The NYC Sanitation Written Exam: All You Need To Know

The long-awaited Sanitation Exam 2060 DCAS is finally going to commence later this year. If you’re applying for the exam, here’s all the information you need about the nature of the exam, its assessment criteria, the skills needed to pass the exam, and how to prepare for it.

The Exam

The NYC Sanitation Exam consists of two parts: the written exam and the physical exam. Here’s what these parts are like.

The Written Exam

The written exam is the first part of the exam. The NYC Sanitation Written Exam is an aptitude test that evaluates your brain’s fundamental capabilities, such as problem-solving, written comprehension, and spatial ability. You need a score of at least 70% to pass the written exam.

The Physical Exam

Once you pass the written exam, you have to appear in a physical exam that evaluates your strength and stamina. Also termed the “superman test,” this exam consists of two phases, both of which have multiple tasks. You have to complete each phase in a limited time frame to clear the test.

Recruitment Criteria

As mentioned above, you need a score of at least 70% to pass the written exam. You also need to complete the physical tasks in the allotted time to pass the physical exam. However, passing these exams doesn’t guarantee that you’ll get recruited.

This is because the NYC Sanitation Department only has a limited number of vacancies, while the number of applicants is generally much higher. After the exam, all the candidates are ranked in terms of their performance in both exams. Those with higher scores are selected, and the rest are rejected.

In 2021, some NYC sanitation workers made more than $300,000 in overtime payments due to the labor shortage caused by COVID. As a result, more people are filling out the NYC Sanitation Application this time around. This means that the competition is going to be tougher this year, and more people will get rejected.

The best way to ensure you score higher than the baseline and get recruited is by preparing for the exam. Here are the skills you need to prepare for.

Skills Needed to Pass the Exam

1. Problem-Solving

Problem-solving questions are a big part of the Suffolk Police Exam, but they’re also pretty common in the NYC Sanitation Exam. The questions dedicated to this skill give you a set of rules which you have to remember. You’re then given multiple clauses, and you have to decide which ones comply or defy the rules.

For example, the exam may give you a set of rules for rabbit hunting in Florida, followed by some cases. You have to correctly identify which cases defy the rules.

2. Written Comprehension

Written compression questions assess how well you can read and interpret written information. You have to read a passage that gives you some information about scenarios. The passage is followed by a number of multiple-choice questions that ask things from the passage.

You won’t find the answers to these questions directly from individual sentences in the passage; you have to read between the lines. Consider all the information given in the passage before answering a question. This requires enhanced memory and cognitive skills.

3. Language Skills

All the questions in the NYC Sanitation Exam require you to understand and interpret the English language. However, some questions are directly targeted at evaluating your language skills. These problems give you different versions of the same sentence and ask you to pick the one which is grammatically correct. There are also questions that give you some sentences and ask you to pick the grammatical errors.

The questions are particularly designed to target areas that most applicants are weak at. For example, words that are commonly misspelled are often included in these questions. Punctuation questions are also common.

4. Visuo-Spatial Ability

This is the ability to interpret images and simulate objects in your mind. Visuo-spatial questions test your ability to analyze and navigate your environment.

These questions show you a 2D image of an object, and your task is to interpret the object’s 3D structure from the representation. Then, you’re shown multiple objects oriented in different directions. One of these objects is the same as the original, but it’s oriented differently. Others are similar to the original but are not the same. If you can picture how the original object would look from different angles, you can answer these questions correctly.

5. Strength and Stamina

The physical exam evaluates how fast you can move heavy objects. You need a certain level of strength for most tasks, but for most applicants, the real effort is completing the tasks in time. Stamina is the limiting factor.

Your body can only produce energy from aerobic respiration at a limited rate. When you need more energy, your body starts burning glucose using a process called anaerobic respiration. However, you also produce lactic acid when you burn glucose this way, which is toxic to the body and makes anaerobic respiration unsustainable. You have to keep your lungs healthy to make sure you don’t get exhausted during the physical exam.

How to Prepare For the Exam

Most aptitude tests, including the NYC Sanitation Exam, evaluate your brain’s fundamental abilities, such as cognition. Skills such as problem-solving and written comprehension rely on your brain’s cognitive abilities. Proper sleep is essential for almost all these abilities. Getting eight hours of quality sleep can ensure your brain stays healthy. You can also ensure your body stays active for the physical exam by getting some aerobic exercise every day.

The best way to train all the skills you need for the exam is by taking NYC Sanitation Exam Prep Classes. That’s where we come in.

Civil Service Success is New York’s oldest civil service exam preparation center. You can enroll in our preparation classes for the sanitation exam 2060 DCAS and ensure your success! We also host Nassau and Suffolk Police Exam Prep Classes and NYC Firefighter Exam Prep Classes.

Want to ace the NYC Sanitation Exam? Get in touch now!