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NEW JERSEY COPS ■ FEBRUARY 2015
TEST PREP
Understanding the State Corrections recruit exam
This spring, the New Jersey Civil Service Commission (NJCSC) will administer the State Correction Officer Recruit examination to prospective
candidates vying for a position with the New Jersey Department of Corrections (NJDOC). The
actual examination being administered is a threefactor, psychometric examination officially
known as the Law Enforcement Aptitude Battery
DR. DAVID A.
(LEAB). The examination is authored by a PennPAPROTA
sylvania-based company known as EB Jacobs.
The company establishes a 3-hour-and-20minute time limit to complete the 246 items on the current LEAB.
The LEAB is referred to as a three-factor psychometric examination because it consists of three distinct parts which are scored
separately and then combined as weighted means to produce a
final average. A candidate who fails to meet the minimum threshold for any one of the three sections fails the overall exam regardless of how he or she performs on the other two sections.
Generally, based on the standardized scoring metrics used by EB
Jacobs, 17 percent of the candidates who sit for the examination
will fail.
While candidates all strive to achieve the highest score possible
(99.990), the fact is that the examination is scaled to provide a
near equal distribution of scores throughout the pool of eligibles
who meet at least the minimum standards and pass the LEAB.
When the final pool of eligibles is produced by EB Jacobs for the
NJCSC, there will be nearly as many candidates who score in the
70.000 to 70.990 range as those who score in the 99.000 to 99.990
range.
Part 1: Written abilities – cognitive section
The first part of the examination involves 48 multiple-choice
questions (A thru D responses), specifically designed to test the
following cognitive dimensions: reading comprehension; written
and oral expression; inductive reasoning; deductive reasoning;
information ordering; and problem sensitivity. There are eight
questions for each of these six areas spread randomly throughout
the first part of the LEAB.
Section 1 contains the type of questions candidates expect to
see when sitting for a competitive public safety examination.
Each question has one correct answer. EB Jacobs recommends
that two hours of the 3 hours and 20 minutes be dedicated to this
section.
Part 2: Work styles questionnaire – personality assessment
This section of the exam is often referred to as the most
difficult. It is not a diagnostic, psychological examination to
determine if a candidate is suffering from a mental illness; that
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