How to be Successful on "Written" Assessment Exercises for Police Promotion

• NCJ Number: 214189
• Author(s): Donald J. Schroeder; Frank A. Lombardo
• Date Published: 2005
• Length: 260 pages
• Sale Source: Looseleaf Law Publications, Inc
• Publication Format: Book (Hardbound)
• Publication Type: Handbook
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This handbook is designed to help police promotional candidates master written assessment exercises administered at an Assessment Center.

Abstract

Assessment exercises are thought to simulate situations common to certain ranks of police officers, testing officers’ knowledge for promotional purposes. Assessment exercises are either written or oral; this handbook focuses on how to master written assessment exercises administered at an Assessment Center. The handbook is divided into three parts: part 1 is comprised of five chapters that offer general information about assessment exercises and how to prepare for them. Chapter 1 discusses how to use the handbook and answers essential questions about written assessment exercises while chapter 2 focuses on the scoring process used in all types of assessment exercises, reviewing the most commonly measured dimensions including conflict resolution and leadership, among others. Chapter 3 reviews the principles, administration, supervision, and management of written assessments. The authors present the most common types of statements that earn candidates points during written assessments, referred to as “generic statements.” By using similar statements on the written examination, candidates improve their chances of earning points. Chapter 4 describes the most common forms of written assessment exercises: (1) the scheduling exercise; (2) the video simulation exercise; (3) the report writing exercise; (4) the structured in-basket exercise; and (5) the unstructured in-basket exercise. Following a discussion of the importance of time management while taking the timed examination in chapter 5, part 2 goes on to explain the five types of written assessment exercises. Throughout the five chapters, the author outlines strategies to optimize candidate performance on the different types of written assessments. Candidates are offered practice written exercises for each type of examination in Part 3. Each chapter closes with true/false questions on the chapter material. Index