RankHighCompetitive Exam Prep

Numbers

Mathematical reasoning

Determining which mathematical operations a described situation requires, then applying them. The arithmetic is deliberately light; selecting it is the measure.

Exams on RankHigh that test this

What follows is our approach, not an official rule. What each question type measures is set by the body that runs the examination. How to work one is RankHigh’s method — it is what a good tutor would tell you, and there is more than one way to be right. Where an examination publishes its own instructions, those govern on the day.

Basic Arithmetic

Tested as “Basic Arithmetic” on NY Firefighter.

Recovering a missing number from a table by adding a row or a column, or subtracting what is printed from a total.

Where people lose it

Adding the wrong direction. A missing cell is found from the total of the line it sits in, and a row total and a column total answer different questions.

How to work itRankHigh method

  1. Find the placeholder first, then look at what crosses it: a row with a total, a column with a total, or both.
  2. If the total on that line is printed, add the figures that are printed and subtract from the total.
  3. If the total is what is missing, add the line straight across or straight down.
  4. Write the sum down rather than holding it, then check it against the total it came from.
  5. Ask whether the answer is the size the table would lead you to expect. A figure far outside the others is usually a misread line.

A calculator is allowed on this section. Reading the right line is the part it cannot do for you.

Data Interpretation

Tested as “Data Interpretation” on LASD Deputy Sheriff Trainee.

Reading a table of records and numbers to answer a lookup, a computed difference, or a conditional sum.

Where people lose it

Doing the arithmetic on the wrong rows. The table is built so that more than one row shares a name, a category or a partial match, and the question usually turns on picking out exactly the right one(s).

How to work itRankHigh method

  1. Read the question BEFORE scanning the table, and identify which column(s) and which filter (a name, a code, a date range) it actually needs.
  2. When a question names a condition (a specific position number, a specific school, a date range), find every row that satisfies it before calculating anything.
  3. For a difference, compute both values fully before subtracting — do not eyeball which row looks biggest or smallest.
  4. For a sum across a filtered set, list the rows that qualify first, then add, so a qualifying row is never silently skipped.

Find every row that matches the question's condition before you touch the arithmetic.

Mathematical Reasoning

Tested as “Mathematical Reasoning” on NYC Correction Officer.

Working out WHICH calculation a situation actually calls for, then carrying it through. The arithmetic is deliberately simple; choosing it is the test.

Where people lose it

Reaching for the numbers before understanding the situation. Every wrong option is the answer to a calculation somebody plausibly performed — usually one operation off, or the right operation on the wrong pair of numbers.

How to work itRankHigh method

  1. Say in words what you are being asked to find, before touching a number.
  2. Ask which numbers in the question are actually relevant. Some are there to be left out.
  3. Decide the operation and why, then compute. Deciding and computing at once is how the wrong pair gets multiplied.
  4. Sanity-check the direction: should the answer be bigger or smaller than what you started with?

Work out what to calculate first. The sum itself is the easy half.

Record Keeping

Tested as “Record Keeping” on NY Clerical.

Reading a table of records and working totals, differences, averages and percentages out of it.

Where people lose it

Answering from the wrong row, or taking a percentage of a column total when the question asked for a share of everything.

How to work itRankHigh method

  1. Read the question before the table, then take only the figures it needs.
  2. Use the TOTAL line where it helps: it adds the columns, so it answers a column question directly and never a row one.
  3. For a share, decide the denominator explicitly — the column, or the whole table.
  4. For a ranking, work out every row total first. Either column on its own usually gives a different order.

The arithmetic is light on purpose. Choosing which arithmetic to do is what is being measured.

Carry this into the room

  • Basic Arithmetic: A calculator is allowed on this section. Reading the right line is the part it cannot do for you.
  • Data Interpretation: Find every row that matches the question's condition before you touch the arithmetic.
  • Mathematical Reasoning: Work out what to calculate first. The sum itself is the easy half.
  • Record Keeping: The arithmetic is light on purpose. Choosing which arithmetic to do is what is being measured.

Practice it on your own exam

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