Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 13, December 25, 2024
In no case shall any person be selected or appointed as a law
enforcement officer unless that person has performed satisfactorily in
preemployment cognitive or psychological tests, or both, prescribed by the Iowa
law enforcement academy.
(1)
Required cognitive test.
a.
Entry-level applicants for all law enforcement positions in the state of Iowa
shall take the Stanard & Associates' National Police Officer Selection Test
(POST).
b. The minimum satisfactory
score to be eligible for employment is 70 percent on each of the four sections
of this examination. Agencies and civil service commissions may require a
higher satisfactory score than 70 percent on each or any of the sections of the
test.
(2)
Required psychological test.
a. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality
Inventory 2 (MMPI-2) test shall be taken by all applicants in the final
selection process for a law enforcement position.
b. The prescribed psychological test for an
applicant in the final selection process shall be administered, scored and
interpreted by the academy or by an individual who has been approved by the
academy. The prescribed psychological test for an applicant in the final
selection process shall be evaluated by the Iowa law enforcement academy. These
tests shall be evaluated and test results and evaluations shall be forwarded to
a law enforcement agency for selection purposes only by the Iowa law
enforcement academy upon proper waiver by the applicant.
(3)
Test administration.
a. Test results may be forwarded by the
academy to a law enforcement agency for selection purposes only upon proper
waiver by the applicant.
b. The
Iowa law enforcement academy shall have prescheduled testing dates each fiscal
year. Nonscheduled testing dates may also be provided.
c. The administration of the POST test and
the MMPI-2 shall be in accordance with directions of the Iowa law enforcement
academy.
(4)
Cognitive test. Rescinded IAB 3/25/20, effective
4/29/20.
(5)
Psychological
tests.
a. Those law enforcement
agencies which choose to administer, score, or interpret the MMPI-2 without
using the academy's testing services shall forward to the academy psychological
testing information on any individual hired within 14 days of the date hired.
Such information shall include, but not be limited to, all scores from MMPI-2
scales used in the evaluation, the MMPI-2 answer sheet, and any resulting
reports.
b. The MMPI-2 test may be
administered to applicants who are not in the final selection
process.
(6)
Cost
of tests. The academy will establish and post fee schedules for costs
of administering and evaluating the psychological and cognitive test or tests
mandated by the academy for agencies who choose to utilize academy testing
services.
The cost of the POST test shall be paid by the agencies for
which testing is conducted to Stanard & Associates in accordance with the
fee schedule approved by and posted at the Iowa law enforcement
academy.
(7)
Availability of tests scores.
a. Forwarding of cognitive test results.
Individual cognitive test scores of cognitive tests purchased through the Iowa
law enforcement academy shall be provided by the Iowa law enforcement academy
to prospective employing agencies upon request and proper waiver by the
applicant for a minimal handling fee.
b. Forwarding of MMPI-2 test results. The
evaluation by the Iowa law enforcement academy of MMPI-2 tests will be
available to any prospective employing agency upon request and proper waiver by
the applicant for a minimal handling fee.
c. Certified law enforcement officers. Law
enforcement officers certified through training by the Iowa law enforcement
academy are not required to take a cognitive test but may be required to do so
at the discretion of the employing agency.
d. Rescinded IAB 9/22/99, effective
10/27/99.
e. Individual POST test
scores shall be forwarded by Standard & Associates to prospective employing
agencies upon request and payment of a fee in accordance with the fee schedule
approved by and posted at the Iowa law enforcement academy.
f. Individual POST test scores must be
postmarked and forwarded to Standard & Associates within one business day
of the date of the examination.
g.
Only scores forwarded to Standard & Associates will be recognized as valid
and become part of the Iowa database.
(8)
Tests are valid for specific
period.
a. The Iowa law enforcement
academy evaluations of the MMPI-2 may only be used for 12 months to comply with
these testing rules. Any applicant who has not been hired or placed upon a
civil service certified list within 12 months of taking the MMPI-2 test must
retake the examination and, before the applicant is hired, the results of the
examination must be considered by the hiring authority.
b. Rescinded IAB 9/22/99, effective
10/27/99.
c. At its discretion the
employing agency may elect to require an applicant to retake any Iowa law
enforcement academy required psychological test as well as any other tests that
it may deem necessary in its selection process.
d. POST test scores shall be valid for a
period of one year from the date of the examination. An applicant who has not
been hired or placed upon a civil service certified list within one year of
taking this test must retake and successfully pass the examination before being
hired. A person may retest on the same version of the POST examination once
within a 12-month period, with a minimum required delay of 90 days before the
retest. No delay in retesting is required when a person is given an alternate
version of the POST examination.
e.
The employing law enforcement agency or appropriate civil service commission
retains the exclusive right to decide whether an individual shall be allowed to
retest or take an alternate version of the POST examination as provided by
these rules.
(9)
Construction. Nothing in these rules should be construed to
preclude a Civil Service Commission or employing agency from requiring an
applicant for a law enforcement position to take tests other than those
mandated by these rules so long as the applicant in the final selection process
has complied with these rules. These rules shall not be construed as altering
or changing the current authority of a Civil Service Commission.