What Did Everyone Think About The FDNY Exam?

[JBE 328]

I have to say, that "how would you deal with this situation" was a joke. Like Seth said, I didn't think of it as a firefighter, but I did think of it as how the city would want a person to think. I did get the 45 questions done in time, and had time to go back and look a few over. The Pease Rd one looked like a typo, so I went with the 9 and the matching apartment number. The photocopy of the chain was pi$$ poor, but if you looked close enough you could see it. There were a few of them that were definitely meant for the not so smart. Such as, after you strap on your radio, what do you put on next?? Or, the chief is the guy in the white helmet, where is he in this picture?? The map questions were an interesting little twist.

Edited January 22, 2007 by JBE

[paratrooper75 41]

I think the test was to easy. Too many people are going to get good marks on it. You could definitley have a not so smart person and a smart person both get the same score due to the lack of difficult questions. The psych questions should have been left for the psych part of the hiring process. I felt like they should of handed out crayons to take the test and gave us gold stars if we did good, like kindergarten.

[Guest car2267]

as far as #31 it was confusing but like some people are saying it can be protested, the chain link fence question was very difficult especially with the print quality, although the maps questions were gimme's as well as most of the other questions. I am curious as to how the desirable/non desirable questions will be graded, to me they seemed to be aqnswered by personal opinion, and how could you put a score on someones opinion. This test proves to be yet the most interesting and confusing test i have ever taken. so good luck to all who took it.

[JM15 386]

which one was question 31?

[JohnnyOV 2]

Im almost 100% positive the chain link was in section A...my copy was so bad on the picture looking for the chief, that the only reason I found him was because of his command board. Did anyone else have that problem?

[JM15 386]

That is how I found him too, I saw the command/accountability board. The chain one was hard but I found it.

[Guest]

Im almost 100% positive the chain link was in section A...my copy was so bad on the picture looking for the chief, that the only reason I found him was because of his command board. Did anyone else have that problem?

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Seeing the Command Board was my only clue. The print was so bad you almost could not see the white helmet.

[SageVigiles 1,194]

I think more than a few people will fail just because some of the answer sheets went vertically and some went horizontally... tricky DCAS...

[Guest]

i used the command post as well

[sbvfd596 2]

i saw both the command board, and the white hat,

how bout the one that had the gear rack, and you had to find the helmet w/ the flashlight on it?

[Guest GFD543]

i saw both the command board, and the white hat,

how bout the one that had the gear rack, and you had to find the helmet w/ the flashlight on it?

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i believe it was in section C?

[sbvfd596 2]

yeah

[Guest]

Paratroop...believe me, not everyone will get a passing score, no matter how easy you thought it was! Realize how many people took the exam, and I can guarantee you there will be those who either failed or more than likly got a score in the low 90's or 80's, which also would pretty much mean you failed (in terms that you more than likly won't get the job).

I've also seen many people in the past swear they did amazing, but when they received their grades, they were shocked. I have no doubt in my mind that the test was easy, DEFINITELY easier than most other exams, but it's too soon to tell. After all, after reading many of these posts, seems like this test has changed greatly since the old days, and has even caused alot of confusion amongst its takers.

Good luck to everyone, and just wait in the coming months to see the scores, and figure out where the problems were...

[Guest]

I think more than a few people will fail just because some of the answer sheets went vertically and some went horizontally... tricky DCAS...

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Then those people should have paid more attention and SHOULD fail

This test was sad, really sad. Not like it was even ONE test ago.

[Guest partyrock]

Firefighter Test Tosses Hopefuls A Few Curves

By GINGER ADAMS OTIS

The Chief

The Department of Citywide Administrative Services altered its long-standing policy of allowing civil service job applicants to leave exams with copies of their answers during the Jan. 20 test for the job of Firefighter.

According to several applicants who took the exam, it also added a section of questions that sought to establish how a candidate would respond to a given situation - applicants were asked to rate possible responses with variations of agreeing, disagreeing or in some cases strongly disagreeing.

Will Mail Test Keys

DCAS officials didn't explain why candidates weren't allowed to take copies of their exam responses home with them, but confirmed that a record of their answers would instead be mailed directly to applicants' home addresses.

Along with a copy of a proposed master answer key, applicants will get a letter explaining how to file answer protests, and the deadline for registering complaints. DCAS officials said letters will be mailed at the end of February.

