1.1 ECOMM Formats, Subtests & How Scores Are Used

The ECOMM is the National Testing Network (NTN) entry-level exam for emergency communications jobs: 911 call-taker, public safety dispatcher, and communications officer trainee positions. NTN, based in Lynnwood, Washington, handles registration, testing, and score delivery. Hiring agencies post their jobs on NTN, you choose those jobs when you schedule, and one test session sends your results to every job you selected.

The single most important fact for your preparation comes straight from NTN's own test description:

That rule shapes this whole guide. You are not expected to know ten-codes, medical dispatch protocol cards, radio procedure, or your future agency's policies. You are expected to listen, watch, record, compare, prioritize, and choose sensibly using only what the test shows you. Where later chapters explain real dispatch practice, treat it as background that makes the sensible choice easier to recognize, not as a list to memorize.

Two Versions of the Exam

NTN lists two Emergency Communications exams, and gives both a total test time of approximately 2 hours. The version you take depends on the jobs you apply for, so read each job posting and your NTN candidate account before test day.

The Comprehensive exam, step by step

1. CallTaker Video Test. You watch scenarios showing call-takers handling different calls. The items play without stopping. Each call is taken to a critical decision point, and you choose the best course of action from multiple choices. You take notes while you watch, because a later segment uses them. (Chapter 2)
2. Recording Pertinent Information Test. You read statements about the calls you watched. Each statement belongs to one CallTaker call, and you use your notes to decide whether it is Correct, Incorrect, or whether you are Unsure. (Chapter 3)
3. Dispatcher Video Test. NTN calls this a test of "basic multitasking skills, key for learning and performing the job." You keep track of four police units in moving situations. When a new call comes in, you decide from two facts, where the units are and what they are currently doing: which units to send, whether they must go immediately, and whether medical help must also be sent. NTN says no dispatching experience is needed. (Chapter 4)

The Express exam, step by step

1. CallTaker Test (written). A multiple-choice situational judgment test about the stressors and situations emergency communications staff commonly face. You read each scenario and choose the best response. (Section 6.1)
2. Dispatcher Test (written). Maps help you keep track of three police units and two medical units. As new calls come in, you decide which police and medical units to send, if any. (Chapter 5)
3. Computer Simulations. Data entry, listening and understanding, and cross-search-and-entry tasks. (Sections 6.2 and 6.3)
4. Role Fitness Questionnaire. NTN says it measures "call center suitability and job compatibility, as well as work-specific personality dimensions." (Section 7.1)

Online Components Outside the Main Session

Agencies can also require components that you complete through your NTN candidate account:

• Data Entry and Computer Simulations Test (ECOMM National Computer Simulations). It takes about 35 minutes, is taken on your own computer with a keyboard (not on a mobile device), and contains a Personal Self-Assessment, Data Entry of License Plate Numbers, Data Entry of Names, Listening and Understanding, and Cross Search and Entry. NTN strongly recommends headphones. You cannot see this score, and you can retake it only by re-applying for the job.
• Public Safety Self Assessment (PSSA). Emergency Communications candidates take Part 1 only: agree/disagree statements, up to 45 minutes, timed, finished in one sitting, with no skipping.
• Personal History Questionnaire. Background information that goes automatically to your chosen departments.
• NTN Typing Test, when an agency uses it. Capitalization and punctuation count, and uncorrected mistakes lower both your words per minute and your accuracy.

How Scores Are Used

There is no national passing score and no ECOMM "certificate." NTN gives your scores to each department you designate, and in NTN's words "individual departments choose scoring standards based on department needs." NTN also says its staff cannot discuss specifics about your score or how the exam is scored. Real postings show the range:

• One California city's dispatcher-trainee posting required a weighted ECOMM score of at least 70% plus minimum section scores (CallTaker 53, Notes 64, Dispatch 43).
• Some California agencies accept a POST Entry-Level Dispatcher test score as an alternative to the ECOMM, as long as it meets their minimum and recency rules.
• Other agencies simply rank candidates and invite the top scorers to the next step.

Because standards differ, aim to perform well on every subtest. A strong score on one part may not rescue a weak score on another if an agency sets section minimums.