NYPD School Safety Agents are specialized security personnel employed by the police department to serve students and teachers. Under New York law, they are considered peace officers and have the capability of making warrantless arrests, using handcuffs and deploying other forms of appropriate restraint.
Before becoming a school safety agent, you’ll need to pass an exam with several sections to qualify for an interview.
Exam Details
To be considered qualified for an interview as a school safety agent, you must first pass an exam. The exam is a series of aptitude tests to understand your abilities to retain and learn new information, and it is meant to determine your success in police training.
The School Safety Agent exam contains nine sections. The questions are in the multiple-choice format, and you need 70% to pass. The sections are:
- Written comprehension – your ability to decipher information from a passage of text
- Written expression – your ability to communicate effectively through writing
- Memory questions – your ability to recall information
- Problem sensitivity – your ability to pinpoint a problem and identify a solution
- Deductive reasoning – your ability to apply logic to a scenario
- Inductive reasoning – your ability to gather pieces of information and form a conclusion
- Information ordering – your ability to follow a specific sequence of events
- Spatial orientation – your ability to properly assess your surroundings
- Visualization – your ability to mentally rearrange photos or words
Scoring a 70% does not guarantee an interview. Therefore, you’ll want to practice as much as you can. The higher your score, the better shot you’ll have at scoring an interview.
Exam Preparation
The best way to prepare for the School Safety Agent exam is to access practice tests. Take the tests in a timed environment, similar to the length of the actual exam. This will allow you to assess how you’ll perform under added pressure, and identify the weaker areas of your knowledge. Once you’re aware of how you can improve, you can access study guides and video tutorials to help you better understand any of the areas you were struggling in. Keep using those practice tests while you study to get a practical awareness of the questions that will be asked on exam day and how you’re expected to answer.
Start practice today and improve your hiring chances
NYC school safety agent practice exam free
Various situations you might encounter as a School Safety Agent. Practice making quick and effective decisions in different scenarios.
- Situational Judgment: You witness two students engaged in a heated argument in the hallway. What steps would you take to de-escalate the situation and ensure the safety of all students and staff?
- Emergency Response: A fire alarm goes off in the school building. Describe the immediate actions you would take to ensure the safe evacuation of students, and how you would assist emergency responders.
- Security Procedures: How would you conduct a thorough bag search when screening visitors entering the school premises while maintaining a respectful and professional demeanor?
- Communication Skills: Describe how you would effectively communicate with parents who have concerns about the safety of their children in the school environment.
- Conflict Resolution: If you encounter a situation where a student is involved in a physical altercation, outline the steps you would take to separate the students and defuse the situation.
- Law Enforcement Protocols: Explain the procedures you would follow when collaborating with local law enforcement agencies in the event of a serious security threat or incident.
- Crisis Management: A student makes a threat against the school on social media. What actions would you take to assess the credibility of the threat and ensure the safety of the school community?
- Safety Procedures: Describe the steps you would follow to conduct a routine inspection of the school premises to identify potential safety hazards.
- Ethical Decision-Making: If you suspect a staff member of engaging in inappropriate behavior with a student, detail the steps you would take to report the situation and protect the student’s welfare.
- Understanding Policies: Explain the key components of the school’s emergency response plan and how you would implement it during various types of emergencies.
