Civil Service NYC DCAS Free Practice Test (2023)

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Being one of the most populated cities in the world requires a comprehensive civil service system, so it’s no wonder New York City employs 325,000 civil service employees throughout 80 government agencies.

DCAS exams include more than ten different types of pre-employment exams for civil service positions. They all include similar types of questions; some include all kinds, and some have only a few.

This page includes a free practice test of the DCAS exams that provides civil service sample questions of all the different subjects you might face in your exam. If you're looking for more detailed information about the specific exams, like which type of questions your exam contains, you can check for more details on our official NYC Civil Service Exams page.

Written comprehension

This section measures your ability to comprehend written passages. You'll get a short paragraph of text, followed by multiple-choice questions that you must answer. The test is designed to evaluate your proficiency in understanding and utilizing appropriate language in written communication.

Please read the following paragraph and determine if the statement below is true or false.

Moisture control is the key to mold control. When water leaks or spills occur indoors, a prompt response (within 24-48 hours) and thorough clean-up will prevent or limit mold growth. Mold prevention tips include repairing plumbing leaks in the building and maintaining indoor humidity below 70%.

Statement: Plumbing leaks are a cause of mold growth.

A. True

B. False

C. Not Possible to say

Correct Answer

Incorrect Answer

Since one of the mold preventive tips in the passage is: ’repair plumbing leaks in the building’, we have sufficient information to conclude that plumbing leaks cause mold growth.

Written Expression

The written expression section evaluates your capability to use appropriate language to document situations clearly. This section contains multiple-choice questions in which the candidate is presented with a sentence that needs to be completed. You'll need to use your language understanding to select the most appropriate option to complete the sentence.

Which sentence is not punctuated correctly?

A. Ms. Tammy Banana, the President of the Orange Shirt Foundation, was caught wearing a yellow shirt at the lecture yesterday.

B. he whiteboard will be mounted on the wall by next week, according to the maintenance department.

C. The drunk driver made a report that he was driving within the speed limit, but he forgot to mention that he did not have a valid driver's license.

D. A doctor in Nigeria, whose husband died from Ebola, is now in stable condition.

Correct Answer

Incorrect Answer

The correct answer is C.
The drunk driver made a report that he was driving within the speed limit, but he forgot to mention that he did not have a valid driver's license.

A comma should be used before the word "but" to connect the two independent clauses.

Incorrect Answers
A: Ms. Tammy Banana, the President of the Orange Shirt Foundation, was caught wearing a yellow shirt at the lecture yesterday.

Punctuated correctly.

B: The whiteboard will be mounted on the wall by next week, according to the maintenance department.

Punctuated correctly; no additional punctuation needed.

D: A doctor in Nigeria, whose husband died from Ebola, is now in stable condition.

Punctuated correctly, in parenthetic expressions, commas are required before and after the phrase.

Memorization:

This section measures your ability to memorize information, such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures. Note that these pieces of information can be memorized by themselves or with other pieces of information.

Study the following image for five minutes. After the five minutes, you will be presented with questions relating to this image. You may not take notes during the five-minute study period. After you finish, hide the image and answer the following questions (In the test, the image will disappear automatically)

Question: In the image, who is on the phone?

A. True

B. False

C. Not Possible to say

Correct Answer

Incorrect Answer

Since one of the mold preventive tips in the passage is: ’repair plumbing leaks in the building’, we have sufficient information to conclude that plumbing leaks cause mold growth.

Deductive Reasoning

This section assesses your capability to utilize general rules to solve specific problems and arrive at logical solutions. The questions in this section evaluate your ability to use given information and make logical conclusions. By using your understanding of the information you provided, you will need to select the most logical conclusion statement.

Assume the first two statements are true. Is the final statement true?

- A coin is tossed to decide which of the two teams, the boys or the girls, will begin the match.
- Alex chose “tails,” and Jean’s team began the match.
- The coin showed “heads.”

A. Yes

B. No

C. Uncertain

Correct Answer

Incorrect Answer

The first statement defines a few rules:
1. One team includes only boys
2. One group includes only girls
3. A coin toss will determine which team will begin.

