USA Hire Online Assessment Information

Please review the below information to set yourself up for success and take your unproctored online assessments with confidence.

System Requirements

To complete USA Hire assessments, your system must meet the following system requirements:

• Use a laptop or desktop computer. You must complete the assessments on a desktop or laptop computer. Mobile devices such as tablets and phones are not supported.
• Use a reliable internet connection. You must have a broadband internet connection without a Virtual Private Network (VPN). Dial-up connections and VPNs can impact the delivery and display of the assessments.
• Update your web browser. You must have the current or prior major release version of one of the following web browsers: Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, or Microsoft Edge. Additionally, your web browser must have JavaScript and Cookies enabled.
• There may be videos. You should have functioning speakers; however, assessments that include audio will also include closed captions.

What to Expect

• There is a completion deadline. For each announcement requiring assessments, you will be given a testing deadline by which you must complete all assessments. You will not be able to access or complete the assessments after the deadline has passed.
• Plan enough time to complete the assessments. Depending on the number of assessments you need to complete, it may take up to three hours to complete all your assigned assessments. Most applicants complete the assessments in less time.
• You can take breaks. Unless stated otherwise in the instructions before you start an individual assessment, you may stop in the middle of an assessment by closing your web browser window and later returning to the point where you stopped. However, we encourage you to complete each individual assessment in one sitting and, if needed, take breaks after finishing an assessment and before proceeding into the next. You must complete all your assessments before the testing deadline.
• Do not seek assistance in completing the assessments. After each assessment, be prepared to certify you completed each assessment without additional assistance. You will be asked to certify that all the information you provided is true, correct, and provided in good faith. You will be asked to certify that you worked independently and did not gain any form of assistance while completing the assessment(s). If you fail to certify after an assessment, that assessment will not be scored, and you will be ineligible for further consideration for the announcement to which you applied.
• Take these assessments seriously. For the vast majority of USA Hire assessments developed by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, your assessment responses will be reused for a period of one year from the date you completed the assessment. However, certain agencies may independently develop position specific assessments and establish reuse periods longer or shorter than a year. Prior to starting their assessments for an announcement, you are instructed how long responses will be reused.
• You will not be notified of a score. In accordance with 5 CFR 300.201(a), the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) does not provide information on the cut score (e.g., pass/fail) or information on individual assessment results (e.g., scores). This could compromise the objectivity and/or integrity of the testing process. However, the hiring agency to which an application was submitted may share scoring or rating information with applicants according to their agency policies.

Reasonable Accommodations

All the USA Hire assessments meet the WCAG 2.0 AA accessibility guidelines and are compliant with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. The USA Hire assessments are delivered in an online unproctored environment. As an applicant, you may modify your testing environment to incorporate many common accommodations such as a software or human reader, a scribe, enlargement of the font size in your web browser, etc. Actions such as those previously mentioned, are permitted without request. Applicants are expected to secure and implement all such modifications to their testing environment on their own and within the testing window. It is the applicant’s responsibility to verify that the computer they are using meets the system requirements for completing the online assessments.

If you wish to request an assessment accommodation for a disability (physical or mental) that might interfere with completing the online assessment(s), please review the information here.

Sample Assessments and Questions

When completing USA Hire assessments, you may be asked to complete one or more of the individual assessments listed below. A summary of each assessment is provided along with a picture of a sample question from the assessment. The specific assessments you will be asked to take will differ depending on the job to which you are applying. Most of the assessments are timed and a specific amount of time will be given to read and answer each question. The sample assessments below are the most common type of assessments you may be asked to complete.

This page and sample assessments are only provided as an example of the look and feel of the actual assessments. This page does not provide any interactivity and cannot be used to check system requirements.

Occupational Math Assessment

In this assessment, you will be presented with multiple-choice questions that measure your arithmetic and mathematical reasoning skills. You will be asked to solve word problems and perform numerical calculations. You will also be asked to work with percentages, fractions, decimals, proportions, basic algebra, basic geometry, and basic probability. All the information you need to answer the questions is provided in the question text. Knowledge of Federal rules, regulations, or policies is not required to answer the questions. This assessment is timed. You will have 5 minutes to answer each question. You may use a calculator and scratch paper to answer the questions. You will be asked to read the questions carefully and choose the best answer for each question. You will not be able to review/change your answers once you have submitted them or the timer ends. A picture of a sample question is shown below:

Occupational Judgment Assessment

In this assessment, you will be presented with several scenarios that Federal employees could encounter on the job. For each scenario, you will be presented with a video depicting this scenario. The video can be viewed in closed captioning. Once you’ve watched the video, you are provided four possible courses of action for responding to the scenario presented in the video. This assessment is timed. You will have 5 minutes to answer each question. For each scenario, you will have to watch the video, read through the four courses of action. Then, you will need to select the radio button representing the MOST effective course of action and finally choose the radio button with the LEAST effective course of action. You will be asked to read the questions carefully and choose the best answer for each question. You will not be able to review/change your answers once you have submitted them or the timer ends. A picture of a sample question is shown below:

Occupational Interaction Assessment

In this assessment, you will be presented with questions that ask about your interests and work preferences. Read each question carefully, decide which of the five possible responses most accurately describes you, and then click on that response. The possible responses vary from question to question. This assessment is not timed. You will see a progress bar at the top of the screen. You will be asked to read the questions carefully and choose the best answer for each question. You will not be able to review/change your answers once you have submitted them. A picture of a sample question is shown below:

Occupational Reasoning Assessment

In this assessment, you will be presented with multiple-choice questions that measure your reasoning skills. You will be asked to draw logical conclusions based on the information provided, analyze scenarios, and evaluate arguments. All the information you need to answer the questions is provided in the question text. Knowledge of Federal rules, regulations, or policies is not required to answer the questions. This assessment is timed. For each question, you will have 5 minutes to select your answer. You will be asked to read the questions carefully and choose the best answer for each question. You will not be able to review/change your answers once you have submitted them or the timer ends. A picture of a sample question is shown below:

Occupational Reading Assessment

In this assessment, you will be presented with multiple-choice questions that measure your reading comprehension skills. You will be asked to read a passage or table and to answer questions based on the information provided in the passage or table. All the information you need to answer the questions is provided in the question text. Knowledge of Federal rules, regulations, or policies is not required to answer the questions. This assessment is timed. For each question, you will have 5 minutes to select your answer. You will be asked to read the questions carefully and choose the best answer for each question. You will not be able to review/change your answers once you have submitted them or the timer ends. A picture of a sample question is shown below: