NCJOSI² cognitive practice
Practice reading, reasoning and visual skills. Start with a short drill, then take an 80-question timed cognitive practice test.
10 focused drills · Timed cognitive practice · Saved results
Separate observation from inference
Original practice example
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Choose a practice
Work on one skill with a six-question drill, or take the full cognitive practice test. Drills are untimed and let you check your reasoning as you go.
Full cognitive practice test
Work through every cognitive skill area with a running clock. Review your answers and explanations after the test ends.
10 skill areas · Answers and explanations at the end
80 questions · 120-minute practice target
Reading comprehension
Find details, supported inferences and the main point of a report.
Read a report → identify the supported conclusion
6 questions · Untimed drill
Written expression
Choose clear, accurate grammar and wording for written reports.
Compare four sentences → choose the accurate wording
6 questions · Untimed drill
Deductive reasoning
Apply supplied rules and exceptions to a new situation.
Given rules + facts → what must follow?
6 questions · Untimed drill
Inductive reasoning
Find supported patterns and relationships in records and data.
Compare observations → find the supported pattern
6 questions · Untimed drill
Problem sensitivity
Spot contradictions, overlooked conditions and procedural problems.
Review a situation → find the overlooked problem
6 questions · Untimed drill
Information gathering
Combine accounts and place reported information in a coherent order.
Combine accounts → establish a consistent sequence
6 questions · Untimed drill
Selective attention
Compare strings and symbols accurately despite close distractors.
Check each character → find the exact match
6 questions · Untimed drill
Spatial orientation
Follow maps, routes, turns and relative directions.
Map + route rules → choose the correct direction
6 questions · Untimed drill
Flexibility of closure
Locate a target shape within a more complicated drawing.
Target shape → find it within a drawing
6 questions · Untimed drill
Visualization
Practice shape rotation, paper folding and illustrated feature matching.
Follow stable features → compare the changed view
6 questions · Untimed drill
One NCJOSI² pass covers all of its drill replays and full cognitive tests. Your saved results and explanations remain available after the pass ends. Drills and tests draw from the same question pool, so questions can recur.
View your results and progressWhat this practice covers
Our timed test covers cognitive practice only. The published NCJOSI² battery also includes 120 behavioral and integrity items, with 150 minutes for the whole test. Our two-hour cognitive target and equal skill weighting are practice choices.
Visualization practice uses shape rotation, paper folding and fictional schematic feature matching. The illustrations do not reproduce photographic face-discrimination tasks.
What to check before you prepare
Public vendor and agency guidance describes the NCJOSI² format below. Recruitment dates and administration instructions depend on the hiring agency.
- Published format
- 80 cognitive items and 120 behavioral and integrity items
- Published test time
- 150 minutes for testing, plus 15 minutes of instructions
- Cognitive coverage
- Ten ability areas in the public study guide
- Your result here
- Cognitive accuracy, skill results and explanations
The skills behind the questions
The public NCJOSI² guide covers deductive and inductive reasoning, information gathering, problem sensitivity, selective attention, spatial orientation, verbal comprehension, verbal expression, flexibility of closure and visualization. Some require careful reading; others depend on spotting relationships or distinguishing a target from distracting visual information.
For passage questions, point to the sentence supporting your answer. For directions, keep a fixed north arrow and update your facing direction after every turn. For a conditional rule, check whether the question asks what must follow or what merely could happen. Those are different tasks even when the answer options look similar.
Review the mistake, then change the exercise
A useful review names the reason you missed the item. Did you reverse a direction, confuse a necessary condition with a sufficient one, overlook a negation, or select a statement that was plausible but unstated? Write one corrective action, then apply it to a fresh question. Remembering an answer is not the same as improving the skill.
Keep behavioral preparation honest. Read the response scale and describe your usual conduct accurately. A rehearsed personality profile is not a substitute for truthful answers. Our objective questions have explanations; they do not determine what personal history or personality a hiring authority should accept.
How to approach each skill
After reviewing a missed question, choose one method to use in your next drill.
Reading comprehension
Point to the words that support your answer. Do not add facts that are plausible but absent from the passage.
Written expression
Check agreement, tense, punctuation and precise word choice. A grammatical sentence must also preserve the intended meaning.
