i applied several months ago and rec’vd my letter last week saying that i’ve qualified to take the written exam and physical agility test this weekend. my question… what do these test entail? i haven’t done any studying or even physical training in preperation for this initial test since i had no idea that they would only give my 1 week notice. am i in trouble??? 
Deo
You might find the Ask a Cop subject in IMHO forum & ask him too.
I took a Police Officer exam a month ago with the Madison Police Department in Wisconsin. I took it partly for fun, another for just in case my other job doesn’t work out. Every department will have a different test and screening method. For Madison, if you turned a complete application in, you got to take a test. So anyways…
The one I took felt like an ACT. There were three parts for this particular test. The first was definitions of words, second was paragraph comprehension, and the third was a short essay.
The essay was on a seemingly bizarre subject “Explain one of your days this past week” but it was just a test to see if you could logically put your thoughts down on paper and have it understood.
They scored your test on a number scale that would correspond with your tested grade level. If you’re less well read, you might get a 10, which would correspond to a sophomore in high school. To max it out you could score a 18.9 which correlates with the reading level of a graduate student.
I got my test results back a week later and I thought I was all but guaranteed to be asked back to take the physical exam, but I received the thin envelope of rejection telling me to try again next year. Grrr.
From what I read about the physical though, there are 4 events. A 1.5 mile run, situps, benchpress, and a seated stretching event to see how far you can reach past your toes.
Good luck, hope it works out well for you.
hmmmm… tried searching in IMHO but the search won’t allow for 3 letter words (why is that???). i went back about 8 pages and couldn’t find anything. if anyone here has a direct link, that’d be greatly apprecitated 
CATDOG: that’s the kind of info i was looking for. i wasn’t worried about the written, but if you were confident enough to think you passed then maybe i should be more worried. i’m pretty confident in my writting skills so hopefully that’ll carry me through.
the physical part is more of what i’m worried about.
i don’t want to say that i’m NOT fit, but my stamina is definately not up to par. :smack:
Here’s the link to the Ask the cop thread. (It’s in MPSIMS, not IMHO.)
A passing score was 13.5, which means that they sent my application and test scores to the review board who looked everything over and then made the ultimate screening decision.
A passing score was 13.5, which means that they sent my application and test scores to the review board who looked everything over and then made the ultimate screening decision.
IIRC, the Illinois State Police has physical fitness information available on their web site.
The written tests are mostly just reading comprehension and the like. They are just to see that you are of average intelligence and able to read and write well. Entry level tests shouldn’t require any prior knowledge of law enforcement.
Physical tests vary widely. Currently, all agencies in Washington use the same test, since it is the test administered prior to acceptance to the state Basic Academy. The test requirements are here.
thanks for the info, badge! the info you linked to really helps…
deo