find Out What Written Test your Police Agency Uses?
Most people would assume that it is easy to find out from the hiring agency what test questions will appear on their test. Remarkably, the answer ranges from easy to impossible. In jurisdictions like Chicago and New York, where officer turnover is high or conditions are less favorable, the agencies will attempt to help applicants with free study guides and local prep sessions. In other parts of the country, where demand for the job exceeds the number of positions open, the agency may keep the exam contents completely secret. San Diego and Phoenix would fit this profile. In these cases, the agency may rationalize that they want “naturally brilliant” candidates who don’t really need any test preparation. In many of these cases, a phone call to the recruiting department may only reveal very vague details about the exam.
I have had so many people ask me for help on this search, that I created a large database of over 1,500 of the largest cities in the U.S. that cross-references the test format used. Candidates can start using and map and simply clicking on the state where they are interested. You can find that map on this site.
You can learn about each type of question by reading part 2 of this article - What Questions are on the Police Written Exam.