LAFD FCA study plan
LAFD FCA · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
General aptitude: ability to quickly learn new material & Basic arithmetic
Build a personal study log and time each session to confirm the 6-hour weekly budget is workable alongside your job.
Practice active recall on unfamiliar written material: read a 600-word passage once, close it, and write down every fact you can reconstruct.
Drill multiplication tables 1-12 and squares 1-20 to automatic recall using flashcards, 10 minutes daily.
Solve 30 multi-step word problems involving unit rates and percentages, showing every step on paper.
Review each missed item the following day and rewrite the correct reasoning in your own words.
Your checkpoint
A one-page recall scorecard showing your first-pass fact reconstruction accuracy on three separate 600-word passages, plus 30 graded arithmetic problems with error notes.
General aptitude: ability to quickly learn new material & Reasoning
Learn a three-step method for unfamiliar material (skim headings, form questions, then read for answers) and apply it to two new technical passages.
Convert five dense paragraphs into outline form using only keywords and arrows.
Practice deductive reasoning on 20 syllogism-style items, marking the premise and conclusion in each before answering.
Identify and label five common reasoning traps (reversed causation, hasty generalization, equivocation, circular support, irrelevant appeal) in short written examples.
Explain each trap aloud in under 60 seconds without notes.
Your checkpoint
A trap log listing 15 distinct example statements you wrote yourself, each labeled with the trap type and a one-sentence correction.
Reasoning & Written and audio comprehension
Work 25 ordering and sequencing puzzles (scheduling, ranking, seating) and draw a diagram for every one.
Read 10 short passages aloud, then summarize each in exactly two sentences, capturing the main claim and the supporting reason.
Listen to 10 recorded passages of 2-3 minutes each (news clips, lecture segments) and take keyword notes without pausing playback.
Compare your audio notes against the source and mark every detail you missed or distorted.
Practice distinguishing stated fact from inference in 20 short scenarios.
Your checkpoint
An audio-notes accuracy table for 10 recordings showing the number of key facts captured out of the total available per clip, with a trend line across the set.
Written and audio comprehension & Basic arithmetic
Complete 40 arithmetic items covering fractions, decimals, ratios, and percent change under a 90-second-per-item limit.
Rewrite every wrong answer as a corrected worked solution, naming the specific slip (misread, place value, operation order).
Transcribe three 3-minute audio passages verbatim in shorthand, then check word-level accuracy.
Identify the speaker's main point and tone in five audio samples where the tone is neutral or misleading.
Review weeks 1-3 notes and re-test 20 previously missed items to confirm retention.
Your checkpoint
A timed arithmetic set of 40 items with score, elapsed time, and a categorized error tally, plus three transcriptions with accuracy percentages.
Reasoning & Basic arithmetic
Solve 20 data-interpretation problems using tables and text-described rates, computing averages, totals, and percent differences by hand.
Practice estimation to check answers: round each result and confirm the magnitude is plausible before finalizing.
Work 15 logic-grid puzzles with multiple constraints and record how long each takes.
Build a one-page formula sheet (percent change, rate, average, ratio) and use it on 20 mixed problems without looking anything up.
Re-derive each formula from a simple numeric example to prove you understand it, not just memorized it.
Your checkpoint
A completed mixed set of 20 data and rate problems with hand calculations shown, estimated check values, and a formula sheet you reproduced from memory.
General aptitude: ability to quickly learn new material & Written and audio comprehension
Learn 40 new general-knowledge terms or concepts from a self-built list and test yourself with spaced recall on days 1, 3, and 6.
Read two 800-word passages on unfamiliar topics and answer five self-written comprehension questions per passage.
Listen to two 5-minute audio segments and write a five-point summary from memory, then verify against the source.
Practice note-taking shorthand for numbers, names, and dates during audio playback.
Identify the structure of three passages (problem-solution, cause-effect, compare-contrast) and note the signal words used.
Your checkpoint
A spaced-repetition log showing recall scores for 40 terms across three test days, plus two audio summaries scored against source content.
General aptitude: ability to quickly learn new material & Reasoning & Written and audio comprehension & Basic arithmetic
Take two full-length timed practice sets mixing all four domains, 45 minutes each, under exam-like conditions with no interruptions.
Score each set by domain and compute your percentage correct per domain.
Rank your three weakest item types and write a targeted fix for each.
Re-drill 30 missed items from weeks 1-6 without notes, then check.
Practice a 10-minute pre-test routine (breathing, skim instructions, budget time per section) and rehearse it twice.
Your checkpoint
A two-column diagnostic report comparing domain scores across both practice sets, with the three weakest item types and their fix plans listed.
Reasoning & Written and audio comprehension & Basic arithmetic
Take one final timed practice set and aim to beat your week-7 domain scores on at least three of four domains.
Re-test all items missed in weeks 7 and 8 until each is answered correctly twice in a row.
Recite your formula sheet and reasoning-trap list from memory in a single 15-minute session.
Simulate the exam morning: sleep schedule, materials ready, and a 20-minute warm-up of 10 easy arithmetic items.
Write a one-page exam-day plan covering time per section, when to skip, and how to flag items for review.
Your checkpoint
A final score summary by domain with week-7 versus week-8 comparison, plus a completed one-page exam-day plan.
Milestones
Week 2: You can reconstruct at least 70% of key facts from a single read of an unfamiliar 600-word passage and correctly label five reasoning traps in self-written examples.
Week 4: Your timed 40-item arithmetic set is at 80% or better within the 90-second-per-item limit, and audio transcription accuracy is at least 85%.
Week 6: You recall at least 32 of 40 new terms on the day-6 spaced test and can summarize a 5-minute audio segment in five accurate points from memory.
Week 7: Both full-length mixed practice sets are completed under time, with per-domain scores recorded and every domain at or above 70%.
Week 8: Final practice set shows improvement over week 7 in at least three domains, all previously missed items are cleared twice, and the exam-day plan is written.