TEST PREP
It is time : The New Jersey LEE has been announced
DR . DAVID A . PAPROTA
The New Jersey Civil Service Commission ( NJCSC ) has opened the application period for the 2016 Law Enforcement Examination ( LEE ) which covers nine separate public safety titles . The NJCSC simultaneously opened applications for the corrections officer recruit position within the New Jersey Department of Corrections ( NJDOC ) as well . The online application period for the two separate announcements began on July 1 , and will close on Aug . 31 . The nine public safety titles covered by the 2016 LEE include : municipal police officer , sheriff ’ s officer , county police officer , park police officer , campus police officer recruit , police officer recruit human services , police officer Palisades Interstate Park , county corrections officer and corrections officer recruit for the Juvenile Justice Commission .
Candidates who apply for the LEE and / or NJDOC exam , as well as those who applied in June for the parole officer recruit position , will actually sit for only one exam later this fall that will cover all of the separate announcements and titles . The newly composed exam is the Law Enforcement Aptitude Battery ( LEAB ) which is written by the psychometric experts at EB Jacobs , LLC from State College , Pennsylvania .
There is very good news for those who are highly competitive and want the best chance of fairly beating their competition . EB Jacobs , the test-writing company , has completed an updated job-task analysis and validation study resulting in the development of an even longer test with newly devised scales built into its
sophisticated scoring matrix . The embedded scales are actually a series of algorithms and calculated factors within the test instrument that come together to affect and ultimately formulate the candidate ’ s final average . An adjustment in a scale or the addition of distortion scales within the exam can drastically impact a candidate ’ s score . A candidate who achieved an exceptional score on a prior version of the entry exam easily can find himself or herself with a significantly decreased score on the upcoming test . The exam preparation used by many in the past actually may prove detrimental to unknowing candidates during this cycle .
The EB Jacobs LEAB is the most comprehensive and sophisticated public safety assessment administered in this country . The examination consists of three distinct sections administered as one assessment over a continuous three-hour-and-40-minute test period . The decision to lengthen the examination has been made with very specific purpose . The goal of the most recent revisions , which have resulted in a longer examination , is to provide for more critical scoring of the last two psychometric sections of the test through use of enhanced scoring scales . The test writer has added an additional 71 trait assessment statements in part two and an additional 12 biodata questions in part three . The additional items are being included specifically to enhance and tighten the distortion / deception scales , which are known to have the potential to significantly detract from a candidate ’ s score . The length of the exam also poses an additional challenge ; reader fatigue etc . is a significant concern , as I have addressed in prior articles .
An exam of this length has not been administered since the LEAB , in its full form , first was utilized in New Jersey back in 2000 . By binding contract , the staff at EB Jacobs is required to provide the state with three equally weighted , newly written versions of the LEAB for this testing cycle . Of course , this is done to effectively eliminate the possibility of cheating within the exam cycle . Each of the three parts of the exam is unique . The company refers to the cognitive questions ( logical reasoning , reading comprehension , etc .) as the Ability Test ( part one ), which involves 48 multiple-choice questions . Part two of the LEAB is referred to as the Work Styles Questionnaire and consists of 173 trait assessment items . Part three involves 108 multiple-choice bio-data questions and is referred to as the Life Experience Survey . Each section is , in essence , a separate validated instrument that EB Jacobs pulls together as one scored assessment .
The new and more difficult exam is good news for those who properly prepare , as they undoubtedly will rise to the top and ultimately join the ranks of New Jersey law enforcement . This move by the test writers will significantly narrow the field of those who are qualified to prepare candidates properly for the upcoming exam . Improper guidance by unqualified individuals in the exam preparation business can and has , as it did during the 2013 entry cycle , caused candidates to falter on this sophisticated assessment . The test writers are well aware of that reality . Please let your friends and family know about the LEE application period and the benefits of proper , qualified exam preparation . Please feel free to email me any questions , and I will be happy to provide assistance . d
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NEW JERSEY COPS ■ JULY 2016
Dr . David A . Paprota is the Chief of Police in Lacey Township , a member of PBA Local 238 and the Executive Director of Critical Concepts and Strategies ( CCS ), an entry-level exam preparation company . Further information can be obtained through his website at www . ccstest . com or by emailing questions to info @ ccstest . com .