UDEE Test Complete Guide and Practice [2024]

What Is the Uniformed Division Entrance Exam?

The UDEE Test (Uniformed Division Entrance Exam) is used to test candidates for service in the uniformed units of the United States Secret Service. This is a computer-based exam that is intended to evaluate candidates regardless of whether they have prior law enforcement or military background so that all applicants have an equal opportunity to succeed.

It is a challenging exam, including a total of 300 questions and taking up 3 hours and 45 minutes (including breaks), and is comprised of 6 sections:

  • Critical Thinking - 23 questions in 30 minutes
  • Situational Judgment - 82 questions in 34 minutes
  • Memory Skills - 12 questions in 8 minutes
  • Figural Reasoning - 14 questions in 32 minutes
  • Writing - 30 questions in 35 minutes
  • Work Style Inventory Test - 139 questions in 25 minutes

Further below we explore each section in more detail, including sample questions and answers.


UDEE Test Sections, Questions, and Answers

The Uniformed Division Entrance Exam is separated into six sections, each measuring a different set of cognitive or behavioral skills.

Let's go over the sections one by one, including sample questions with answers.

 

UDEE Test Section #1 - Critical Thinking

In this UDEE test section, you will be shown a series of passages, and have to answer questions to demonstrate that you've been able to understand the passages in-depth. This section has 23 questions and will take you about 30 minutes to complete.

The questions follow a standard format – each passage is followed by several statements, which you must rank either True, False, or Indeterminable based on your understanding of the passage.

UDEE Critical Thinking Sample Question

An inmate's jailhouse phone call instructing relatives to relay to his attorney his willingness to accept a plea deal is not protected by attorney-client privilege, a federal appeals panel has ruled.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that the inmate—who knew that his call was being recorded—-did not have a "reasonable expectation of confidentiality" when he told his sister to tell his brother to tell his attorney that he wanted to discuss whether he could "cop-out" before an indictment.

Because the inmate "was aware that his calls were being recorded, and there is no indication that he could not have contacted his attorney directly without being monitored, the district court did not abuse its discretion in finding there was no reasonable expectation of confidentiality in his communications," a unanimous circuit panel stated.

 

The court found that phone calls made in prison by inmates are not protected by the attorney-client privilege.

True
False
Cannot Say
Correct Answer
Incorrect Answer

The event in question is much more specific and conditional than the statement above.

The court that found that a specific inmate's phone call is not protected by attorney-client privilege based its ruling on two considerations:

  • The inmate knew that his call was being recorded.
  • The inmate apparently could have preserved his attorney-client privilege had he only contacted his attorney directly.

Thus, the inmate knowingly surrendered his attorney-client privilege.

The court did not make any ruling about the attorney-client privilege of phone calls made in prison by inmates in general, but it follows that without the two considerations being satisfied, the inmate does have an attorney-client privilege.

Therefore, the answer is False.

 

UDEE Test Section #2 - Situational Judgment

In this section, containing 82 questions to be solved in 34 minutes, you will be shown 15 brief animated scenarios that can plausibly come up during your employment as a Uniformed Division officer.

For each scenario, you are given 5-6 responses (a total of 82 responses that are divided between the 15 different scenarios) and you are requested to rank them on a 7-point scale between 'Very Ineffective' to 'Very Effective'.

The Situational Judgment section is intended to evaluate your expected behavior in interpersonal scenarios and your general sense of professionalism – not your knowledge of the law!

UDEE Critical Thinking Sample Question

Jen has recently joined your team. She seems responsible and eager to learn. After a two-week training period, you feel that she is ready to begin taking some part in projects and learn from working with more experienced officers.

You assign her to Tim - a highly qualified and experienced officer who is currently loaded with work and you believe could use her help.

However, when you talk to Tim about your decision, he objects to it, saying that training a new employee will only slow down his pace.

 

Please judge the effectiveness of each statement for holding the situation using the following rating scale:

  1. Very Ineffective
  2. Moderately Ineffective
  3. Slightly Ineffective
  4. Neutral
  5. Slightly Effective
  6. Moderately Effective
  7. Very Effective

 

  1. Say that while you understand Tim's concerns, you want Jen to learn from someone you highly value and trust is capable of adjusting to the new situation.
  2. Ask Tim for his ideas on how to incorporate Jen into his work.
  3. Tell Tim that despite her lack of experience, Jen is competent and could assist him and reduce his workload.
  4. Establish with Tim which tasks are simple enough for Jen to begin with, and schedule a meeting to discuss the progress. 
Recommended Answer

Core competency: responsibility for subordinates, influence.
Secondary competencies
decision making, flexibility, and adaptability.

 

In response A you show sympathy for Tim’s feelings, but you don’t take any action to ease the situation for him. Whether or not Tim’s objection is justified, his concerns are appropriate and deserve proper consideration. This response shows appreciation for his capability, but lacks a serious consideration of his concerns. This response lacks responsibility for his situation and is unlikely to motivate him to cooperate. Even though you want him to train Jen, it’s better to find ways to make him feel more comfortable with the situation and to be an effective tutor.

This response is Moderately Ineffective.

Note that it is not Very Ineffective (it does not make the situation worse). However, of the given options it is the only one in which you don’t take any action to address Tim’s concerns. Taking this response, the chances of influencing Tim to cooperate on the task are lower. Not showing any flexibility or an active attempt to address his concerns might antagonize Tim instead of motivating him.



