Police Now Assessment Online Assessment and Cognitive Ability Tests Syllabus

Online Assessment and Cognitive Ability Tests syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Online Assessment and Cognitive Ability Tests in Police Now Assessment, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Situational Judgement Test (SJT)

   4 topics

   • Format and response styles
     • Most/least effective ranking items
     • Rating effectiveness of responses
   • Scenario themes
     • Ethical dilemmas and integrity
     • Public interaction and conflict
     • Teamwork and supervisor relationships
   • Mapping responses to police competencies
   • Common SJT pitfalls and over-thinking traps
2. 2

   Verbal and Critical Reasoning

   4 topics

   • Reading comprehension under time pressure
   • True / False / Cannot Say logic
     • Distinguishing inference from assumption
     • Avoiding outside-knowledge errors
   • Evaluating arguments and identifying bias
   • Working with policing-style written passages
3. 3

   Numerical and Data Reasoning

   4 topics

   • Percentages, ratios and rates
     • Crime statistics and trend calculations
     • Percentage increase and decrease
   • Interpreting tables, charts and graphs
   • Estimation and mental arithmetic strategies
   • Time, distance and resource problems
4. 4

   Abstract and Logical Reasoning

   3 topics

   • Identifying sequences and patterns
   • Spotting the odd one out
   • Deductive logic and rule inference
5. 5

   Test Strategy and Preparation

   3 topics

   • Time management and pacing
     • Knowing when to skip and return
     • Guessing strategy when scored
   • Practising with realistic timed conditions
   • Managing test-day technical and environment issues

Online Assessment and Cognitive Ability Tests flashcards for Police Now Assessment

25 of 51 cards from the Online Assessment and Cognitive Ability Tests deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. In a Situational Judgement Test (SJT), what are the two most common response formats used?

   (1) 'Most/Least effective' — pick the best and worst action from a list; and (2) Rating scales — rate each response option independently (e.g. from 'Very ineffective' to 'Very effective').

2. What is the key difference between a 'rank the responses' SJT and a 'rate each response' SJT?

   Ranking forces you to order all options relative to one another (only one can be best), while rating judges each option on its own merit — meaning two responses can both be scored 'effective' independently.

3. In SJTs, what does it mean that responses are scored against a 'concordance' or 'expert' key?

   Your answers are compared to the consensus of experienced police officers/experts; you earn marks for how closely your judgement matches theirs, not for a single absolute 'right' answer.

4. Name three recurring scenario themes you should expect in a policing SJT.

   Common themes include: dealing with a distressed or vulnerable member of the public, managing conflict between colleagues, responding to unethical/dishonest behaviour, prioritising competing demands, and handling a difficult or aggressive individual.

5. When an SJT scenario involves a colleague behaving unethically (e.g. accepting a gift), what is generally the most effective first response?

   Address it appropriately — usually by tactfully challenging the behaviour and/or escalating through proper channels (e.g. a supervisor) — rather than ignoring it, covering for them, or confronting them aggressively.

6. Why is it important to 'map' each SJT response to a police competency before judging it?

   Because the 'effective' answer is the one that best demonstrates the behaviours in the competency framework (e.g. integrity, public service, working with others); mapping keeps you aligned to what assessors actually reward.

7. In the College of Policing Competency and Values Framework (CVF), what are the four key values that underpin behaviour?

   Impartiality, Integrity, Public Service, and Transparency.

8. List the six behavioural competencies in the College of Policing CVF that SJT responses are commonly mapped to.

   (1) Emotionally aware, (2) Take ownership, (3) Working collaboratively, (4) Deliver, support and inspire, (5) Analyse critically, and (6) Innovative and open-minded.

9. Which CVF competency is most relevant when an SJT scenario tests how you respond to a distressed victim?

   'Emotionally aware' — showing empathy, understanding others' feelings, and treating people with compassion and respect.

10. What is the classic SJT 'over-thinking trap' of inventing extra context?

    Adding assumptions not given in the scenario (e.g. imagining hidden motives or unstated facts) and answering the imagined situation instead of the one actually described — judge only the information provided.

11. Why is choosing the most 'dramatic' or 'heroic' SJT action often a pitfall?

    Effective policing usually favours proportionate, procedural responses (gather information, follow protocol, involve a supervisor); overly heroic or extreme actions ignore process and risk and are typically scored as less effective.

12. In SJTs, why should you avoid the 'do nothing / wait and see' option in most ethical scenarios?

    Passivity usually fails the 'Take ownership' and integrity expectations; police assessors reward taking appropriate, timely action rather than avoiding responsibility.

13. What is the SJT pitfall of 'second-guessing the test-maker'?

    Picking an answer you think they 'want' rather than the genuinely most effective one, or deliberately choosing an extreme option to seem decisive — this distorts judgement; answer as a professional officer realistically would.

14. What is a reliable two-step strategy for tackling a 'most and least effective' SJT item quickly?

    First identify the clearly worst option (the 'least effective') as it is often obvious, then compare the remaining options against the competencies to select the single 'most effective'.

15. In a verbal reasoning test, what is the core instruction for the 'True / False / Cannot Say' format?

    Judge each statement using ONLY the information in the passage: True = logically follows from the passage; False = contradicts the passage; Cannot Say = cannot be confirmed or denied from the passage alone.

16. In True/False/Cannot Say questions, why must you ignore your own outside knowledge?

    Because the answer must be derived solely from the given passage; a statement that is true in the real world but not supported by the text should be marked 'Cannot Say'.

17. A passage states 'Most officers completed the training.' The statement reads: 'All officers completed the training.' What is the correct answer?

    False — 'most' explicitly does not mean 'all', so the statement contradicts the passage.

18. A passage describes a new patrol scheme but never mentions its cost. The statement claims 'The scheme was expensive.' What is the answer?

    Cannot Say — the passage gives no information about cost, so it can be neither confirmed nor denied.

19. Which words in a 'Cannot Say' statement most often signal an unsupported claim?

    Absolute or causal words such as 'all', 'never', 'only', 'best', 'because', and 'always' — these frequently go beyond what a passage actually states.

20. When evaluating an argument, what makes an argument 'strong' versus 'weak' in critical reasoning tests?

    A strong argument is both directly relevant to the question and important to the issue; a weak argument is irrelevant, trivial, of minor importance, or relies on assumptions outside the scope.

21. In critical reasoning, define 'bias' in a written source.

    Bias is a one-sided slant where a source emphasises information that supports a particular view while downplaying or omitting opposing evidence, often shown through emotive or loaded language.

22. What is the difference between a fact and an opinion when analysing a policing-style passage?

    A fact can be verified or measured objectively (e.g. 'crime fell by 5%'), whereas an opinion expresses a judgement, belief or value ('the policy was a success') that cannot be directly proven from data alone.

23. What is an 'inference' in reading comprehension?

    A conclusion drawn from evidence and reasoning in the text rather than from an explicit statement — what the passage implies but does not directly say.

24. What reading technique helps you answer comprehension questions fastest under time pressure?

    Skim the passage for structure/gist first, read the question to know what you are looking for, then scan back to the relevant lines to locate the precise supporting detail — avoid reading every word deeply upfront.

25. Convert the fraction $\frac{3}{5}$ to a percentage.

    $\frac{3}{5} = \frac{3 \times 20}{5 \times 20} = \frac{60}{100} = 60\%$.

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