Memorization
6.7%of exam
Reading, Writing, Grammar, Vocabulary
13.3%of exam
Reasoning + Ordering + Patterns
13.3%of exam
Visual Abilities
10%of exam
Personality Attributes
56.7%of exam
Format, Eligibility + Process
Not publishedof exam
Quick Facts
- Exam
- NYS Trooper Entrance Exam
- Items
- 150 multiple-choice
- Cognitive
- 65 items / 1h40m
- Personality
- 85 items / 20 min
- Delivery
- Pearson VUE computer-based
- Fees
- $20 apply + $44 test
- Score
- Ranked list, no cutoff
- Guessing
- No penalty
- Job knowledge
- Not tested
- Apply age
- 20 to 43
- Weights
- From official practice test
Photo Sweep Order
People, Vehicles, Signs, Background
People: count, clothingVehicles: plates, colorsSigns: numbers, wordsBackground: objects, positions
Memorization Item Strategy
- Photos appear→Start the fixed sweep(People first)
- Three photos, six minutes→Two minutes each(Watch the clock)
- People in frame→Count them exactly(Counts get asked)
- Clothing visible→Log every color(Shirt color sample)
- Signs or plates→Read every character(Middle characters differ)
- Objects placed around→Note relative positions(Left, right, behind)
- Photos removed→Answer from your sweep(No look-back allowed)
- Detail is gone→Guess, never blank(No penalty)
Memorization Block
- Item count
- 10 of 65Double weight
- Position
- Practice-test items 1-10
- Stimulus
- Three photographs
- Study time
- Six minutes total
- Look-back
- Not allowed
- Asked details
- Colors, counts, numbers, positions
- Sample item
- Officers' shirt color
- Official drill
- Two-minute picture recall
Memorization Weight
10 memorization, 5 everything else
10 of 65 itemsDouble any other abilityPractice-test items 1-10
Memory Techniques
- Fixed sweep
- Same order every photo
- Chunking
- Group digits and letters
- Verbal labeling
- Name what you see
- Exact counts
- Numbers, never 'several'
- Quadrant scan
- Split image, cover parts
- Rehearsal
- Repeat details silently
- Time split
- Two minutes per photo
Reading vs Writing
Reading
- Main idea or detail
- Answer from passage
- Too-specific options lose
Writing
- Pick best summary
- All key actions
- No padded detail
Understand vs summarize
Verbal Item Formats
- Reading
- Main idea or detail
- Writing
- Pick the best summary
- Vocabulary in-context
- Underlined word meaning
- Vocabulary no-context
- Closest synonym
- Grammar
- Complete sentence correctly
- Expected level
- 8th-10th grade English
- Each ability
- 5 items
Grammar Rules Tested
- its vs it's
- Possessive vs it is
- Singular possessive
- the child's bike
- Plural possessive
- the twins' parents
- Possessive pronouns
- hers, yours, no apostrophe
- Contractions
- couldn't, not could'nt
- Subject-verb
- girls run, dog chases
- Pronoun agreement
- Trooper took her break
- Tense
- Stay consistent throughout
- affect/effect
- Verb vs noun
- then/than
- Time vs comparison
- their/there/they're
- Owner, place, they are
- whether/weather
- If vs forecast
- to/too
- Toward vs also
Vocabulary Tactics
- Substitution
- Swap option into sentence
- Eliminate
- Cut meaning-breaking options
- Context clues
- Use surrounding sentence
- Study aids
- GED prep vocabulary books
- Daily habit
- Look up unknown words
Deductive vs Inductive
Deductive
- Rules to the case
- Rules supplied
- One correct outcome
Inductive
- Facts to a conclusion
- Several witness accounts
- Best supported answer
Rule down vs facts up
Reasoning Item Formats
- Deductive
- Rules applied to case
- Inductive
- Accounts combined into conclusion
- Ordering
- Sequence shuffled statements
- Pattern recognition
- Complete the figure grid
- Rule source
- Supplied inside the item
- Two-part options
