How can I purchase access to Blue Line Advances?
Blue Line Advances will be available April 1, 2024.
Blue Line Advances will be available April 1, 2024.
What exactly is Blue Line Advances?
Blue Line Advances is an online test practice program. Unlike other test practice programs, we have no specific meeting time. You may talk to me on the phone or via email, but we don't have meetings. The tests are entirely online. Every time someone starts a test, my program pulls 100 questions from the overall test bank at random. Thus, every test will be very different. It'll take quite some time - 27 tests at an absolute minimum - to see every single question.
You can take as many tests as you want. Just don’t copy them, print them, or give out your password. (See the Terms and Conditions for specific rules.) You can take tests wherever you want: on your phone, on your tablet, or on your computer. You can take tests whenever you want. The test will automatically save every time you answer a question, so you can close a test and finish it later. You can view previous tests as well.
Blue Line Advances only covers the General Orders at the moment. The reason for this is that it would be difficult to write and input enough questions for the other books/sources in a timely fashion. I'm able to keep them up to date ahead of time. This may change in the future, but the basic membership only covers the General Orders. If I add additional sources for the 2024 test cycle, they will be offered at an additional cost.
By my estimation, there are about 3,000 possible questions contained in the General Orders – and I’ve identified and included almost all of them of them. My questions are designed with the test in mind, but probably skew a bit harder than the real thing. Most of the questions are fairly straight-forward ones that focus on “Who,” “When,” and occasionally “Where.” These questions stand out to test-makers, as the answers are clear and impossible to appeal.
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Blue Line Advances is an online test practice program. Unlike other test practice programs, we have no specific meeting time. You may talk to me on the phone or via email, but we don't have meetings. The tests are entirely online. Every time someone starts a test, my program pulls 100 questions from the overall test bank at random. Thus, every test will be very different. It'll take quite some time - 27 tests at an absolute minimum - to see every single question.
You can take as many tests as you want. Just don’t copy them, print them, or give out your password. (See the Terms and Conditions for specific rules.) You can take tests wherever you want: on your phone, on your tablet, or on your computer. You can take tests whenever you want. The test will automatically save every time you answer a question, so you can close a test and finish it later. You can view previous tests as well.
Blue Line Advances only covers the General Orders at the moment. The reason for this is that it would be difficult to write and input enough questions for the other books/sources in a timely fashion. I'm able to keep them up to date ahead of time. This may change in the future, but the basic membership only covers the General Orders. If I add additional sources for the 2024 test cycle, they will be offered at an additional cost.
By my estimation, there are about 3,000 possible questions contained in the General Orders – and I’ve identified and included almost all of them of them. My questions are designed with the test in mind, but probably skew a bit harder than the real thing. Most of the questions are fairly straight-forward ones that focus on “Who,” “When,” and occasionally “Where.” These questions stand out to test-makers, as the answers are clear and impossible to appeal.
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When should I start studying?
For the commander test, I recommend starting at the beginning of April. You can start sooner, of course, but May is when you want to crack down. I recommend reading the General Orders once in May, once in June, and once in July. If the books are announced in July 2024, you'll have read the General Orders three times by the announcement.
For the sergrant test, I recommend starting in June, following a similar reading schedule. For the lieutenant's test, August would be an appropriate start time.
But it is never to early to get started reading GO's.
Once the books have announced, I recommend making the test your highest priority. Divide the two other books/sources into five parts each. Divide the General Orders into ten parts, preferably in separate binders, as follows:
1. 100-01 to 200-12
2. 200-13 to 300-03
3. 300-04 to 300-14
4. 300-15 to 300-32
5. 300-33 to 400-18
6. 400-19 to 500-05
7. 500-06 to 600-03
8. 600-04 to 600-16
9. 600-17 to 600-42
10. 600-43 to 900-03
Once you've divided the General Orders and books, you'll read one part of the General Orders and each book each day for five days each week. (For instance, on Monday, you would read Part 1 of the General Orders, Part 1 of the first book, and Part 2 of the second book.) Each reading day will include 75-100 pages of General Orders and about 120 pages of the books.
