PA State Trooper study guide
PA State Trooper · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Pennsylvania State Police formed in 1905 and describes itself as the first uniformed police organization of its kind in the United States; it provides law enforcement and public safety services to the residents of and visitors to the Commonwealth, working alongside local, state, and federal partner agencies. Appointment as a State Trooper runs through Pennsylvania's civil service merit system, which Act 71 of 2018 (Civil Service Reform) describes as existing to "create and sustain a modern merit system of employment within the Commonwealth workforce that promotes the hiring, retention and promotion of highly qualified individuals." The written selection examination is the screening step that stands between an applicant and everything that follows - background investigation, physical readiness, and academy training - so it is worth preparing deliberately rather than casually. The PA State Trooper study guide has 5 sections and about 1,470 words.
01Reading Comprehension
Reading Comprehension on the Pennsylvania State Trooper written exam asks you to extract meaning from short passages and answer questions about main idea, supporting detail, inference, vocabulary in context, and author's purpose. The passages are often practical or informational, so treat each one as a set of claims you can verify against the text.
313 words, about 2 min02English Grammar and Usage
English Grammar and Usage tests whether you can identify and correct errors in standard written English. Expect sentence-completion and error-identification items covering subject-verb agreement, pronoun reference, punctuation, modifiers, parallelism, tense, and commonly confused words.
289 words, about 1 min03Mathematics
Mathematics on the trooper exam covers arithmetic, fractions and decimals, ratios and proportions, percentages, averages, unit conversion, and single-variable word problems. The goal is accurate calculation under time pressure, so translate the words into an equation before computing.
262 words, about 1 min04Reasoning and Problem Solving
Reasoning and Problem Solving tests logical deduction, ordering, pattern recognition, and conditional statements rather than memorized facts. You will see short scenarios that require you to decide what must be true, what could be true, and what cannot be concluded.
293 words, about 1 min05Observation and Memory
Observation and Memory measures attention to detail and short-term recall. You may be shown a scene, diagram, or short description and then asked about specific details after a delay.
313 words, about 2 min