National Testing Network (NTN) Public Safety Test Preparation 2025

The National Testing Network is an organization that produces psychometric pre-employment tests for the public safety sector. If you’re a job-seeker looking to work in law enforcement, firefighting, correctional facilities, or emergency dispatch services, chances are likely you’ll have to go through NTN testing.

All companies rely upon their employees to help them succeed. However, public safety departments have to be particularly careful about their hiring decisions because the individuals that join their team will be responsible for the well-being of the community as a whole.

They want to make sure that you know how to communicate effectively when you speak or write, that you can perform basic mathematics quickly and efficiently, and that you can make good judgment calls when faced with a dilemma.

What Is the National Testing Network?

The National Testing Network designs and distributes aptitude tests meant for screening large numbers of interested applicants.

There are four NTN exams, and we describe each of them below.

Frontline National Law Enforcement Exam

The NTN police officer exam contains three different sections and lasts about two and a half hours.

• Human Relations: The first section is a situational judgment exam that makes use of a series of videos. During this 90-minute session, you’ll see a total of 46 scenarios. Each one is followed by multiple choice questions that ask you how you would respond in a similar situation.
• Report Writing: While you won’t be asked to write a thesis, you will need to be able to communicate clearly as a police officer. That’s why in this section, you’ll write a mock police report based on what you see happen in the video. This section also includes a few questions on English grammar and word usage.
• Reading Comprehension: Last but not least, you’ll be presented with passages and asked to answer several multiple-choice questions on them.

Firefighter FireTEAM National Exam:

The NTN fire test is an aptitude assessment for anyone who wants to serve as a firefighter in an entry-level position. Like the law enforcement exam, this test has both a situational judgment and reading comprehension section. Unlike the law enforcement exam, this test also requires you to prove basic mathematical ability and knowledge of mechanics.

• Human Relations: If you can’t cooperate as a team, how on Earth are you going to save people from a burning building? It is of the utmost importance that you know how to interact respectfully and effectively with your colleagues and superiors.
• Mechanical Aptitude: You’ll learn plenty of new skills as a firefighter. However, your boss won’t have the time to train you on everything. You’ll be expected to know how to identify and use various hand and power tools on this test. Learn more about mechanical tests.
• Numerical Reasoning: You won’t need to do differential equations, but you will have to add, subtract, multiply, and divide without a calculator.
• ·Reading Comprehension: On this section, you’ll be given a sentence with a blank and asked to identify the word that best completes the phrase.

Emergency Communications Dispatcher ECOMM Test

Emergency dispatchers have an incredibly stressful role. Not only do they have to attend to several tasks at once, but they have little margin for error. It’s imperative that they listen carefully to whomever may be on the other side of the line and that they take good notes. That’s why the NTN test for dispatchers depends heavily on video simulations.

Corrections Officer REACT Exam:

This NTN police exam is very similar to the Frontline exam except that it contains a mathematical portion instead of a human relations section. On the numerical reasoning assessment, you’ll be given situations that might occur in a correctional facility and asked about the movement of inmates around the building.

How Do to Prepare for the NTN?

If you’re a graduate looking for your first job in public safety, you’ll want to make sure you pick up an NTN practice test or an online NTN study guide.

While the math and reading sections of the test are fairly easy, the video modules can be intimidating. Though it may seem intuitive, you’ll likely find that in most cases more than one choice is viable.

Here are some of our best NTN testing tips to get you started so that you can walk into the assessment center with confidence.

1. Don’t answer according to what you think your hiring manager will want. Pleasing your supervisor or at least flattering him may boost his ego, but it may cause others unnecessary complications.
2. Pay attention. Because these are video tests, you may only hear the recording once. If you zone out, you could miss important information.
3. Not sure which choice to pick? Sometimes the answer to a dilemma isn’t always obvious. If you’re stuck, think about choosing what’s fair. While the fair answer may not please everyone, it will help you build a reputation as an honest employee.