SSPO (Sigma Survey for Police Officers): Pearson

SSPO (Sigma Survey for Police Officers)

Author: Douglas N. Jackson, PhD

Job-specific content helps ensure relevance.

To request a free trial, sample report, pricing, or other information, call 800-627-7271, ext. 3290.

Developed by Douglas N. Jackson, PhD, an international expert in personnel assessment, the SSPO (Sigma Survey for Police Officers) test helps evaluate the candidate’s skills in two critical areas. The Incident Report Writing section helps evaluate the candidate’s ability to write effective reports by assessing spelling, grammar and vocabulary skills. The Problem Solving section helps measure the candidate’s use of appropriate judgment by presenting scenarios requiring a decision by a police officer. Containing job-specific items, the SSPO test provides a relevant, reliable tool to help select and place qualified police officers.

How to Use This Test

Police chiefs and hiring managers can use the SSPO assessment to help:

Select candidates with the practical problem-solving ability required to solve on-the-job problems arising in police incidents and to act appropriately and with sound judgment

Select candidates with the skills to write meaningful, credible incident reports that may become permanent records in investigations and court proceedings

Key Features

Test items have been carefully selected for job relevance, increasing the instrument’s acceptability to candidates and employers and its ability to withstand legal challenges.

Easy-to-read results compare candidates to a large database of police officer candidates.

The self-administered SSPO test takes only 35 minutes to complete.

Automated fax-in scoring service, available 24/7, enables timely receipt of results.

Quick Facts

Qualification Level	1
Administer To	Individuals 18 years and older
Reading Level	9th grade
Completion Time	35 minutes, timed (74 multiple-choice items)
Format	Paper-and-pencil or computer administration
Report Option	Profile Report
Scoring Options	Q™ Local Software Automated Fax-in Scoring Service Optical Scan Scoring
Scales	Total Writing Aptitude, Police Officer Problem Solving
Norm Groups	1,413 job candidates

Norms

The SSPO test was normed on a contemporary sample of 1,413 job candidates applying for the position of police officer in various North American police forces. The sample consisted of 524 females and 808 males (81 did not specify their gender).

Scales

The SSPO overall score is expressed as a percentile for quick comparison to other police officer candidates. The overall score is based on the scores on the following sections:

Total Writing Aptitude

Spelling
Vocabulary
Language Usage

Police Officer Problem Solving

Sample Report

View a sample report.

Scoring Options

Q™ Local Software - Enables you to score assessments, report results, and store and export data on your computer.

Automated Fax-in Scoring - Tests completed on paper-and-pencil faxed-in sheets.

Optical Scan Scoring - Allows you to score the assessments at your site.