The police-officer written entrance exam — adaptive practice for the reading, writing, math, reasoning, judgment, and spatial skills the tests reward.
Police hiring starts with a written exam, and each agency chooses its own: California POST’s PELLETB, the NPOST, the NYPD’s exam, and National Testing Network’s FrontLine all differ in format. But they measure a common core — reading comprehension, clear writing (grammar, vocabulary, word choice), everyday math, logical reasoning, situational judgment with people, and reading maps or diagrams. The formats vary; the underlying skills don’t.
Those skills are built, not crammed. Keentune’s adaptive drills target each one — reading closely, writing correctly, working numbers quickly, reasoning through patterns and deductions, choosing the sound interpersonal move, and thinking spatially — meeting you at your level and getting harder as you improve. Use the sections below to practice the skill behind each part of your agency’s exam.
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What’s on the Police Exam
Questions
65–78 multiple choice (POST publishes ranges per form)
Time
1 h 45 min of testing (≈2 h 15 min with instructions)
Scoring
T-score — 50 is average; POST recommends a 42+ hiring cut
Retake wait
30 days
Cost
Set by the administering agency or academy
Format change
CLOZE sub-test removed effective Jan 1, 2025
Clarity (writing ability)
15–18 Q
Pick the more clearly written of two sentences — misplaced modifiers, vague pronoun reference, run-ons, and fragments.
Vocabulary (writing ability)
15–18 Q
Choose the nearest synonym for an underlined word — common words of law-enforcement work.
Spelling (writing ability)
15–18 Q
Pick the correctly spelled word for a blank in a sentence, from four spellings of the same word.
Reading comprehension (reading ability)
20–24 Q
Passages from a paragraph to a page, with detail and inference questions.
PELLETB structure from the CA POST Applicant Preparation Guide (2025 form) and CLOZE-removal FAQs, post.ca.gov (verified July 2026). Shown as the best-documented example — other exams differ: the NPOST tests arithmetic, reading, grammar, and report writing (counts unpublished); the NYPD exam lists nine abilities including memorization (count unpublished); NTN FrontLine is video judgment plus cloze reading and a written report.
Practice by section
Reading comprehension
Read passages, policies, and incident narratives closely — main idea, detail, and inference.
The writing-ability skills these exams reward — spelling, grammar, word knowledge, exact word choice, and the clarity judgment behind the PELLETB’s pick-the-clearer-sentence items.
Police written exams vary by agency — the PELLETB, NPOST, NYPD exam, and National Testing Network’s FrontLine all differ. Keentune’s spelling practice mirrors the PELLETB writing sub-test’s format (pick the correctly spelled word), and the video-based situational-judgment and observation sections of exams like FrontLine are approximated by the judgment drills here, not replicated. The timed sim follows the PELLETB’s published four-sub-test structure at the mid-range of each published count (POST publishes ranges, not fixed counts), approximates the two-option clarity sub-test with clear-writing and grammar items, and reports a raw score — not an official T-score. Keentune is independent study practice — not affiliated with or endorsed by any POST commission, Stanard & Associates, PSHRA/IPMA-HR, National Testing Network, CPS HR, or any city or state agency; not a copy of any official test format; and no exam result is guaranteed.
Which police written exam does this practice cover?
The shared skill core, not one vendor’s format. Agencies choose their own test — California POST’s PELLETB, the NPOST, the NYPD exam, National Testing Network’s FrontLine, or a city-specific exam — but nearly all of them test reading comprehension, writing and vocabulary, everyday math, reasoning, and judgment. Check your agency’s job posting for which exam it uses, then practice the skills here.
What is on a police written exam?
Most combine reading comprehension (passages, policies, incident narratives), writing skills (grammar, vocabulary, spelling, clarity), basic math, logical reasoning, and often situational-judgment and map or diagram questions. It is an aptitude test, not a law test — you are not expected to know statutes or procedures before the academy.
Does this replicate the PELLETB’s spelling section — and what about CLOZE?
The CLOZE sub-test is gone: California POST removed it from the PELLETB effective January 1, 2025, so the current battery is clarity, vocabulary, spelling, and reading comprehension. Spelling is covered directly: Keentune’s spelling drills use the same task as the PELLETB sub-test — pick the correctly spelled word to complete a sentence — and every explanation teaches the rule behind the word, not just the answer. The timed sim includes a full spelling block. For the official presentation, also work through POST’s Applicant Preparation Guide.
What score do I need to pass?
It depends on the agency and exam. The PELLETB reports a T-score — 50 is average, and California POST recommends agencies use at least 42 as the hiring cut, though competitive academies often want more. FrontLine and NPOST set agency-specific cutoffs, and many departments rank candidates by score rather than pass/fail. Higher is always better — rank often determines who moves to the next hiring stage.
How should I prepare for the situational-judgment questions?
They reward reading the situation and choosing the response that is safe, fair, and de-escalating — not the most aggressive or the most passive one. Keentune’s social- and emotional-intelligence drills train exactly that judgment: each scenario has one defensible best move, and the explanation names the tempting mistake.
Is this practice free, and is it official material?
The practice is free — no signup to start. It is independent study practice aligned to the skills police exams share; it is not official material from any POST commission, test vendor, or agency, and Keentune is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of them.
All exam, test, and product names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners and are used here for identification and reference only. Keentune is independent study practice — not affiliated with, authorized, or endorsed by any of these organizations.