MD POST study guide
MD POST · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The MD POST entry exam is the written screening step used by Maryland law-enforcement agencies to judge whether an applicant has the basic academic and judgment skills the job demands. Most candidates meet it while applying to a municipal police department, a county sheriff's office, or the Maryland State Police, and each agency runs its own hiring process on top of the written test. The MD POST study guide has 7 sections and about 2,176 words.
01Reading Comprehension
The Reading Comprehension domain tests how accurately you extract meaning from police-related prose: policy excerpts, incident narratives, community notices, and legal explanations. Questions ask for explicit detail, main idea, inference, vocabulary in context, and author's purpose or tone.
378 words, about 2 min02Writing and Grammar
The Writing and Grammar domain tests Standard Written English in the register police reports require: correct sentence structure, punctuation, agreement, pronoun reference, modification, parallelism, and concise, objective wording. Items often present a sentence with one error or ask you to choose the clearest revision.
325 words, about 2 min03Mathematics
The Mathematics domain tests practical arithmetic: percentages, ratios and proportions, averages, unit conversions, time-rate-distance problems, perimeter and area, and interpretation of tables or graphs. A calculator may not be allowed, so careful setup and estimation matter more than complex computation.
325 words, about 2 min04Situational Judgment and Human Relations
This domain tests judgment in police-related interpersonal and ethical situations: de-escalation, chain of command, bias-free policing, teamwork, community trust, and integrity. The best answer is usually lawful, safe, respectful, and procedurally correct, not merely the toughest-sounding option.
291 words, about 1 min05Observation
The Observation domain tests attention to detail, systematic scanning, and detection of inconsistencies. You must notice specific features rather than rely on a quick first impression.
307 words, about 2 min06Memory
The Memory domain tests encoding and recall of names, numbers, descriptions, and sequences. Memory is not fixed; structured rehearsal and chunking reduce load.
272 words, about 1 min07Report Writing
The Report Writing domain tests your ability to produce clear, factual, chronological, and objective police reports. Evaluators look for completeness, organization, correct grammar, and professional tone.
278 words, about 1 min