- Verdict and reason both
- Each ability
- 5 items
Pattern vs Closure
Pattern recognition
- Grid with a gap
- Find the transformation
- Complete the series
Flexibility of closure
- Target hidden in clutter
- Find or count it
- Nothing to predict
Predict missing vs find hidden
Reasoning Tactics
- Read rules first
- Never assume prior knowledge
- Check every element
- Match facts to rule
- Group statements
- Before, during, after
- Reread sequence
- Confirm the logical flow
- Circular sourcing
- Repeated account, one source
- Row or column
- Decide pattern direction first
- Predict first
- Then compare the options
Visualization vs Spatial Orientation
Visualization
- Faces and objects
- After a stated change
- Compare shapes
Spatial orientation
- Street map
- Cardinal directions
- Find the end point
Same person vs same place
Visual Item Formats
- Visualization
- Same face after change
- Change example
- Eyeglasses removed
- Spatial orientation
- Street-map route tracing
- Directions given
- North, south, east, west
- Flexibility of closure
- Find target in clutter
- Closure examples
- Plates, faces, hidden figures
- Each ability
- 5 items
Visual Tactics
- Face order
- Head, jaw, nose, eyes
- Ignore
- Skin tone, eye color
- Compass rose
- Find it before tracing
- Mark options
- Plot each candidate intersection
- Perspective
- Turn from traveler's view
- Plate reading
- Every character, middle included
- Counting targets
- Quadrant by quadrant
Personality Section
- Size
- 85 of 150 items
- Time
- 20 minutes~14 sec/item
- Part 1
- Five-point agreement scale
- Scale ends
- Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree
- Part 2
- Forced choice, two statements
- Neutral option
- None in Part 2
- Faking
- Lowers your score
- Response patterns
- Extreme-only answering flagged
- Best approach
- Answer candidly, move fast
12 Abilities Split
2 + 4 + 2 + 3 + 1 = 12
2 reading/writing4 fluid reasoning2 crystallized3 visual1 memory
Cognitive vs Personality
Cognitive
- 65 items
- 1 hour 40 minutes
- Right answers scored
Personality
- 85 items
- 20 minutes
- Candid answers scored
Accuracy vs honest speed
Am I Eligible?
- Under 20 now→Wait to apply(20 is minimum)
- Age 20-43→Apply this cycle(HS diploma required)
- Over 43→Count active-duty years(Extends up to 7)
- Turning 44 soon→Appointment must come first(Before 44th birthday)
- No HS diploma→Earn equivalency diploma(Required to apply)
- Diploma, no credits→Apply, then earn 30(Needed at appointment)
- Military IET completed→Meets appointment education(Honorable discharge)
- MPTC Basic Course done→Meets appointment education(NYS certified)
- Living out of state→Move before appointment(NYS license too)
- Veteran with rating→Claim credit when applying(5 or 10 points)
Format + Scoring
- Total items
- 150 multiple-choice
- Cognitive section
- 65 items, 1h40mTimed
- Personality section
- 85 items, 20 minTimed
- Sections
- Separately timed blocks
- Total seat time
- 2 hours
- Delivery
- Pearson VUE test center
- Job knowledge
- Not measured at all
- Guessing
- No wrong-answer penalty
- Raw score
- Number answered correctly
- Result
- Ranked eligibility list
Section Timing
65 in 100, 85 in 20
65 cognitive items100 minutes85 personality items20 minutes
Apply Age vs Appoint Age
To apply
- 20 to 43
- HS/equivalency diploma
- US citizen
To be appointed
- 21 minimum
- Before 44th birthday
- 30 college credits
Applying is not appointment
Test-Day Timing Plan
- Cognitive section starts→Budget 90 seconds each(65 items, 100 minutes)
- Item takes 2 minutes→Flag and move on(Come back later)
- 10 minutes left→Fill every blank(No penalty)
