PHYSICAL AGILITY EXAM
What are the passing requirements? The required performance to pass each test is based upon age (decade) and gender. While the absolute performance is different for the six categories, the relative level of effort is identical for each age and gender group. All recruits are being required to meet the same percentile range in terms of their respective age/sex group. The performance requirement is that level of physical performance that approximates the 40th percentile for each age and gender group.
WRITTEN EXAM
What does the test consist of? The written exam consists of two components including a cognitive ability component and a behavioral component. A study guide with preparation suggestions and practice test items will be provided for the cognitive ability component since preparation and practice can assist you in improving your performance on this component of the written examination.
The cognitive ability component measures the following ability areas: written comprehension, written expression, deductive reasoning, inductive reasoning, information ordering, spatial orientation, visualization, flexibility of closure, problem sensitivity and selective attention.
For the behavioral component, the preparation will familiarize you with the format and content of these items, but no “practice” items will be provided since the areas assessed by these components cannot be practiced or “improved upon”; the items (i.e., questions) should simply be answered honestly.
Candidates are required to receive a 70% or better. Only those who pass the written exam will be permitted to advance to the oral assessment. A pass or fail result from the written exam will be emailed to candidates. Candidates will not receive a numeric score due to banding (please refer to page 9). Candidates should not call the Civil Service Commission office or the Springfield Police Department to obtain exam results. Actual test scores will not be released by City personnel.
ORAL ASSESSMENT
What is an oral assessment? A panel of assessors will ask each candidate a series of questions that will allow for the assessment of various abilities and personal characteristics that are important to the effective performance of entry-level police patrol officers. The questions could range from general questions pertaining to the candidate’s qualifications for the police patrol officer position to specific questions regarding how the candidate has dealt with situations they have experienced in the past, to hypothetical questions regarding how the candidate would handle situations they may encounter in the future. Although all questions will be relevant to the police patrol officer position, no knowledge of law enforcement will be required to respond effectively. Some of the areas that could be assessed include, but are not limited to: oral presentation skills/oral communication, interpersonal relations, courtesy, cooperation/team orientation, judgement/reasoning, initiative/self-discipline, integrity, and adaptability. There will be a writing component in addition to the series of questions.