In response B you involve Tim in the problem solution. You show flexibility by being open to new ideas, as well as an appreciation of his input (decision making). However, you take a big step back and set the responsibility exclusively on Tim.

Therefore, this response is Slightly Ineffective.



In response C, as in response A, you reject Tim’s objections and stand behind your decision. However, in this response, you make an effort to motivate (influence) Tim by showing him how he could benefit from this decision. You address his concerns seriously and explain how they could be solved using this opportunity. This response demonstrates a respectful approach to employees’ complaints, influence, and authority.

Therefore, this response is Moderately Effective.



In response D, you are both flexible AND influencing. You stand behind your decision, but at the same time take Tim's concerns into consideration and offer a practical approach to address them.

Therefore, this response is Very Effective.

 

UDEE Test Section #3 - Memory Skills

In this section of the test, you will be asked a range of questions about the situations you've dealt with in the Situational Judgement Test Section.

This is a fairly brief section – it contains only 12 questions, and you have 8 minutes to answer them.

It's important to pay attention to the scenarios in the previous section – the instructions for UDEE Test Section 2 won't remind you of this. Although the test instructions state that you will not be expected to memorize minute details about the scenarios, in reality, you often will be.

UDEE Memory Skills Sample Question

The reason Tim did not want to train Jen was:

A. He is under work overload.
B. He does not trust her.
C. She will slow him down.
D. Both A and B.
E. Both B and C.
Correct Answer
Incorrect Answer

The passage in Section 2 states:

"...when you talk to Tim...he objects...saying that training a new employee will only slow down his pace."

 

This one may seem easy, but remember that you are expected to answer such questions after completing 82 questions over 15 different scenarios! Not an easy task, to say the least.

 

UDEE Test Section #4 - Figural Reasoning

This section is a logic test, in which you will be asked to look at a number of figures that follow a pattern. You will be asked to choose which figure correctly completes the pattern. This section contains 14 minutes to be solved in 32 minutes.

UDEE Figural Reasoning Sample Question

Sample Question 2

A
B
C
D
E
Correct Answer
Incorrect Answer

The underlying pattern of this question is as follows:

  • The inner shape in one frame becomes the middle shape in the next frame
  • The middle shape becomes the outer shape in the next frame
  • And, the outer shape becomes the inner shape two frames later.

Thus, the outer shape in the missing frame should be a square (just like the middle shape in the 5th frame), the middle shape should be a triangle (like the inner shape in the 5th frame), and the inner shape should be a diamond (like the outer shape in the 4th frame).

 

UDEE Test Section #5 - Writing

The writing section of the Uniformed Division Entrance Exam is a test of your English skills.

It is not a traditional writing assignment. Like the other sections, this is a multiple-choice test where you will be shown a variety of sample texts and asked to correct grammar, syntax, and spelling mistakes in them.

You will be given 35 minutes to answer 30 questions.

UDEE Writing Sample Question

When training for the army, one should consider not only the rigorous physical demands but also the emotional toll, should he enlist.

A. Remove the Comma after "army"
B. Change "but also" to "in addition"
C. Changed "he" to "one".
D. Both A and C.
E. No correction is necessary.
Correct Answer
Incorrect Answer

Answer (C) is correct because if the sentence starts with the word "one" as its subject pronoun, it is not logical to switch to the pronoun "he" by the end of the sentence.

Answer (A) is incorrect because a comma is needed to separate the subordinate clause from the main clause. That also makes answer (D) incorrect.

Answer (B) is incorrect because the phrase “but also,” coupled with the phrase “not only,” is necessary for showing the contrast between the rigorous physical demands and the emotional toll.

 

UDEE Test Section #6 - Work Style Inventory

This last UDEE test section aims to assess who you are as a person and how you act in a workplace.

For this purpose, the test presents 139 statements. You need to rank, on a 1-5 scale, how well each statement describes your behavior in the workplace. You will have 25 minutes to complete this section.

UDEE Work Style Inventory Sample Question

I often worry about things to come.

1 - Strongly Disagree
2 - Disagree
3 - Neutral
4- Agree
5 - Strongly Agree
Correct Answer
Incorrect Answer

This statement relates to the Anxiety trait - namely, your tendency for feelings such as fear, worry, and unease.

As Uniformed Division officers may find themselves at risk (as all law enforcement employees), they have to demonstrate very LOW levels of anxiety.

The official promotional materials for the UDEE tests will tell you that "there are no right or wrong answers" and that all you need to do is answer truthfully – but of course, this is somewhat optimistic.

The Secret Service, like all employers, will be looking for specific answers that they associate with desirable and professional candidates – in your preparation you should learn which answers are preferable.


Taking the UDEE Test

The UDEE test is taken at the Pearson VUE examination center.

The volume of material and the time taken to complete the test are substantial (nearly 4 hours). That means that it is essential to prepare not only in terms of studying for the exam, but also for the fact that the exam will essentially take up an entire day if you consider the task of getting there, waiting for the exam to start, and getting back.

Prepare for Your UDEE Test

  • The practice covers all 6 UDEE test sections
  • Full answers and explanations to all questions
  • Personalized score reports tracking your progress

 

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