1.1 About the CritiCall Public Safety Dispatcher Test
Key Takeaways
- CritiCall is developed by Biddle Consulting Group and delivered on the TestGenius platform, used by more than 1,800 public safety agencies nationwide.
- The test explicitly does not require prior dispatcher knowledge — it measures trainable cognitive and clerical abilities like multitasking, memory, and data entry.
- CritiCall draws from up to 15 official modules that map into seven weighted skill domains covered across this guide.
- Sessions are computer-based, proctored on-site, and typically run 1-3 hours depending on how many modules the hiring agency selects.
- Test mechanics like Num Lock, upper-case-only entry fields, and single left-clicks mimic real CAD systems and should be expected, not treated as content to study.
What the CritiCall Test Actually Is
If you're applying to become a 911 telecommunicator or public safety dispatcher, there is a very good chance the first hurdle between you and an interview is a computer at a folding table inside the police department or communications center — running a test called CritiCall. CritiCall is a pre-employment assessment developed and licensed by Biddle Consulting Group (delivered through Biddle's TestGenius online testing platform) and used by more than 1,800 public safety agencies across the United States and Canada to screen dispatcher and call-taker candidates before they ever touch a real 911 line.
The single most important fact to internalize before you read another page of this guide: CritiCall does not test dispatcher knowledge. The official CritiCall Candidate Test Preparation Guide states this directly — a test-taker "does not need to possess any specialized dispatcher/call taker knowledge or training" to do well. You will not be asked what a 10-33 code means, what NFPA response-time standard applies to your county, or how a specific CAD (Computer-Aided Dispatch) system is configured. Instead, CritiCall measures the underlying cognitive and clerical abilities a person needs to succeed in dispatcher training before any of that training happens: can you type accurately while listening to someone talk, can you find a name on an alphabetized list quickly, can you remember five details from an audio clip thirty seconds after it ends, can you pick the shortest route on a simple street grid. It is closer to a structured aptitude test than to a knowledge exam — which is exactly why "studying" for CritiCall means building and drilling skills, not memorizing facts.
The Up-to-15-Module Battery
CritiCall is not one fixed test — it is a bank of up to 15 separate timed modules, and each hiring agency selects which modules it wants to administer (Chapter 1.2 covers this customization in depth). The full official module list, in CritiCall's own naming, is:
| # | Official Module Name | What It Measures |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Multi-Tasking / Advanced Decision Making | Making dispatch decisions while performing another on-screen task at the same time |
| 2 | Computerized Data Entry | Keying spoken or written information into structured fields via keyboard |
| 3 | Oral Comprehension — Call Summarization 1 | General narrative note-taking from an audio call, filtering non-essential detail |
| 4 | Oral Comprehension — Call Summarization 2 | Advanced version requiring more detailed, structured responses |
| 5 | Reading Comprehension | Reading, comprehending, and retaining details from a short written passage |
| 6 | Sentence Clarity | Picking the clearest, least-ambiguous way to phrase a set of facts |
| 7 | Cross Referencing | Alphabetic, numeric, and character-recognition searching across lists |
| 8 | Frequency of Information / Probability Determination | Applying probability logic to select the most likely correct answer from incomplete data |
| 9 | Map Reading / Geographic Directions | Choosing the most direct route to an assigned destination on a grid map |
| 10 | Memory Recall (Short Term) | Selective attention and recall for written and audible information just presented |
| 11 | Memory Recall (Long Term) & Inductive Reasoning | Recalling details from earlier in the test and drawing logical inferences from them |
| 12 | Numerical Ability | Job-related addition, subtraction, and percentage calculations |
| 13 | Perceptual Ability (Character Comparison) | Comparing job-related letter/number sequences for matches and differences |
| 14 | Spelling | Correctly spelling commonly misspelled or misused words |
| 15 | Vocalization Summary | Selecting the correct audible information based on a job-related decision rule |
That is a lot of modules, but this guide groups them into seven weighted skill domains so your prep stays organized: Multitasking & Call Handling (≈22%), Decision Making & Prioritization (≈18%), Map Reading (≈14%), Data Entry & Typing Speed (≈14%), Cross-Referencing (≈12%), Memory & Recall (≈10%), and Reading & Spelling (≈10%). Every one of the 15 official modules above maps into exactly one of those seven domains, and Chapters 2 through 10 of this guide are organized around them.
Format, Delivery, and What a Test Day Looks Like
CritiCall is computer-based and almost always proctored on-site at the hiring agency, since the audio and simulation components require controlled equipment. A typical session runs 1 to 3 hours, driven by how many modules the agency selected. Expect a headset for audio modules, a standard keyboard and mouse, and — this trips up first-time candidates constantly — instructions that specify turning your keyboard's Num Lock on, entering data using only UPPER-CASE letters in certain fields (mimicking real CAD systems), and using a single left-click of the mouse rather than double-clicking to register answers. None of this is a knowledge test; it is simply how the software is built, and not knowing it in advance costs candidates points for reasons that have nothing to do with their actual dispatcher aptitude.
There is no standard CritiCall fee paid by the candidate the way you'd pay FINRA or a state licensing board — the hiring agency licenses the software from Biddle Consulting Group and covers the cost. Your only real "cost" is travel to the testing site and the hours you spend preparing.
A Realistic Scenario
Imagine a candidate, Maria, who has strong general computer skills but has never worked a job requiring simultaneous typing and listening. She sits down at a county Sheriff's communications center, puts on a headset, and hears an "emergency message" describing a car crash with a downed power line. She has 15 seconds to click the correct response icon — and while she's still processing the scenario, a second on-screen prompt appears asking her to enter a caller's phone number. Candidates who haven't drilled divided attention freeze or transpose digits under this pressure; candidates who understand the format going in treat it as a familiar, practiced routine. That gap — familiarity with the format, not raw intelligence — separates most passing and failing CritiCall scores, and it's the gap this guide exists to close.
Key Takeaways Recap
CritiCall screens for trainable cognitive and clerical abilities, not dispatcher knowledge you're expected to already have. It draws from up to 15 official modules, delivered through Biddle Consulting Group's TestGenius platform, used by 1,800+ agencies, in sessions that typically run 1-3 hours on-site.
According to CritiCall's official Candidate Test Preparation Guide, what kind of knowledge is a test-taker required to already have?
How many public safety agencies does CritiCall report using its testing platform?
A candidate is told during test instructions to turn on her keyboard's Num Lock and to enter data using only upper-case letters. What is the best explanation for these instructions?