200-12, Purchasing Process, has been revised and updated. We will be updating the questions soon!

We've added a post in the Information Center regarding the vendor. 

We've added a new feature by request - the ability to save and return to a test! When starting a new test, you'll have the option to resume the test that you saved or creating an entirely new one. We hope that you find it a useful feature.

300-04, Compensation, has been extensively revised by the department. We added three questions, deleted one, and heavily edited the rest. Our question bank has been updated accordingly. 

There's a new post up for our customers analyzing the rate of promotions for the 2012 and 2014 list. This analysis includes a projection of the remainder of the 2014 list, plus a projection of how far down the 2016 list the department will go. You can find it in the Information Center. 

We've also added a step-by-step explanation in the "About Blue Line Advances" section of the website for how to sign up. It also includes how to log in and start new tests for customers. 

We are now able to take orders! The website has been unlocked. Everyone should be able to see this area, the test overview, and the service overview. In order to access the store, you'll need to register with the website. Make sure to include your payroll number and assignment with your order! Once you've made an order, it'll send me an email so that I can confirm it. Once confirmed, you'll have access to the Information Center, which will be updated as the process moves along, and the Test Center. You can start taking tests as soon as you are processed.

The sergeant and lieutenants tests for the Houston Police Department historically include a substantial section based on the General Orders. As preparation for the rigorous testing process, candidates should study the General Orders. By the time the tests are announced, candidates ought to have read them multiple times. This website hosts a service with which candidates can test their progress in learning the General Orders. 

What is the service, you ask?

In preparation for the 2014 sergeant's exam, I led a group of interested officers in creating test questions. Every week, they would send me questions from their assigned G.O.s. I would edit them, order them, add my own, and send them out to the group. Inevitably, someone wouldn't be able to do their section for the week, and I wrote their questions for them. As the weeks went by, I amassed and curated over 1,000 questions. I took the tests over and over until I got consistent scores of 95% or better. In the meantime, I read the General Orders and both books 6 times. I only missed 2 questions in the General Orders section of the real test, so I feel that my preparation served me well. I set my questions aside and went through the assessment process. I promoted to sergeant, trained at North, ended up at Central, and didn't give the test much thought. I started law school in the meantime. 

After the fall semester of law school, I set out to review and edit my test questions in preparation for the 2016 test cycle. I hoped that I would be able to take the lieutenant's test, having scored high enough on the final list to have an outside shot at making the deadline. I replaced my G.O. binder with new and updated copies (currently clocking in at 756 pages). I checked and updated every single question and tossed out a ton of them. It was a long process. Unfortunately, as it came closer and I looked closer at the timeline, it became clear that I would not be able to take the lieutenant's test.

Time for Plan B: capitalism.

I decided to go forward with a plan I had kicked around as a hypothetical. I decided to sell my services. I put all 1100+ questions online, started this website, created an LLC, and figured out that I was going to get absolutely hammered on taxes. 

This is what you'll get: unlimited access to my service for the entirety of the 2016 testing cycle. You can take one test or one hundred. The tests will all be totally randomized (including the order of the answer choices). Every time you start it up, you'll receive a brand new test, pulled from the overall group. I will also offer a "quiz mode" that provides the answer after each question, rather than the standard of answers at the end. If we get any new General Orders (as we did a few days ago with 200-11), I can quickly update my questions to keep my service up to date. I'm pretty excited about it, and I really hope that you'll find it useful in your quest to promote to sergeant or lieutenant. If anyone has suggested features, let me know so that I can see about the feasibility of creating them. I'm currently planning on offering this service for $200, but that's not completely set in stone yet. 
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I have a lot of topics that I'm going to write about as we go through this process. I've analyzed the 2014 sergeant's exam in some detail. I have a solid prediction for how many people will end up promoting off the 2014 list (which sheds some light on 2016). I have a lot of information on the new contract and how it affects test-takers. Keep coming back for more information, as I hope to update often. You can reach me at [email protected] or on our page on Facebook for more information.