I'm preparing for the San Diego Police Department written exam and I'm getting conflicting information about the current test format. Some of the prep materials I've found online are from 2019-2021 and I don't know how current they are. Has the format changed significantly in the past couple years?
I have a BS in criminal justice and some security experience but no prior law enforcement. I'm 27 and this is my first application to any PD. I know the SDPD is competitive — I've heard they receive something like 3,000-4,000 applicants per cycle and hire maybe 60-80.
My main prep focus right now is reading comprehension and situational judgment since I've heard those sections are the most predictive. Is that correct or are there other sections I should be prioritizing?
Also — does the written score affect your total score going forward in the process or is it purely pass/fail at the initial screening stage?
The current format as of 2025 is reading comprehension, writing ability, situational judgment, and memorization/observation. The memorization section catches people off guard — you're shown a scenario and then tested on details. Practice that specifically.
Reading comprehension and situational judgment are absolutely the right focus. They're weighted heaviest and they're where the spread between candidates is largest. Criminal justice degree won't help much on those — they're aptitude-based, not knowledge-based.
The competition ratio you mentioned sounds about right for a typical cycle. Don't let it psych you out — a large portion of applicants are eliminated by basic disqualifiers before the written exam even scores matter. Just focus on your own performance.
The written score does carry forward as part of your overall ranking. It's not purely pass/fail — a higher score puts you higher in the hiring queue. Scoring in the top 20% vs. just passing can mean the difference between getting a background investigation offer quickly vs. waiting 12+ months.
I'm about three weeks out from my test date and just hit 78% on a full practice run last night, which honestly felt better than I expected. The reading comprehension and writing sections weren't as bad as I thought they'd be, but the situational judgment stuff definitely tripped me up at first until I got used to how they phrase things.
From what I've gathered the format hasn't changed dramatically from what's floating around online, so older prep materials are still mostly useful. Just don't sleep on the writing component because it counts more than you'd think. Good luck to everyone else testing soon.