CPS Firefighter study plan
CPS Firefighter · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
Mathematical Reasoning & Mechanical Reasoning
Take a timed 45-item diagnostic spanning all five domains and record raw scores per domain.
Compute accurately with fractions, decimals, percentages, and ratios without a calculator.
Solve one- and two-step word problems by translating sentences into equations before calculating.
Identify the class, fulcrum, and load in first-, second-, and third-class levers and compute mechanical advantage.
Your checkpoint
Completed diagnostic with baseline scores for all five domains plus a 30-item error log tagged by cause (misread, concept gap, calculation slip, guessing).
Mathematical Reasoning & Mechanical Reasoning
Solve ratio, proportion, and percent-change problems drawn from staffing, hose, and water-supply contexts.
Convert units within and across metric and imperial systems, including gallons, liters, feet, meters, pounds, and kilograms.
Compute mechanical advantage and rope pull for fixed, movable, and compound pulley systems.
Determine direction and relative speed of gears in simple and compound gear trains.
Your checkpoint
Score at least 75% on a timed 30-item set combining math word problems and simple machines, with each miss rewritten as a correct worked solution.
Mechanical Reasoning & Reading Comprehension
Apply pressure, volume, and fluid-flow relationships to predict how a system responds when one variable changes.
Trace current, voltage, and resistance through simple series and parallel circuits and identify the effect of a broken component.
Extract main idea, supporting details, and sequence from multi-paragraph technical passages.
Separate stated fact from inference and opinion in passages that mix all three.
Your checkpoint
Complete two timed reading sets (five questions each) at 80% or better and 25 mechanical reasoning items at 75% or better, with a one-line justification written for every answer.
Reading Comprehension & Mathematical Reasoning
Draw supported inferences and state an author's purpose using only evidence contained in the passage.
Resolve unfamiliar vocabulary from context clues rather than prior knowledge.
Read and interpret tables, bar and line graphs, and labeled diagrams embedded in math items.
Solve multi-step arithmetic problems involving water weight, friction loss, and flow rates in fireground scenarios.
Your checkpoint
Score 75% or better on a 35-item mixed reading-and-math set under a single time limit, with a written review sheet listing every recurring error pattern.
Reading Comprehension & Situational Judgment and Human Relations
Summarize written procedures and policies and answer questions about order of operations within them.
Apply de-escalation and peer-feedback principles to conflict scenarios involving crew members.
Rank response options by safety, protocol, and chain of command instead of by personal preference.
Distinguish information that requires immediate action from information that can be logged and reported later.
Your checkpoint
Complete 20 situational-judgment items with a written rationale for each choice, scoring at least 16 of 20 and defending the four misses in writing.
Situational Judgment and Human Relations & Memory and Observation
Respond to scenarios involving public interaction, ethical pressure, and disagreement with a supervisor while citing a stated principle.
Encode and recall names, numbers, and addresses using chunking and mnemonic linking.
Recall specific details from a 60-second written scene description immediately and again after a 10-minute delay.
Reproduce a simple floor plan or map from memory after a single timed study pass.
Your checkpoint
Memory battery completed: 20-item recall test at 85% or better immediately and 70% or better after delay, plus 15 situational-judgment items with rationales.
Memory and Observation & Reading Comprehension
Sustain attention through rapid observation drills that require spotting differences between paired descriptions.
Increase reading speed on technical passages while holding comprehension above 80%.
Rework every logged error from weeks 1 through 6 and label the correct reasoning for each.
Practice time allocation so no single item consumes more than 90 seconds on a timed section.
Your checkpoint
Retake of all previously missed items with 90% or better correct, plus two timed mixed sections scored and charted against week-1 baseline.
Mathematical Reasoning & Situational Judgment and Human Relations
Complete two full-length timed simulations under test-day conditions with no interruptions.
Recompute missed calculation items by hand until each is correct twice in a row.
Rehearse the situational-judgment ranking strategy on 15 fresh scenarios to confirm consistency.
Finalize a one-page formula and principle sheet from memory and verify it against notes.
Your checkpoint
Two scored full-length simulations at or above the target passing percentage, with a final one-page error summary and a written test-day plan.
Milestones
Week 2: Baseline is established and the math-plus-mechanical set reaches 75%; the error log shows concepts being retired rather than repeated.
Week 4: A 40-item timed mixed set covering domains 1 through 3 scores at least 75%, and no single error cause appears more than twice in the log.
Week 6: Situational judgment holds at 80% or better with written rationales, and delayed memory recall reaches 70% or better.
Week 8: Both full-length simulations meet the target passing score, and every domain sits at or above 70% on the final charted review.