The Written Test – Friend or Foe?
It doesn’t matter what weight your department assigns to the written test. Until you pass the written test, it has 100% weight!
In the history of Civil Service testing in the police and fire service professions, the written test has played a crucial and controversial role. Despite concerns about its fairness, the written test continues to be the most widely used test instrument in hiring and promotion in public safety professions.
You had to succeed on a written test to become a firefighter or police officer, and you will have to succeed on written tests in the future if you hope to be promoted and climb the ladder of success. The reality is that the written test eliminates more candidates in the testing process than any other component.
All too often, if you don’t pass the written test, you won’t get an interview, take a practical test or participate in an assessment center. It doesn’t matter what weight your department assigns to the written test. Until you pass the written test, it has 100% weight!
There are countless stories of qualified candidates for promotion who “die on the list” because of the economic or political realities of their departments. In this very competitive climate, as few as one or two points on the written test can make the difference between being promoted or not.
There is no substitute for studying. There are no shortcuts to success. But there are ways to sharpen your skills, expand your knowledge and improve your test performance.
Allwrite-Testing’s Practice Tests give you the opportunity to pick up the few extra points you will need.