General Competency Test: Level 2

Instructions and Sample Questions

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Table of Contents:

Last-Minute Checklist

Taking the GCT2: General Test-Taking Tips & Information

Instructions and Sample Questions

General Instructions

Special Note

Last-Minute Checklist

1. Know the exact date, time and location of the test administration session.
2. Bring to the test session:
   
   
   1. your Personal Record Identifier (PRI, if applicable)
   2. one piece of signature and photo identification
   3. a calculator (if you wish)
   4. a watch (if you wish)

If you have a disability and you require special testing accommodations, you are responsible to notify the test administrators well in advance of the testing date so that they can take the necessary steps to determine the appropriate accommodations for your specific needs.

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Taking the GCT2: General Test-Taking Tips & Information

Read this entire publication and be sure to complete the practice test following all of the instructions. Doing so will help you to become familiar with the GCT2 and to work at the appropriate pace.

If you want additional practice, you may wish to consult the reference sections in a local public library, or in bookstores, for preparation books on standardized tests. If you have any inquiries about any specific question in the practice GCT2 booklet, you may contact your nearest PSC regional office.

Try employment tests and school tests (whether or not they count for something) as well as tests, quizzes and puzzles in magazines, newspapers and quiz books. If there are no time limits, set them yourself.

Read the whole question and look at all of the answer choices before choosing an answer. It is often a mistake to think that because the first or second answer choice looks good to you, you do not need to read the remaining choices.

Pace yourself: Since each question is worth the same amount (1 point), you should try to do as many of the questions as you can. While estimating the average amount of time to be spent on each question is useful, you should note that the questions on the test are increasingly more difficult toward the end and, therefore, may require more time to solve.

Make sure the numbered space on the answer sheet matches the number of the question you are answering. Remember that if you skip a question you must also skip the corresponding answer space on the answer sheet.

Guess at the answer if you are not sure: there is no penalty for guessing on the GCT2.

Use all the time available: If you have time to spare, go back and review your answers.

Re-read those questions you weren't sure about in the first place and double check your answers. This is also a good time to check your answer sheet to make sure you have recorded your answers correctly.

After you have taken the test, you will be informed of your results as soon as possible. The retest period is six months (this means that you have to wait six months before taking the test again). If you re-take the test, only your most recent score will be used. If you are happy with your results and decide not to rewrite, your score on the GCT2 is valid indefinitely.

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Instructions and Sample Questions

QUESTION TYPE 1: VOCABULARY

From among the five answer choices given, select the word or phrase which best defines the word in UPPERCASE letters.

Example

1. IGNITE

1. overlook
2. set on fire
3. explain
4. illustrate
5. fall asleep

Choice (2) is the correct answer, so you would darken circle number 2 on your answer sheet as illustrated below.

QUESTION TYPE 2: FIGURAL RELATIONS

There are two versions of the figural relations questions and an example of each is presented below.

Example A: FIGURE COMPLETION

In this type of question, your task is to identify the answer figure that logically completes the problem figures series. In the above example, one horizontal line is added in each successive problem figure, so the next figure in the series should contain five horizontal lines. You would therefore darken circle number 3 on your answer sheet as illustrated below.

Example B: FIGURE ANALOGY

In this type of question, you identify the relationship that exists between the first pair of figures and then you use this information to choose the figure among the five answer choices that has the same relationship to the third figure in the question. In the above example, the second figure is a replica of the first, except that it has been rotated to the left. Therefore, your task would be to select the answer choice that resembles the third figure in the question, but rotated to the left as well. In this case, the correct answer is (4), so you would darken circle number 4 on your answer sheet as illustrated below.

QUESTION TYPE 3: NUMBER AND LETTER SERIES

Each question of this type presents a series (list) of numbers and/or letters. Find the rule that has been used to produce this series; then use this rule to select the item (either a number or letter) which would follow at the end.

Example A

(Identify the number that comes next in the series)

In example 1, the numbers are increasing by threes (i.e., 3 + 3 = 6; 6 + 3 = 9, etc.). Therefore, the next number in the series is 21 (i.e., 18 + 3). To complete the series correctly, you would darken circle number 3 on your answer sheet as illustrated below.