The second statement: Alex and Jean are both names that can b

Since we have no way of knowing whether Alex is a boy or a girl, or that Alex and Jean are not on the same team, we cannot be certain which team won the coin toss- the boys' team or the girls' team.

Inductive Reasoning

This section assesses your ability to combine separate pieces of information, or specific answers to problems, to form general rules or conclusions. It involves the ability to think of possible reasons why things go together. Questions are provided in various formats and include missing pieces of information. Using the given information, you'll be asked to draw a conclusion or generalization and use this to select which of the answers is the most appropriate.

Question: In 2015, a new task force was assigned to the city’s police department. Based on the information above, where will this task force would be most effective?

A. District 1

B. District 2

C. District 3

D. Equally divided between all the districts.

Correct Answer

Incorrect Answer

The correct answer is B.

Since 2010 there has been an upward trend in the crime rate in District 2, and in 2014 it had the highest crime rate of all three districts. It would therefore be most effective to assign an extra task force to this district to try and prevent any further escalation in crime.

Although the crime rate was highest in District 1 from 2010 – 2013, it has been decreasing every year since 2012.

Information Ordering

This section measures your ability to organize information in the correct order by following a given rule or set of rules. The things or actions that need to be ordered can include numbers, letters, words, pictures, procedures, sentences, and mathematical or logical operations, and the rule or set of rules used must be provided.

What is the next number in the series?

58 62 66 70 74 ___

A. 64

B. 68

C. 72

D. 78

Correct Answer

Incorrect Answer

The correct answer is 4.
The numbers in this series are constantly growing by 4. Therefore the next number will be 74+4=78.

Spatial Orientation

This section measures your ability to determine where you are in relation to the location of some object or where the object is in relation to you. questions may be given as maps or objects, and you'll be required to use your spatial awareness to determine which of the multiple-choice answers given is correct.

The map below is a scheme of subway lines in the city. Each line is marked by a different color and is associated with a different letter. Stations are numbered by their location on the line(s). The numbering of the stations progresses from the beginning of the line to its end. Lines always begin at the northernmost station, except for lines G and M which begin at the westernmost station. Codes associated with some of the stations have been written below them. A station can have more than one code associated with it, as some stations have more than one line passing through them.

Question: Ms. Sol Aroches needs to commute from station M3 to station O3. Which of the following routes would be the least efficient (passes through the most stations)?

A. M3 - M2 - B8 - C3 - O3.

B. M3 - C4 - O4 - O3

C. M3 - M5 - O3

D. M3 - B10 - B5 - O3.

Correct Answer

Incorrect Answer

Let’s count the stations traversed on each route.

M3 → M2: 1 station.
M2 → B8: Note that M2 = B10, so this is actually B10 → B8. 2 stations.
B8 → C3: Note that B8 = R3 and C3 = R5, so this is actually R3 → R5. 2 stations.
C3 → O3: Note that O3 = C2, so this is actually C3 → C2. 1 station.
A total of 1+2+2+1 = 6 stations.
M3 → C4: Note that C4 = M5, so this is actually M3 → M5. 2 stations.
C4 → O4: Note that O4 = M6, so this is actually M5 → M6. 1 station.
O4 → O3: 1 station.
A total of 2+1+1 = 4 stations.
M3 → M5: 2 stations.
M5 → O3: Notice that M5 = C4 and O3 = C2, so this is actually C4 → C2. 2 station.
A total of 2+2 = 4 stations.
M3 → B10: Note that B10 = M2, so this is actually M3 → M2. 1 station.
B10 → B5: 5 stations.
B5 → O3: Note that B5 = C1 and O3 = C2, so this is actually C1 → C2. 1 station.
A total of 1+5+1 = 7 stations.

Visualization

This section measures your ability to forming of mental images of how patterns or objects would look after certain changes, such as unfolding or rotation. In this type of question, you'll be asked to predict how an object, set of objects, or pattern will appear after the changes have been carried out.

Two separate objects are placed at the center of the screen, each with a dot placed in one corner. The answer choices contain the same two objects, rotated in some way. Choose only one of the five options that show both the dots placed in the same corners as in the model.

A. A

B. B

C. C

D. D

E. E

Correct Answer

Incorrect Answer

The correct answer is B

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