Every ten reading days, you’ll read the General Orders once and the books twice. In thirty reading days, you’ll read the General Orders an extra three times and the books six times. That leaves fifteen to twenty days for weekends, tests, work, and seeing your family. Keep taking the tests, especially between readings, so that you can get an idea of how well it is going.
At the end of the process, if you've followed my advice, you'll read the General Orders six times, and each book six times. It requires discipline and planning to stick to this plan.
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For the commander test, I recommend starting at the beginning of April. You can start sooner, of course, but May is when you want to crack down. I recommend reading the General Orders once in May, once in June, and once in July. If the books are announced in July 2024, you'll have read the General Orders three times by the announcement.
For the sergrant test, I recommend starting in June, following a similar reading schedule. For the lieutenant's test, August would be an appropriate start time.
But it is never to early to get started reading GO's.
Once the books have announced, I recommend making the test your highest priority. Divide the two other books/sources into five parts each. Divide the General Orders into ten parts, preferably in separate binders, as follows:
1. 100-01 to 200-12
2. 200-13 to 300-03
3. 300-04 to 300-14
4. 300-15 to 300-32
5. 300-33 to 400-18
6. 400-19 to 500-05
7. 500-06 to 600-03
8. 600-04 to 600-16
9. 600-17 to 600-42
10. 600-43 to 900-03
Once you've divided the General Orders and books, you'll read one part of the General Orders and each book each day for five days each week. (For instance, on Monday, you would read Part 1 of the General Orders, Part 1 of the first book, and Part 2 of the second book.) Each reading day will include 75-100 pages of General Orders and about 120 pages of the books.
Every ten reading days, you’ll read the General Orders once and the books twice. In thirty reading days, you’ll read the General Orders an extra three times and the books six times. That leaves fifteen to twenty days for weekends, tests, work, and seeing your family. Keep taking the tests, especially between readings, so that you can get an idea of how well it is going.
At the end of the process, if you've followed my advice, you'll read the General Orders six times, and each book six times. It requires discipline and planning to stick to this plan.
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How should I be reading the General Orders?
Your first reading will focus on absorption of the material. You can highlight noteworthy passages if you want to, but the goal of the first reading is simply to familiarize yourself with the General Orders. For some, this may be the first time that you have read them since the Academy. One aspect to focus on in this first read-through is the differences between the General Orders as written and the actual practice, as the test will be on the material as written. Circulars don’t count. Even if you know something is obsolete, if the question asks about it, the answer will be what is in the General Orders.
Once you’ve read through once, start taking practice tests– but don’t despair if you miss a lot of answers. At this point, even a 50% would be a good score. This is a long process. If you get a question wrong, I include the exact location of the right answer. Go find it, highlight it, and remember it for later.
Your second reading will focus on locating possible questions. Keep in mind that straight-forward questions will constitute the bulk of the test. As you read through, highlight items that would make a good question. Who is responsible for this task? How long do you have to do it? Where does it go? Why do we do this? What is the definition of this phrase? Focusing on questions keeps your mind sharp. You’ll be tempted to mentally wander and skip over parts, but identifying possible questions is the best way to keep your mind on track. Once you’ve done another read-through, take more tests. You still probably won’t do extremely well at this point. Figure out which sections are giving you trouble and re-read them after getting a wrong answer on a practice test.
Your third read-through will focus mainly on shoring up your weaknesses. At this point, you should have taken a fair number of practice tests. This read-through will focus on what you got wrong. Unlike the others, take practice tests throughout the read-through, and keep noting which questions you missed and what the right answers are. You’ll probably notice your test scores going up, significantly higher than just a few months ago. But make sure that you read everything on this reading, noting possible questions just like the second read-through.
The fourth, fifth, and sixth read-throughs will be similar to the third. Take as many practice tests as you can, so that you can keep an eye on your progress!
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Your first reading will focus on absorption of the material. You can highlight noteworthy passages if you want to, but the goal of the first reading is simply to familiarize yourself with the General Orders. For some, this may be the first time that you have read them since the Academy. One aspect to focus on in this first read-through is the differences between the General Orders as written and the actual practice, as the test will be on the material as written. Circulars don’t count. Even if you know something is obsolete, if the question asks about it, the answer will be what is in the General Orders.
Once you’ve read through once, start taking practice tests– but don’t despair if you miss a lot of answers. At this point, even a 50% would be a good score. This is a long process. If you get a question wrong, I include the exact location of the right answer. Go find it, highlight it, and remember it for later.
Your second reading will focus on locating possible questions. Keep in mind that straight-forward questions will constitute the bulk of the test. As you read through, highlight items that would make a good question. Who is responsible for this task? How long do you have to do it? Where does it go? Why do we do this? What is the definition of this phrase? Focusing on questions keeps your mind sharp. You’ll be tempted to mentally wander and skip over parts, but identifying possible questions is the best way to keep your mind on track. Once you’ve done another read-through, take more tests. You still probably won’t do extremely well at this point. Figure out which sections are giving you trouble and re-read them after getting a wrong answer on a practice test.
Your third read-through will focus mainly on shoring up your weaknesses. At this point, you should have taken a fair number of practice tests. This read-through will focus on what you got wrong. Unlike the others, take practice tests throughout the read-through, and keep noting which questions you missed and what the right answers are. You’ll probably notice your test scores going up, significantly higher than just a few months ago. But make sure that you read everything on this reading, noting possible questions just like the second read-through.
The fourth, fifth, and sixth read-throughs will be similar to the third. Take as many practice tests as you can, so that you can keep an eye on your progress!
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Who goes to the assessment?
The top 250 written test scores (after the adjustments from appeals) go to the sergeant assessment. For example, in 2016, #250 scored 76%. Seniority and education are not included in this determination. They are added at the end.
All candidates go to the lieutenant and captain assessment, regardless of score.
In the assessment center, you receive a series of hypothetical scenarios (with a variety of formats) that you have to give an oral answer. The scenarios are usually very hard, containing an unexpectedly large number of factors. Time management is a must, as is proper presentation. The best way to succeed in the assessment center is to practice as much as possible with similar scenarios.
The important thing to remember about the assessment is that a lot of points are still on the table. The difference between pre-assessment #1 and #250 is usually about 10-15 points out of 50. The difference between the highest and lowest score on the assessment can be 25 or more points out of 50. This means that everyone has a fair shot walking into assessment, regardless of your test score - as long as you get your foot on the door! But points that you earn on the test are points that you don't have to make up for in assessment, so doing your best is still recommended.
When it’s done, you’ll get a score based on 100. There’s no appealing anything on the assessment. You cannot fail the assessment. Following the assessment, your seniority and education/military point(s) are added to produce the final list.
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The top 250 written test scores (after the adjustments from appeals) go to the sergeant assessment. For example, in 2016, #250 scored 76%. Seniority and education are not included in this determination. They are added at the end.
All candidates go to the lieutenant and captain assessment, regardless of score.
In the assessment center, you receive a series of hypothetical scenarios (with a variety of formats) that you have to give an oral answer. The scenarios are usually very hard, containing an unexpectedly large number of factors. Time management is a must, as is proper presentation. The best way to succeed in the assessment center is to practice as much as possible with similar scenarios.
The important thing to remember about the assessment is that a lot of points are still on the table. The difference between pre-assessment #1 and #250 is usually about 10-15 points out of 50. The difference between the highest and lowest score on the assessment can be 25 or more points out of 50. This means that everyone has a fair shot walking into assessment, regardless of your test score - as long as you get your foot on the door! But points that you earn on the test are points that you don't have to make up for in assessment, so doing your best is still recommended.
When it’s done, you’ll get a score based on 100. There’s no appealing anything on the assessment. You cannot fail the assessment. Following the assessment, your seniority and education/military point(s) are added to produce the final list.
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Disclaimer
The operator of this website is not employed by any police agency, and is in no way acting as an agent of any department. In no way should the operation of this website be construed as support or endorsement by any police agency or governmental body. The operator of this website does so solely in his personal capacity. This website does not offer any legal advice to any party.
The operator of this website is not employed by any police agency, and is in no way acting as an agent of any department. In no way should the operation of this website be construed as support or endorsement by any police agency or governmental body. The operator of this website does so solely in his personal capacity. This website does not offer any legal advice to any party.