NPOST practice test

What the real test usually looks like

The NPOST is a written test with four separately timed sections. Agencies that use it describe the same structure. Utah Highway Patrol lists it this way (Utah Highway Patrol):

• Math: 20 questions in 20 minutes. General math and financial math, with no algebra or geometry. Calculators are not permitted.
• Reading comprehension: 25 questions in 25 minutes. You read a series of short essays and answer questions about them.
• Grammar: 20 questions in 15 minutes. You identify misspelled words and improper punctuation.
• Incident report writing: 10 questions in 15 minutes. You write a clear, concise report from facts you are given, and grammar and punctuation count here too.

That adds up to 75 questions in 75 minutes. The La Crosse, Wisconsin, police department gives the same totals, 75 questions and 1 hour and 15 minutes, with the same four areas (City of La Crosse). Utah's information sheet adds that the test is not given all day, every day, so candidates should call their testing center ahead of time, and that photo identification is required (Millard County).

Not every agency uses the NPOST, and each agency sets its own test dates and places. Your job announcement or test invitation is the best guide to the version you will sit.

What our mocks cover. Our full mocks have 65 questions in 60 minutes, in the same order as the first three sections: math (20), reading comprehension (25) and grammar (20). That is the same number of questions and the same total time as those three sections of the real test. There is no calculator, as in Utah's description. You can go back to earlier questions and flag them. Our mocks leave out incident report writing, because a written report cannot be scored fairly by a practice test. Practice that part by writing short reports from a list of facts and checking them for spelling, punctuation and clarity.

Question types with worked examples

One worked example for each section, with the trap most people fall into.

1. Math. A shift covers 3 meal breaks at $12.75 each. What is the total? 3 x $12.75 = $38.25. Do it in steps without a calculator: 3 x $12 = $36, and 3 x $0.75 = $2.25, so $36 + $2.25 = $38.25. Trap: losing track of the decimal point. A quick estimate (3 x $13 is about $39) tells you $382.50 or $3.83 cannot be right.

2. Reading comprehension. Passage: "Officers must complete a firearms qualification twice a year. An officer who misses a scheduled date must qualify within 30 days." An officer missed the March date. What must happen? The officer must qualify within 30 days. Trap: choosing an answer that sounds sensible but is not in the passage, such as "the officer is suspended." Answer only from what the text says.

3. Grammar, spelling. Which word is misspelled: "The vehical was towed to the city lot"? "Vehical" should be "vehicle." Trap: reading too fast. Your eye fills in the correct spelling, so read each word on its own when you are checking for errors.

4. Grammar, punctuation. Which is correct: "The officer's notes were clear" or "The officers notes were clear"? The first, because the notes belong to the officer and need an apostrophe. Trap: adding an apostrophe to a plain plural, as in "two officer's arrived." A plural that does not own anything takes no apostrophe.

How to prepare

1. Confirm the format with your agency. Check which sections your test has, how they are timed and where you will sit it. The descriptions above come from agencies that use it, and the details of yours may differ.
2. Practice math without a calculator. Utah says calculators are not permitted (Utah Highway Patrol). Work on adding and subtracting money, multiplying and dividing, percentages, averages and rates such as miles per gallon.
3. Read for what the passage says. Underline or note times, numbers and conditions. Watch "must," "may," "only" and "at least," because one word often decides the answer.
4. Train your eye for spelling and punctuation. Learn the words people often misspell (receive, separate, opposite, necessary, occurred) and the comma, apostrophe and capital letter rules.
5. Write short practice reports. Take five or six facts (who, what, when, where, what happened) and turn them into a short, clear report. Read it back for errors, since this section also tests grammar and punctuation.
6. Practice at the real pace. The grammar section gives you 20 questions in 15 minutes, which is 45 seconds a question (Utah Highway Patrol). Take full timed mocks so that pace feels normal on the day.
7. Plan the day. Call your testing center to confirm the date and time, and bring a government photo ID (Millard County).

How scoring usually works

Scoring is done by the test's publisher and the pass mark is set by the agency. Utah's information says scoring is provided through Stanard and Associates and that results are mailed about two weeks after the test date (Utah Highway Patrol, Millard County). Neither Utah nor La Crosse publishes a passing score, so the score you need and how it is used, as a pass or fail or as a rank among applicants, is set by each agency. Your agency's announcement or recruiter can tell you how your result will be used.

Our practice score is the number of our own questions you answered correctly, with a breakdown by section (math, reading comprehension and grammar), so you can see where to focus. It is a practice score: it is not an NPOST score or an agency score, and it does not predict whether you will pass.

Common mistakes on the NPOST

• Running out of time on grammar. It is the fastest section, at about 45 seconds a question. Do not reread a sentence again and again; check each word once and move on.
• Skipping the estimate in math. Without a calculator, a quick rough answer catches most slips with decimal points and percentages.
• Bringing outside knowledge into reading. If the passage does not say it, it is not the answer, even if it is true in real life.
• Guessing at money questions in one step. Problems with a discount, a total and a remainder are easier in two or three short steps, written down.
• Leaving report writing to chance. It is the one section our mocks do not cover, so set aside time to write a few short reports and check them.