Exam Study Guides

EXAM SPECIFIC:

• Account Clerk (Entry Level)
• Account Clerk (Senior & Principal)
• Caseworker (& Trainee)
• Clerk
• Custodian (Entry Level)
• Custodian (High Level)
• Investigator (Non Police)
• Police Chief/Assistant Police Chief
• Police Supervisors/Investigators
• Probation Officer/Probation Officer Trainee
  
• Public Health Technician
• School Secretary
• Secretary I & II
• Telephone Operator
• Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator
• Law Enforcement Officer (Entry Level)
  • Division of Criminal Justice Services, Training Academy Directory
  • GCC Rural Police Training Academy
  • Medical and Physical Fitness Standards and Procedures for Police Officer Candidates

'SUBJECTS OF EXAMINATION' STUDY GUIDES:

You may notice that the Subjects of Examination listed on your exam announcement are fairly broad, and that some questions may cover topics outside your daily responsibilities. This is intentional. Civil Service exams for competitive titles are not tailored to any one individual’s specific job duties. Instead, they are designed to measure a candidate’s overall knowledge and ability to learn the areas that Civil Service subject matter experts have identified as most relevant to the title.

Each exam announcement will list the specific Subjects of Examination included on that test. Below, you’ll find links to study guides covering many of the most commonly tested subject areas.

• Administrative Supervision
• Alphabetizing/Name and Number Checking
• Arithmetic Reasoning
• Basic Mathematics
• Coding and Decoding
• Educating and Interacting with the Public
• Evaluating Conclusions in Light of Known Facts
• Flowcharting/Computer Work Scheduling
• Fundamentals of Accounting and Bookkeeping (NEWLY ADDED 5/2025)
• Grammar, Usage, and Punctuation
• Interviewing/Investigative Techniques
• Legal Services
• Math Refresher
• Memory for Facts and Information/The Ability to Apply Stated Laws, Rules, and Regulations
• NYS Civil Service Math
• Office Practices
• Office Record Keeping
• Operations with Letters and Numbers
• Preparing Written Material
• Supervision
• Tabular Reasoning
• Understanding and Interpreting Written Material
• Understanding Tabular Material II/Quantitative Analysis