Reading a Physical Efficiency Test Result Correctly
A male candidate aged 24 appears for the Physical Efficiency Test for constable recruitment. The notice reproduced for the day states: 1600 m run - qualify in 5 minutes 40 seconds or less; long jump - minimum 4.00 m, best of three attempts; shot put (7.26 kg) - minimum 6.00 m, best of three attempts; all three events must be cleared on the same day and there is no re-attempt once the day's list is closed. Measurement is to the nearest centimetre in the long jump. He was called at 1:10 p.m. after waiting about three hours in the sun with no water point nearby. He completed the run in 5 minutes 52 seconds, recorded a best long jump of 3.95 m and a best shot put of 6.40 m. He says he had trained to 5 minutes 45 seconds and had cleared 4.10 m in practice.
1. Assess his result event by event and state the overall outcome, showing the margin in each case.
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Run: 5 minutes 52 seconds = 352 seconds against a cut-off of 5 minutes 40 seconds = 340 seconds. He is 12 seconds over, so the event is failed. There is no rounding benefit here because the timing is recorded and compared directly.
Long jump: best of 3.95 m against a minimum of 4.00 m, a shortfall of 5 cm. Since measurement is to the nearest centimetre, the gap is real and not a rounding artefact; a reading of 3.95 m cannot be treated as 4.00 m. Failed.
Shot put: best of 6.40 m against a minimum of 6.00 m, a margin of 40 cm. Passed.
Since all three events must be cleared on the same day, one pass and two fails mean the candidate is not qualified, even though the shot put margin is comfortable. The correct answer to him is a clear "not qualified today" with the three figures written against the three standards. Two of the three gaps are small, which is precisely why the result must be reported with the exact numbers and not summarised as "just missed", so that he knows what to train and can see that the decision was arithmetic, not discretionary.
2. He argues that the heat and the three-hour wait cost him his run and asks for another attempt now. How do you respond, and what do you record?
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I would acknowledge the point seriously rather than dismiss it, because heat and a long wait before a 1600 m run genuinely affect performance. But the request cannot be granted at my level: the notice states that there is no re-attempt once the day's list is closed, and allowing one candidate a second attempt while refusing others would make the test unfair to everyone who ran in the same conditions. The conditions, moreover, applied to the whole batch, so they do not distinguish him from the others.
What I would do is three things. First, note the actual conditions - the reporting time, the call time, the wait, and the absence of a water point - in the attendance sheet, because if there is a systemic defect it affects every candidate and must go up the chain, not be settled by a favour to one. Second, tell him the lawful channel: a representation to the recruitment board or the designated appellate authority under the notification, in writing, with his event slips. Third, check the slips themselves for clerical error, since a misread 3.95 for 3.99 or a misrecorded time is a real and correctable problem.
The judgement being tested is that sympathy for a candidate is not a ground for changing a published rule, but a defect in conduct of the test is a legitimate ground for an official report.
3. He wants to know which event to train for first. Use the numbers to advise him, including a pacing target for the run.
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Required pace on the run: 340 seconds over 1600 m means 85 seconds per 400 m lap, or 1 minute 25 seconds, four times. His 352 seconds is 88 seconds per lap, so he is losing about 3 seconds per lap, roughly 3.5 per cent. That is a modest but real gap, and it is usually the easier one to close because even splits are trainable; his reported practice time of 5 minutes 45 seconds was itself outside the cut-off, so his training target must be well inside it, say 5 minutes 25 to 5 minutes 30 seconds, to allow for the conditions on the day.
Long jump: the gap is 5 cm on a 4.00 m requirement, about 1.25 per cent. Small, but it needs a clean trial, correct run-up measurement and no foul, because the best of three is lost if all three are faulted.
Advice: both gaps are close, so train both, but prioritise the run, since a 12-second improvement is achievable in weeks, while the jump requires technique work and confidence. He should practise at the required pace with 400 m splits, and rehearse the run-up until it is repeatable. He should also arrive hydrated and, if rules allow, ask about reporting order.