Customer Reviews

Associate Staff Analyst (Career Examination Passbooks)

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In my experience, recent civil service exams for Staff Analyst and Associate Staff Analyst are remarkably similar to the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT). For reading, civil service exams and the GMAT both test for critical reasoning, sentence correction, reading comprehension. In mathematics, civil service exams and the GMAT both test for problem solving, data sufficiency, word problems, and basic high school math skills. The advantage in using GMAT books is that they delve into how to approach each type of problem, and provide explanation of answers to sample tests.

What then about NLC's Staff Analyst and Associate Staff Analyst Passbooks? Well, they provide practice questions that span across management, organizational, and audit theory; these are not found in a GMAT exam or prep book. However, most of NLC's questions seem to be a decade or two old, if not older. These days only history exams should ask about magnetic core memory, magnetic drum storage, reciprocating files, and the importance of sulphite paper. NLC's books consist primarily of practice exams, without explanation of answers or explanation of how to approach answering the questions. If you've purchased a Staff Analyst book, you don't need to purchase the Associate Staff Analyst book, and vice-versa. The two books provide similar practice questions.

Consider buying a Princeton or Kaplan GMAT preparation book ahead of NLC's Staff Analyst and Associate Staff Analyst Passbooks. A GMAT book will probably provide 90% of the preparation needed to take a Staff Analyst civil service exam. One could purchase a NLC Passbook for a brief overview of management, organizational, and audit topics, but buyers will have to be wary of practice questions and practice answers that are irrelevant in today's world.

Good luck on your exam!