RankHighCompetitive Exam Prep

Reasoning and judgment

Problem sensitivity

Recognising that something is wrong, or is about to be, without being told to look for it. An aptitude measure, distinct from scenario-response formats.

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.

Problem Sensitivity

Tested as “Problem Sensitivity” on Firefighter, Police Officer, NYPD Police Officer, NYC School Safety Agent, CDCR Correctional Officer, NYC Correction Officer.

Noticing that something is wrong, or about to be, before anyone points it out — and judging which problem matters most.

Where people lose it

Picking the first thing that is wrong rather than the worst thing that is wrong. These questions usually contain several genuine problems and ask you to rank them.

How to work itRankHigh method

  1. List every problem you can see before choosing. There is rarely only one.
  2. Ask what each one leads to if nobody acts. Severity is about consequence, not about how obviously wrong it looks.
  3. Separate what has already gone wrong from what is about to.
  4. Choose on consequence, not on how easy the problem is to fix.

Not 'what is wrong here' — 'what goes worst from here'.

Advising and Interacting with Others

Tested as “Advising and Interacting with Others” on NY Probation.

Deciding how to respond first to somebody who is angry, confused, distressed or asking for something that cannot be given.

Where people lose it

Choosing the option that solves the problem fastest. These questions ask what to do FIRST, and the fastest solution is usually offered to somebody who is not yet able to use it.

How to work itRankHigh method

  1. Decide what state the person is in before you read the options, because that is what the required first response turns on.
  2. Where somebody is angry or upset, showing that you have heard them comes before explaining anything. An explanation offered too early is the commonest wrong answer.
  3. Be wary of options that apologize for a decision in a way that concedes it was wrong, or that close the conversation down as a first move. Neither is usually the response a published scale rates highest.
  4. Where you do not know an answer, say so and say when you will have it. Where somebody asks about another person's case, do not confirm even that the case exists.

Ask what the person needs before they can hear anything else. That is nearly always the first response.

Carry this into the room

  • Problem Sensitivity: Not 'what is wrong here' — 'what goes worst from here'.
  • Advising and Interacting with Others: Ask what the person needs before they can hear anything else. That is nearly always the first response.

Practice it on your own exam

Method only sticks against real questions. Every exam in the catalog opens with a free twelve-question diagnostic — in your browser, with a worked explanation for every answer, and no signup.

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