Example B

Example 2 involves both letters and numbers. The numbers in the series are decreasing by ten (i.e., 80, 70, 60, etc.). The letters are in ascending order, with every second letter "missing" : A, [B missing], C, [D missing], E, etc.

Therefore, the letter "O" should be paired with the number "10" to complete the series. To answer this question correctly, you would darken circle number 3 on your answer sheet as illustrated below.

QUESTION TYPE 4: NUMERICAL

These questions require you to use basic arithmetic skills to solve a problem. You are permitted to use a calculator and rough paper to arrive at your answer. An example of a numerical question is provided below.

Example

If a clerk can file 100 letters in half an hour, how many letters can the person file in 2 hours?

Two hours is 4 times longer than half an hour, so the clerk should be able to file 4 times as many letters in that length of time. The correct answer is therefore 400 (i.e., 4 x 100), so you would darken circle number 5 on your answer sheet as illustrated below.

QUESTION TYPE 5: ANALYTICAL REASONING

In the analytical reasoning section, you are presented with short passages of text. Your task is to answer a set of questions about each passage. For a given passage, the individual questions are independent of each other. Also, information contained in one question (or its answer choices) should not be used to answer other questions.

In answering some of the analytical reasoning questions, you may find it useful to draw a diagram.

Sample Passage

There are four houses on one side of a city street. Each house belongs to a different person who lives in the house. The owners of the houses are Amy, Barnes, Clidewell and Dombrowski. Each owns one car and the colours of these cars are white, red, blue and green. Furthermore:

1. Dombrowski owns the white car
2. Barnes' house is not at either end of the street
3. Amy owns the second house from the left
4. Clidewell owns the blue car

Sample Question

1. Which people own the red and the green cars?

1. Barnes and Amy
2. Barnes and Dombrowski
3. Clidewell and Barnes
4. Dombrowski and Amy
5. Clidewell and Amy

The sample passage indicates that Dombrowski owns a white car and Clidewell owns a blue car. The only other people mentioned in the passage are Barnes and Amy, so they must be the owners of the red and the green cars. Choice (1) is therefore the correct answer, so you would darken circle number 1 on your answer sheet as illustrated below.

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General Instructions

1. The practice test contains 45 questions, half the number in the actual test. There are five different types of questions: vocabulary, figural relations, number and letter series, numerical problems and analytical reasoning problems. The questions are presented in small groups of the same type (for example, three vocabulary questions may be followed by four numerical problems), but you may answer them in any order you wish. Note, however, that the groups of questions get progressively more difficult.
2. You should allow yourself exactly 1 hour to complete the practice test. Because the test contains 90 questions rather than 45, a GCT2 testing session will take 2 hours plus administration time. Budget your time carefully, taking into account that the questions will become more difficult as you proceed through the test. It should take you less time to answer questions near the beginning of the test than questions of the same type near the end of the test.
3. For each question, select your answer choice from among the five alternatives provided. Indicate your choice on the answer sheet by making a dark pencil mark that completely fills the circle around the number that corresponds to your choice. Check to make sure that the circle you mark on the answer sheet refers to the question you are currently working on. Note also that the question numbers on the answer sheet run from top to bottom.
4. Darken only one circle for each question. Any other way of answering is scored as incorrect. If you wish to change an answer, erase your first mark completely, then record your new choice. You may check and revise your answers if you complete the test before the time is up.
5. Answer all of the questions: when in doubt, guess. To improve your chances of choosing the correct alternative when you are unsure what the answer is, try first to eliminate the answer choices that seem clearly wrong. Then, from among the remaining answer choices, choose the one that seems best to you. No points are deducted for an incorrect answer, so you have nothing to lose by guessing. Your score will simply be the total number of correct answers you have chosen.
6. Prior to the start of the actual test, you will receive instructions on how to answer each of the question types along with some sample questions. If you have any questions regarding this material, please address them to the test administrator before the signal to begin is given.
7. Candidates with a disability that could impede their test performance are reminded to provide the test administrator with advance notification of the disability so that alternative arrangements can be made.

NOTE:
The publication of this guide does not oblige the test users to distribute it. The appropriateness of test conditions is not affected by whether or not a candidate receives this guide before taking the General Competency Test: Level 2.

GCT2 Practice Test