Police Analytical Thinking Inventory (PATI)
Brief description
The Police Analytical Thinking Inventory (PATI) test assesses the ability to apply analytical thinking. The PATI assessment has three key areas of responsibility for police officers when performing their duties. These areas include:
Deductive reasoning
This is the ability to take information provided by the environment and subsequently draw the appropriate conclusions from this data. When in action, police officers are often required to make sense of what they see by making conclusions about its meaning. This crucial ability is assessed through the syllogism and travel time tasks.
Improvement Strategy: This is a search for information on basic syllogism or logic in a library or on the Internet.
Inductive reasoning
Inductive reasoning is the ability to find common characteristics or trends from a series of objects or from information that has been presented. In many cases, police officers need to comb through facts that may seem unrelated at first and subsequently make judgments about how these facts fit together. This ability is tested by way of the classifications and serious completion tasks.
Improvement strategy: Look for information in local libraries about inductive reasoning. By using the search word ‘inductive reasoning’, examples can be easily found on the internet.
Quantitative reasoning
Quantitative reasoning is the ability to apply basic arithmetic operations like subtraction, addition, multiplication, division, and fractions. Police officers are required to use arithmetic processes that determine rate of travel, stopping distances, and other similar mathematical problems.
Improvement strategy: In order to practice these tasks, a common strategy is to complete calculations by longhand and then double-check results with a calculator. Book stores can be perused for math books that specialize in word problems and computation. In addition to this, Adult Learning Centers can often provide assistance in finding resources to assist with improving computational strategies.
Administration
The PATI is a paper and pencil test. Completion of the test usually take about 1 hour and 45 minutes. 15 minutes for administrative duties, and 1.5 hours for the actual test.
Validity period
A successful test result will remain valid for three years.
Retest waiting
If a candidate does not meet the standard for the PATI the first time they take the test, they need to wait no less than three months from the last test date before making another attempt. Those who have not met the standard on the next test must then wait six months before testing again.
If a successful PATI result is set to expire, candidates may renew within 2 months prior to the expiration date, or anytime afterwards.
What are some good methods for studying for the PATI?
The PATI is basically a test, and candidates who apply scientific study techniques stand a great chance and doing very well on this exam.
One of the best ways to study for any exam is to practice on a test with similar questions in a police prep book. The PATI is no different, and there are many online resources that prospective police officers can use to study for the test. By clicking on one of the various free tests, candidates will be given a general idea of what to expect and how to study for the PATI test. In many cases, pre-tests will give questions and answers that closely mirror those given on the actual test.
When working through all the police prep book material, best results will be found if the candidate focuses on doing one exam at a time.
The PATI police test is one of the first obstacles you need to tackle in becoming a police officer. For some that hate taking tests, this can be a pretty big obstacle to overcome. Test takers that are smart do anything they can to give themselves an edge in taking a test. Test prep is the answer to all your test taking anxieties. Using a police prep book for the different tests you’ll need to take is how you’re going to want to tackle the different portions of the PATI test. This is the leg up that you’ll need to succeed.
The police prep book will go over each individual section without you needing to find a new book to cover the various sections. In the PATI test, you can expect to see three sections: deductive reasoning, inductive reasoning, and quantitative reasoning. These sections may sound pretty fancy, but are tasks that you might even do already, such as simple math problems. Deductive reasoning will focus on logic and syllogism. Inductive reasoning will focus on finding trends or common characteristics in a set of information provided to you. Quantitative reasoning is basic arithmetic that you can expect to see as an officer.