Less Common Police Written Exams

 

On this page, I list some of the less common Police Exams in use and legacy names of exams that have been retired or re-marketed. Re-marketing occurs as test publishers buy exams from their competitors, etc. Also on this page are exam names used by certain regional commissions and my recommendations for how to best prepare for these. Don't let the banner image fool you, most of these are still in use.

ACT WorkKeys Assessment

 

The ACT WorkKeys Assessment is used by some law enforcement agencies to test the basic Math, Reading Comprehension and Writing Abilities of their applicants. No prior knowledge of law or law enforcement will be needed to answer the questions. ACT Compass and ACT Asset were earlier versions offered by the company ACT that have been superseded by the newer WorkKeys Assessment. A great prep course for police written exams that use ACT is PoliceExam911-Basic.

ABLE - Adult Basic Learning Examination

 

The ABLE (Adult Basic Learning Examination) measures basic reading comprehension. There is no time limit on this exam. No prior knowledge of law or law enforcement will be needed to answer the questions. A great prep course for police Reading, Writing and Math is PoliceExam911-Basic.

ASSET

 

The ASSET test is administrated by the American College Testing Corporation, the same people who developed the ACT exam. The ASSET test has four parts to it and last approximately three to three and half hours to take. The four parts are writing, reading and two mathematics. There are several sections for the reading and writing portion of the test and each student must choose two of the three mathematics tests depending on your most recent math classes from high school. They are Numerical skills, Intermediate Algebra and College Algebra.

A great prep course for police written exams that use ACT is PoliceExam911-Basic.

McCann Entry-Level Police Officer Exam

 

The McCann police written test is made up of two booklets. Booklet 1 consists of an image that you have 10 minutes to study (Observation) and then answer 30 questions within a time limit of 30 minutes. Booklet 2 consists of 70 questions with a time limit of 135 minutes. Topics covered include: Reading Comprehension, Logical Reasoning, Map Reading and Memorization.

A unique aspect of the McCann entry-level police test is that it does not include a “Writing Skills” section that is common on most police written exams. So you don’t need to study writing clarity, spelling, vocabulary, punctuation or police report writing!

Because of its wide variety of test topics, your best prep course for McCann is PoliceExam911.

Morris and McDaniel Entry-Level Police Test (ELP)

 

The Morris & McDaniel Shield® Test Battery for police officers usually includes the following:

READING ABILITY TEST FOR POLICE

  • Designed to screen out all candidates who are not able to read at the level required for successful performance in the training process both in pre-job and on-the-job training.

CANDIDATE PROFILE SUMMARY FOR POLICE

  • Assess the integrity, work ethic, and service orientation of police officer candidates.

ESSENTIAL ENTRY-LEVEL POLICE SKILLS TEST

  • Spatial orientation

  • Inductive reasoning

  • Flexibility of closure

  • Problem sensitivity

  • Memorization

  • Verbal comprehension

  • Semantic ordering

STRUCTURED ORAL PRESENTATION EXERCISE

  • To measure performance dimensions important to effective police work, such as judgment, problem identification and analysis, oral communication, and service orientation.

Notice that this exam does not include writing skills (except vocabulary) or math questions.

A comprehensive police test prep course recommended for this exam is PoliceExam911.

NBAT (Legacy)

 

NBAT is an abbreviation for National Basic Abilities Test which is a retired police exam originally distributed by I/O Solutions. Today, the NCJOSI2 is the IOS equivalent to this obsolete police exam.

NDRT - Nelson-Denny Reading Test

 

Some police agencies including the Charlotte-Mecklenburg NC Police Department use the Nelson Denny Reading Test (NDRT) for their entry-level exam. The Nelson-Denny Reading Test is a standardized reading test that measures the reading ability of high school and college students. The NDRT is used by many government and non-government agencies to measure an applicant's basic reading skills.

The test includes two parts: Vocabulary and Reading Comprehension.

Part 1, Vocabulary, presents 80 multiple-choice questions with 5 answer choices each. The time allowed for Part 1 of the exam is 15 minutes.

Part 2 is Reading Comprehension and requires students to read 5-8 passages and to respond to 38 multiple-choice questions based on the content of those passages. These also have 5 answer choices per question. Reading speed is important on this section as the time allowed for this part of the exam is only 20 minutes.

Allow 45 minutes total for taking the exam.

A great prep course for preparing for the Nelson Denny Reading Test is PoliceExam911-Basic.

LECR - Law Enforcement Candidate Record

 

The Law Enforcement Candidate Record (LECR) is Police entry-level test still in use in parts of the U.S. However, the test is no longer supported by its originators (ePredix). It is hard for candidates to get helpful information about this exam. Over the years, the name has sometimes been used as a generic description for any law enforcement entry exam. You will find comments like, “Our test is based upon the LECR…”

Notable states where you will still find the LECR include:

  • Kentucky

  • North Carolina

  • South Carolina

  • West Virginia

LECR combines two types of testing: one for cognitive abilities and another for non-cognitive traits. The cognitive questions include the traditional Reading Comprehension, Grammar, Spelling and Vocabulary, plus Math, Memory, Perceptual Skills, Decision-making, Reasoning and Problem Solving. The non-cognitive topics are basically Situational Judgment and personal attitude questions.

You are usually allowed 3 hours to complete both sections of the LECR. Because this test covers a wide range of topics, the best police prep course is PoliceExam911.

REACT Corrections Officer Test

 

REACT is a video-based testing system that assesses critical skills necessary to be a Corrections Officer and includes the often overlooked content areas of teamwork and offender relations. Since many Sheriff's offices have responsibility for a correctional facility, this exam format will be found on certain Deputy Sheriff entrance tests. The test is published by Ergometrics and is very similar to the NTN -Frontline Exam with its emphasis on situational judgment. This test is administered by National Testing Network (NTN) under the job classification of "Corrections Officer."

TABE - Test of Adult Basic Education

 

The TABE (Test of Adult Basic Education) is a placement test used by civil service agencies, trade schools, technical schools and some colleges to give them a good idea of what level of academic challenge you are ready to face. The test covers the basics of Reading, English and math.

If your law enforcement agency uses the TABE for their entry-level testing, the best prep course for you is PoliceExam911-Basic.