What is Public Safety Testing?
Public Safety Testing (PST) provides an online application and testing service for anyone looking to secure a role in a public safety agency.
Public Safety Testing centralizes the public safety recruitment process, allowing applicants to complete only one online application, written selection assessment, physical ability test, and personal history statement, rather than many.
Your application and test scores are shared with all agencies you indicate an interest in, without the need for large amounts of extra testing or paperwork.
Hundreds of public safety agencies, across the Northwest and beyond, have entrusted the streamlining of their hiring process to Public Safety Testing since its creation in 2000.
Currently available public safety positions, by location, are listed on PST’s career opportunities page.
What are the different Public Safety Testing tests?
To assess whether you are a suitable candidate for a role in public safety, you will need to complete the appropriate ability assessment.
There are three different tests: the Firefighter Selection Tool (FST), Law Enforcement Officer Selection Tool (LST), and the Dispatcher Selection Tool (DST).
The Law Enforcement Officer Selection Tool covers both law enforcement and corrections officer/deputy roles, while paramedics and emergency medical technicians are required to sit the Firefighter Selection Tool test and an EMT exam.
All assessments test both cognitive abilities and non-cognitive traits, but encompass different testing areas to make them relevant for each occupation.
The PST testing areas you may encounter in your selection tool exam include the following:
Deductive reasoning
Deductive reasoning tests your ability to analyze information to come to logical conclusions. These multiple-choice questions will present a passage of text or selection of connected sentences. Using this information, you’ll need to indicate which of the given statements is correct.
Deductive reasoning tests are timed, so you’ll need to work quickly and accurately.
Deductive reasoning is useful for gaining insight into problem-solving capacity and the ability to make rapid decisions under pressure.
This test section is included in the Firefighter Selection Tool, Law Enforcement Officer Selection Tool, and the Dispatcher Selection Tool.
Flexibility of closure
The flexibility of closure test assesses the ability to identify or isolate figures, objects, words, or sounds hidden within a piece of complex, distracting material.
It is a test section specific to police officer roles, as individuals in these positions need to be able to notice and recognize key details that may be important for a case.
As such, this test section is included in the Law Enforcement Officer Selection Tool.
Inductive reasoning
Inductive reasoning explores the capacity to analyze the relationships between shapes and identify the rule(s) governing a pattern. It is similar to diagrammatic reasoning and abstract reasoning.
The questions will present a series of figures in a sequence (composed of shapes, lines, or symbols). You will be required to select which figure comes next in the sequence from a list of options.
This test section is included in the Firefighter Selection Tool, Law Enforcement Officer Selection Tool, and the Dispatcher Selection Tool.
Spatial orientation
The spatial orientation test assesses the ability to efficiently navigate spaces or travel across areas. This test section is included in the Firefighter Selection Tool, Law Enforcement Officer Selection Tool, and the Dispatcher Selection Tool.
All the occupations require navigation skills to respond to callouts (or navigate the closest unit to the incident site). In addition, firefighters require spatial awareness to traverse buildings rapidly and successfully. Law enforcement officers may also need these skills during physical operations.
Information ordering
The information ordering test presents information which must be sorted according to a particular logic (which will be disclosed in the question). Questions may cover certain procedures and their key temporal, logical or spatial steps.
For all the public safety occupations, identifying the best course of action and implementing its steps is fundamental. Being able to isolate and order these stages under pressure indicates the ability to evaluate, select, and perform a specific task in a safe and effective manner.
This test section is included in the Firefighter Selection Tool, Law Enforcement Officer Selection Tool, and the Dispatcher Selection Tool.
Written comprehension
The PST written comprehension test is a verbal reasoning assessment, measuring the ability to understand, analyze and interpret passages of text.
The questions will present text that you’ll need to read carefully. From this, you’ll be asked to indicate whether a series of statements are ‘true’, ‘false’ or if you ‘cannot say’ from the information given.
Questions will also assess your understanding of appropriate vocabulary, correct grammatical structure and punctuation. They will be multiple-choice, so you’ll select the correct synonym or sentence structure from a set of options.
This test section is included in the Firefighter Selection Tool, Law Enforcement Officer Selection Tool, and the Dispatcher Selection Tool.
Written expression
The PST written expression test is, again, similar to a verbal reasoning test. Unlike the written comprehension test, though, it doesn’t cover interpretation. You won’t be asked to make any deductions or inferences from the text, but solely asked questions that focus upon grammatical structure, punctuation, vocabulary, and syntax.
This test section is included in the Firefighter Selection Tool, Law Enforcement Officer Selection Tool, and the Dispatcher Selection Tool.
Oral comprehension
PST’s oral comprehension test assesses the ability to listen intently and rapidly make sense of information. Questions will be based around auditory information such as a series of spoken words or sentences.
You may be asked to recall the information, or to indicate which statements are true or false (or if you cannot say) based upon the information you heard.
This test section is included in the Dispatcher Selection Tool, as dispatchers need to quickly compute information from callers.
Selective attention
The selection attention test explores the ability to focus intently, block out distractions, and avoid fatigue. You’ll need to display that, for a particular length of time, you can focus upon an outlined aspect or feature, ignoring all irrelevant information.
This test section is included in the Dispatcher Selection Tool, as 911 dispatchers need to listen for the key information callers provide and make appropriate decisions. Due to the importance of small details, dispatchers can’t afford to let their attention wane on shift.
Speech recognition
The speech recognition test evaluates how you make sense of spoken words. This test section is included in the Dispatcher Selection Tool, as 911 dispatchers need to understand the speech of callers, which may be muffled, frantic, or jumbled.
The test involves listening to snippets of speech and answering questions around the information contained.
Mathematical reasoning
Mathematical reasoning assesses your skill level in manipulating numerical data. Multiple-choice questions will cover concepts such as percentages, fractions, ratios, sequences, general arithmetic, and basic algebra. The data will be presented in graphs, charts, and tables.
This test section is included in the Firefighter Selection Tool. Rapid mathematical skills are important for firefighters, as they need to calculate the required hose length and ladder distances when under immense pressure.
Visualization
The PST visualization test is also included within the Firefighter Selection Tool. This test assesses the ability to identify what an object or shape will look like after it has been manipulated or rearranged.
You’ll be presented with a series of objects and shapes, impacted by the scenarios or rules governing them. You’ll need to visualize what the next step in the process or sequence will entail and select the correct visualization of the impact from a set of answer options.
Non-cognitive traits
The non-cognitive trait section of the PST selection tools explores your work style and personality. Similar to a situational judgement test, the assessment looks at your behavioural preferences and how you would respond to a series of hypothetical scenarios related to your chosen public safety role.
There are also questions that explore your motivations, interests, and personality traits, like those encountered on a personality questionnaire. These insights help judge whether you have a suitable disposition for a role in public safety.
This test section is included in the Firefighter Selection Tool and the Law Enforcement Officer Selection Tool.