- Personality section starts→Answer at reading speed(About 14 seconds each)
- Statement feels tricky→Trust first reaction(No neutral option)
- Tempted to look ideal→Answer candidly(Faking lowers score)
12 Abilities Map
- Reading/Writing
- Reading, writing10 items
- Fluid reasoning
- Deductive, inductive, ordering, patterns20 items
- Crystallized
- Grammar, vocabulary10 items
- Visual
- Visualization, spatial, closure15 items
- Short-term memory
- Memorization only10 items
- Total
- 12 abilities, 65 items
Age Rule
20 to apply, 44 to appoint
20 minimum to apply43 maximum to apply21 minimum to appointBefore 44th birthday
5-Point vs 10-Point Credit
5 points
- Non-disabled veteran
- Added to exam score
- Claim with documents
10 points
- Disabled veteran
- VA rating 10% or more
- Eligible for payments
Disability rating decides
Eligibility Numbers
- Apply age
- 20 to 43
- Appointment age
- 21 minimum, before 44
- Military extension
- Up to 7 years
- Citizenship
- United States required
- Education to apply
- HS or equivalency diploma
- Appointment education
- 30 college credit hours
- Or military route
- IET, honorable discharge
- Or police route
- NYS MPTC Basic Course
- At appointment
- NYS residency + license
- Fees
- $20 apply, $44 test
Veteran Credit Points
5 non-disabled, 10 disabled
5: non-disabled veteran10: disabled veteran10% VA rating
Process Stages
- 1 Application
- During an open cycle
- 2 Entrance exam
- Pearson VUE test center
- 3 Eligibility list
- Ranked by score
- 4 Physical Ability Test
- Sit-ups, push-ups, run
- 5 Candidate processing
- After your rank reached
- 6 Background investigation
- Full NYSP check
- 7 Polygraph
- Examination required
- 8 Medical exam
- NYSP Academy, Albany
- 9 Academy
- Appointment, State Police Academy
Fitness Test
- PAT events
- Sit-ups, push-ups, 1.5-mile run
- PAT standard
- Cooper 50th percentile
- PAT result
- Pass/fail only
- Academy standard
- 70th percentile each subtest
- When
- After the list reached
Veteran Credits
- Non-disabled veteran
- 5 extra points
- Disabled veteran
- 10 extra points
- Certifying body
- US Dept of Veterans Affairs
- Disability rating
- 10% or more
- Also required
- Eligible to receive payments
- Claim window
- During the application period
- Effect
- Added to exam score
Common Traps
No job knowledge tested
Studying penal law wastes time ≠ Abilities are what score
Maps are generic
Street map supplied in item ≠ Not NYSP troop geography
Ranked, not pass/fail
No published cutoff score ≠ Rank decides who is hired
Personality section is fast
85 items in 20 minutes ≠ About 14 seconds each
Faking is detected
Dishonest answers lower score ≠ Extreme-only patterns flagged
Never leave blanks
No penalty for guessing ≠ Blank scores same as wrong
Item counts from practice test
10 of 65 memorization ≠ Official practice test allocation
Two different age limits
Apply by age 43 ≠ Appointed before 44th birthday
Diploma is not enough
HS diploma to apply ≠ 30 credits to be appointed
Last Minute
- 1.150 items: 65 cognitive, 85 personality
- 2.Cognitive 1h40m; personality 20 min
- 3.Memorization = 10 of 65
- 4.Three photos, six minutes, no look-back
- 5.Sweep: people, vehicles, signs, background
- 6.No job knowledge is tested
- 7.No guessing penalty; answer everything
- 8.Deductive = rules; inductive = accounts
- 9.Visualization = faces; spatial = maps
- 10.Personality: answer candidly, answer fast
- 11.Apply 20-43; appointed before 44
- 12.30 credits or IET or MPTC
- 13.NYS residency + license at appointment
- 14.Veteran credits: 5 or 10 points
- 15.PAT = Cooper 50th percentile
- 16.Ranked list: every item matters
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