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The Public Service Entrance Exam (PSEE)
Canada's Public Service Entrance Exam is used to select candidates for officer-level positions in the federal public service. It includes two subtests that assess reasoning ability (PSEE Test of Reasoning 373- TOR) and judgment of work situations (Test of Judgement 375- TOJ).
Candidates could be given both PSEE subtests (TOJ, TOR) or only one of them, as unsupervised internet tests (PSEE UIT 370), or following a supervised version of these tests (PSEE 371).
Read more about Civil Service tests.
Read more about the Public Service Exam 371 on the official site.
PSEE Sample Questions
Sub-test 1: Test of Reasoning (372/373)
This test assesses your reasoning and problem-solving ability. The unsupervised version (372) consists of 26 multiple-choice questions whereas the supervised test (373) consists of 30 multiple-choice questions. Both test versions have a time limit of 90 minutes. You will encounter four types of questions:
Number or Letter Series
Letter or Number Series questions require you to find the rule that was used to create a series of numbers/letters to correctly complete the series.
For example:
Select the correct number to complete the following series:
48 | 63 | 72 | 75 | 72 | ?
The terms in this series are made out of multiplication between 2 numbers, each creating an inner series:
1. The red numbers decrease by 3 in each step.
2. The black numbers increase by 1 in each step.
Hence, the next term will be: 7*9 = 63.
Solving tip:
(1) Since the repeating number is in an odd location both times it is unlikely that the series follows an odd/even rule.
(2) The repetition of the number 72 may serve as a clue that the multiplication is composed of two numbers- one number that is increasing and the other decreasing.
Note: some previous test takers that tried number series sample questions provided by the official website have found those a lot easier than the questions they recieved on the PSEE test. Our full PSEE preparation Pack is based on thorough research to make sure the questions you practice accuratly simulate the exam.
Arithmetic Reasoning Questions
Numerical reasoning word problems that require identifying an unknown value based on the given information.
For example, try the following question:
How many different pizzas can Juliana eventually order?
Logical Reasoning Questions
Logical reasoning questions test your ability to apply logical conclusions to the given information. You will be asked to choose which statement can be validly concluded from a collection of arguments.
For example:
Read the facts and determine their relation to the conclusion:
Facts:
A box contains many marbles.
Some of the marbles are green.
Almost half of the marbles are red.
All of the marbles that are neither green nor red are orange.
Conclusion:
There are more green marbles than orange marbles in the box.
Analytical Reasoning Questions
These questions test how well you can make inferences based on given information. You will be given the relationships between different nouns and required to deduce what other relationships follow.
Read the following information:
All psychologists are scientists. All nice people are psychologists.
Which of the following statements must be true?
When solving this type of question, it is sometimes helpful to create a visual illustration:
The illustration shows that the group of 'nice people' is included in the group of psychologists, which are included in the group of scientists. We can therefore conclude that all nice people are scientists.
Note: saying “all psychologists are scientists” does not imply that all scientists are psychologists since there still might be some scientists outside the group of psychologists.
Note that The unsupervised TOR UIT 372 contains the same question types as the supervised TOR. The only difference is that it consists of 26 multiple-choice questions, where only 25 questions will count (there is one pilot question that will not affect your score).
Sub-test 2: Test of Judgement 375
This test assesses your ability to use judgement for solving problems in work-related situations. It consists of 40 multiple-choice questions that you will have to complete within 3 hours. (that includes 30 minutes for administration). The unsupervised TOJ UIT 374 consists of 52 multiple-choice questions with a time limit of 75 minutes.
Public Service Entrance Exam 371 (PSEE) Solving Tips
JobTestPrep invites you to take advantage of our PSEE resources. Below are some useful strategies and tips for tackling the PSEE. Start preparing with JobTestPrep today and ensure your success.
Tips for the PSEE Test of Reasoning
- You won't have intense time pressure, but don't be fooled into thinking that you won't need every second of those 90 minutes! It is important to work carefully and diligently, but just as important to keep moving and to leave the difficult questions for the end.
- Questions are not presented in order of difficulty. If you encounter a challenging question we recommend that you mark the question for review and move on.
- There are no penalties for wrong answers, so if you do not know an answer, eliminate as many incorrect answers as possible and guess.
Tips for the PSEE Test of Judgement
The average amount of time you are allotted per question on the Test of Judgement is just under 90 seconds. Like the Test of Reasoning, you will not be under intense time pressure, but you will still need to use every second wisely.
Solving the questions does not require any calculations, deductions, or deep analytical reasoning. However, you will be required to fully understand the dilemma at hand and the potential outcomes of the proposed solution. Therefore, when solving these questions, we suggest the following steps:
- Spend 40-45 seconds reading and fully internalizing the situation - think of the ideal solution.
- Spend 30-35 seconds reading and fully understanding the proposed solution. Think about how similar it is to your ideal solution and contemplate the possible outcomes of implementing the proposed solution.
- Mark an answer and move on. Don’t spend too long on any one question. Remember, you want to answer as many correct questions as possible and there may be some very easy questions towards the end. If you are unsure about the answer, make a note to yourself to come back to it at the end. If you follow these guidelines, you can complete every question and still have approximately ten minutes remaining to go back and review the harder questions.
Secure Your Success Preparing With PSEE PrepPack™
It is highly recommended to familiarize yourself with the PSEE exam structure and question types prior to the actual exam, in order to build up your confidence for test day. JobTestPrep offers you the most comprehensive and professional PrePack, so that you can solidify your preparation, enhance your competitiveness and secure your success.