Deductive reasoning
Translate each rule into conditions, then test every required condition. Distinguish what must happen from what merely could happen.
Inductive reasoning
Look for a relationship that fits every relevant observation. Check an alternative explanation before treating a pattern as a cause.
Problem sensitivity
Compare the facts with the stated requirement. Identify the actual conflict instead of choosing a concern based on outside policing knowledge.
Information gathering
Track the source and timing of each fact. Distinguish a shared observation from an assumption that no source actually confirms.
Selective attention
Compare one position at a time, then recheck the most similar alternatives. Do not rely on a string’s overall appearance.
Spatial orientation
Keep north fixed and update your facing direction after a turn. Check blocked routes and distance information before choosing a path.
Flexibility of closure
Follow the target’s angles and proportions through the surrounding lines. Rotation or size changes do not justify changing the shape itself.
Visualization
Track stable features through a change of view or added accessories. Our schematic illustrations do not reproduce photographic face-discrimination tasks.
How to prepare
1. Verify the version
Look for NCJOSI² or NCJOSI2 in the invitation. Do not assume every police written test uses this version.
2. Establish accuracy
Try reading, reasoning and direction exercises untimed. State why the alternatives fail before adding speed.
3. Rotate skill areas
Alternate language, logic and visual tasks. A strong reading result does not establish readiness for the other areas.
4. Use the official instructions
Confirm the complete test schedule, navigation rules and permitted materials with your agency’s candidate information.
Our 80-question cognitive practice uses a two-hour practice target. Behavioral orientation is separate and unscored. Visualization includes schematic feature matching rather than photographic face-discrimination tasks.
Behavioral and integrity orientation
The real assessment uses these responses as part of selection. This short orientation explains the instructions; it does not grade your personality or personal history.
Read the response scale
An agreement scale asks how well a statement describes you. A frequency scale asks how often something happens. The same numbered position can mean different things on the two scales.
- Agreement
- Strongly disagree → Disagree → Neither → Agree → Strongly agree
- Frequency
- Never → Rarely → Sometimes → Often → Always
Prepare for accurate answers
This checklist stays on this page. No personal-history answers are collected or saved.
Common questions
Is NCJOSI² the same as the original NCJOSI?
No. Versions differ in scope and format. Match preparation to the exact version your hiring agency names.
What does the NCJOSI² pass include?
One NCJOSI² pass covers every cognitive drill replay and the full 80-question cognitive practice test. Review your answers, skill results and explanations, with saved history to compare comparable attempts. Your own saved reviews stay available after the pass expires.
Is the two-hour timer the official NCJOSI² cognitive limit?
No. Two hours is our cognitive practice target. IOS publishes 150 minutes for the complete battery of 80 cognitive and 120 behavioral or integrity items, plus instructions. We use eight questions per cognitive ability as our own balanced practice design, not a claim about official weighting.
Can I try a drill for free?
The example question needs no account. After sign-in, each drill card shows your available access. Where a free attempt is offered, you can try each short drill once; an NCJOSI² pass unlocks its replays and the full cognitive test.
What does visualization practice include?
There are original shape rotations, paper-folding questions and fictional schematic feature-matching exercises. The illustrations let you compare stable details across views or changed accessories; they do not reproduce photographic face-discrimination tasks. Follow the full skill coverage in your agency’s candidate material.
Can I calculate my official score from these questions?
No. You receive cognitive practice accuracy and worked feedback. We do not reproduce the complete battery, proprietary behavioral scoring, an agency ranking or an official pass threshold.
Will every replay contain entirely new questions?
No. Drills and full forms draw from a finite shared question pool. New arrangements can contain familiar questions, so use repeated material for learning rather than treating every higher replay score as evidence of exam readiness.
Should I look for the best personality answers?
Use the scale carefully and answer truthfully about yourself. Treat behavioral familiarization as understanding instructions, not memorizing an invented answer key.
Official sources
Reviewed October 2, 2026. Your current recruitment notice takes priority if an agency changes its dates or process.
Related police exam guides
Independent guidance and original practice questions. Not affiliated with police agencies, exam providers or CCS Test Prep.