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The Firefighter Selection Test is designed to identify individuals who will succeed in training and will be superior job performers as firefighters.  Before you invest the time and money to train a new employee, test your applicants for skills like:

• Mechanical Comprehension
• Reading Comprehension
• Report Interpretation
• Cognition

This test provides the answers you need to make informed hiring and promotion decisions.

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Not the perfect fit?  No problem.  We have many similar tests to choose from.  See alternatives in the LAW ENFORCEMENT & PUBLIC SAFETY category section of our site.

See the companion products – Work Orientation Survey and Firefighter Learning Simulation as well.

The Firefighter Selection Test is 1/3 of the Firefighter Selection System (FSS).  The FSS consists of three job-related instruments that can be used together or separately:

• The Firefighter Selection Test
• Firefighter Learning Simulation
• Work Orientation Survey

The Firefighter Selection Test (FST) is designed to identify individuals who will succeed in training and will be superior job performers as firefighters.  It can be used in conjunction The Firefighter Learning Simulation which replicates the type of learning which takes place in the fire academy.

The Firefighter Selection Test is a 100 item, multiple choice test that measures mechanical comprehension, reading comprehension, and report interpretation – cognitive abilities known to identify individuals who will succeed in training and will be superior firefighters. It is a paper/pencil test divided into three sections with a 2½ hour time limit.

The test items are job-related and based upon language and situations commonly encountered in firefighting. These tests are inexpensive, easy to administer, fair, job-related and in conformance with the relevant legal and professional requirements. It can be combined with other selection instruments such as a physical ability test and/or an oral interview to develop a selection system for firefighters at your agency. Please note that this test is only available in a paper format and is only for entry level candidates (it should not be used for promotion).

The Firefighter Selection Test Content Covers Three Key Knowledge Domains:

• Mechanical Comprehension: the knowledge of various mechanical principles that are relevant to the job of firefighters.
• Reading Comprehension: the ability to read a passage and answer a question which reflects understanding of the content of the passage. The passages in the test were taken from actual firefighter training materials.
• Report Interpretation: assesses the ability to read charts and reports concerning fire department data and interpret that information correctly.

Applications:

The Firefighter Selection Test is inexpensive, easy to administer, fair, job-related and in conformance with the relevant legal and professional requirements. It can be combined with other selection instruments such as a physical ability test, oral interview or the Work Orientation Survey and Firefighter Learning Simulation to develop a selection system for firefighters at your agency. It can be used as a pass/fail screening device to reduce the number of applicants to process in other phases of the examination, or it can be scored as a separate component of the selection system.

Job-Related

Reading Comprehension and Report Interpretation items reflect language and problems commonly encountered by firefighters, such as reviewing fire department data and reading training manuals. Mechanical Comprehension items reflect basic principles of mechanics and physics commonly encountered by firefighters.

Advantages For Your Agency

Quick and Easy Validity Link-Up Study Available
A transportability study can be conducted to support the use of the FST in your agency. Our in-house procedure links your jobs to our job analysis and validity data, following the Uniform Guidelines’ requirements for transporting validity.

The FST is a valid predictor of:

• Job and Task Performance
• Fire Academy Performance
• Drop-out Rates

Simple Administration: The test consists of three parts. A single 2.5 hours time limit allows most examinees to complete the test. The instruction to test administrators and examinees are straight forward and easy to follow. Two forms of the FST are now available.

Easy to Score and Interpret: Quick, accurate scoring can be done manually or with optional scanning. An optional scoring service is available.

Proven Utility: In a study of 720 candidates hired into 26 different fire academy classes, candidates who scored below 70 on the FST were seven times as likely to wash out of training than those scoring 70 or above (23.8% vs. 3.4%).

Demonstrated Validity: Three criterion-related studies support the predictive validity of the FST. Statistical comparisons show conclusively that the test scores are positively related to training and job performance. The higher a candidate scores on the test, the better that individual’s performance will be in training and on the job.

Unbiased: Special attention was paid to ensure the FST material did not contain material that might be offensive to any demographic group. The validity of the FST was analyzed by ethnicity to ensure it was not biased against protected ethnic subgroups.  An analysis of criterion-related studies has shown that the FST is fair to blacks and Hispanics. Test fairness studies demonstrated that the test is fair to minorities and non-minorities.