Candidates will have the opportunity to appear on a specific date to review exam questions. By law, all protests must be reviewed by a panel of subject-matter experts.

Traditionally DCAS has permitted applicants for civil service positions to bring copies of their answers home so they can get a sense of how they performed.

DCAS officials didn't clarify whether the new procedure would be implemented for all future civil service exams or pertained only to the Firefighter test that was given Jan. 20.

DCAS spokesman Mark Daly said the Firefighter exam was administered at 15 sites around the city and that thousands lined up for both the 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. sessions.

Big Change of Pace

The altered protest procedure was one of many new developments Firefighter candidates discovered as they sat down to answer the approximately 190 questions.

Several applicants contacted this newspaper to talk about a set of questions-and-answers that was significantly different from what they'd been led to expect.

"I'd say that of the nearly 200 questions, only about 45 covered the topics I expected to see based on what I'd been told in the study sessions," said one young hopeful, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"The memorization part was exactly what I'd been told it would be, and the 45 other questions were fairly straightforward. But there was a speed section that we hadn't been told about, and then about 100 questions that seemed to have more than one answer - they were behavioral-type questions, is how I would describe them," the candidate added.

Grading Concerns

Applicants expressed confusion about how the tests would be graded. Since the FDNY last summer announced that it was adopting a new physical exam - the Candidate Physical Ability Test - which scores applicants as a pass/fail, the final ranking on the hiring list is determined solely by the written exam.

In its notice of examination, DCAS indicated that it had included new content. It contained the expected topics of written comprehension, memorization, deductive and inductive reasoning, information ordering, spatial orientation, visualization and problem sensitivity.

But new sections also contained questions testing number facility, conceptual speed, adaptability, tenacity, integrity, work standards, resilience, coordination, and "establishing and maintaining personal relationships."

Examples of questions provided by applicants included one involving a Probationary Firefighter who didn't properly clean a tool after responding to a fire.

Gauging Responses

"The possible answers were things like, 'Would you scream at the Firefighter? Would you try and talk to the Firefighter? Would you report the Firefighter? Would you clean the tool yourself?''' recounted one candidate.

He continued: "But you didn't just select the answer you thought best - you had to grade each possibility with Strongly Agree, Agree, Am Neutral, Disagree, or Strongly Disagree. What's the difference between Disagree and Strongly Disagree, for example? Am I going to receive a couple of points less because I didn't strongly disagree with something?"

Another scenario involved a firefighter being sent into the street to close down a hydrant on a hot summer day. Candidates were asked to rate possible interactions with community residents. Choices included waving tools in a threatening manner, ignoring the command because the residents would only turn it back on anyway, or explaining that keeping hydrants closed was crucial in maintaining adequate water flow in all parts of the city.

DCAS Not Explaining

DCAS officials didn't respond to requests for comment on how the testing material had been developed or how it would be graded. FDNY officials said they had no knowledge of the test's questions.

One agency source suggested, however, that queries about the test content - as well as complaints about unprofessional proctoring and logistical delays that left candidates waiting outside for hours after scheduled exam start times - were coming from candidates who felt they hadn't performed well and were hoping to discredit the process so tests would be held again.

An FDNY official also theorized that the new material was designed to better evaluate a candidate's communication skills. Such skills are increasingly relevant in a firefighting force that spends far less time fighting fires than it did 30 years ago and much more time handling medical and other emergency calls that require interaction with the public.

[27east 19]

I think more than a few people will fail just because some of the answer sheets went vertically and some went horizontally... tricky DCAS...

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It may be better if they do.

[LED138 10]

Although I didnt take the FDNY exam(too old now) Im reading the comments on here about the test and beleive me you will second guess yourself forever. Whats done is done, wait for the score. As far as the Psych part, NJ has been using this style of test for years for their PD tests. I whole heartedly agree that it is crap. Not sure how many questions FDNY had, but NJDOP puts close to 150 of them on the tests, as well as the math, maps, reading comprehension etc. They tell you to answer honestly, yet for some reason you still come out with an 80 or so. You are being graded by something/somone that has no info about you. The only thing I learned is that as long as you are on the right side of the fence with the answer its just a matter of getting 1 point or 2 points. With that said, Good luck to you all! And dont stress it

[Guest DFFD227]

does anyon know when the results will be released? I heard it was going to be fairly quick.

[Guest GFD543]

does anyon know when the results will be released? I heard it was going to be fairly quick.

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ive heard feb 20th