PSET
Literacy

The Police Scotland Entrance Test (PSET) is "one examination paper with three core elements": numeracy, literacy and information handling. Police Scotland's candidate portal says you answer 49 questions in 60 minutes and must pass all three elements. Its recruitment page describes the literacy element as testing your understanding of language.

The reason is in the law. Regulation 6 of the Police Service of Scotland Regulations 2013 requires a candidate for constable to pass an assessment of English (written and spoken) and numeracy approved by the chief constable and the Scottish Ministers. Police Scotland asks for no formal qualifications, so the PSET is where your reading is checked. Every new officer applicant sits it.

Police Scotland's mock paper, published as a Word file with a separate answers file, has 15 questions. Four are language questions: one passage (about a victim support organisation) followed by statements you mark true, false or not possible to say. That is the only language question type Police Scotland publishes, so it is the one this guide teaches in depth.

Police Scotland does not publish a complete list of the question types the real paper may use and it says the paper as a whole mixes multiple-choice answers with answers written in free text boxes. Prepare thoroughly for the published format and be ready to read carefully, whatever the exact layout on the day.

Almost every lost mark in this format comes from blurring the line between False and not possible to say. Use these definitions and the quick test in the right-hand column:

Read the passage, then decide each statement before opening the answer. All names and figures are invented.

1. "Speedwatch volunteers can fine drivers who speed."
   Show answer and reason

   False. The passage says plainly that the scheme does not issue fines. A direct contradiction is False.

2. "Every Speedwatch volunteer is aged 18 or over."
   Show answer and reason

   True. Volunteers must be at least 18. The word "every" is supported because the rule applies to all volunteers.

3. "The scheme was set up by Police Scotland."
   Show answer and reason

   Not possible to say. The passage says the scheme began after residents raised concerns, but it never says who set it up. You may assume the police were involved; the passage does not say so.

4. "Volunteers currently use five sites."
   Show answer and reason

   False. There are four approved sites. A fifth has been asked for but not approved, so five is contradicted.

5. "A vehicle recorded at 37 mph would have its registration passed to the road policing team."
   Show answer and reason

   True. Vehicles recorded at 35 mph or more are passed on and 37 is more than 35.

6. "Speeding on the B790 has fallen since the scheme began."
   Show answer and reason

   Not possible to say. The passage gives totals for the first year, not a comparison with before. A fall is likely to be the aim but it is not stated.

7. "In the first year, volunteers recorded more than 10 vehicles at or above 35 mph per session, on average."
   Show answer and reason

   True. 1,140 ÷ 96 is about 11.9, which is more than 10. A simple sum from figures in the passage can make a statement True.

8. "No keeper received more than one letter."
   Show answer and reason

   False. Some keepers received a second letter. "No keeper" is contradicted by "some keepers".

9. "Volunteer training takes a full day."
   Show answer and reason

   False. Training is a half-day session.

10. "A fifth site will open near the primary school."
    Show answer and reason

    Not possible to say. The council has asked for it and it has not been approved. A request is not a decision, so whether it will open is unknown.

11. "Volunteers always work in pairs."
    Show answer and reason

    Not possible to say. The passage says nothing about how many volunteers attend each session. Watch for "always": it needs clear support in the passage.

Read the passage, then decide each statement before opening the answer. All names and figures are invented.

1. "Residents must book an appointment to attend the surgery."
   Show answer and reason

   False. Staff are available to residents without an appointment.

2. "The surgery is open for two hours a week."
   Show answer and reason

   True. It runs weekly, every Tuesday, from 2pm to 4pm. That is two hours once a week.

3. "Antisocial behaviour has been raised more often than parking."
   Show answer and reason

   True. Antisocial behaviour is the most common topic, followed by parking, so it has been raised more often.

4. "Three quarters of the visitors surveyed would recommend the surgery to a neighbour."
   Show answer and reason

   True. 90 out of 120 is 90 ÷ 120 = 0.75, which is three quarters.

5. "Most visitors to the surgery are over 60."
   Show answer and reason

   Not possible to say. The passage gives no information about visitors' ages.

6. "The surgery's opening hours will be extended in 2027."
   Show answer and reason

   Not possible to say. The council plans a review. A review could extend, shorten or keep the hours, so the outcome is unknown.

7. "A crime that is happening now can be reported to the officer at the surgery."
   Show answer and reason

   False. The officer cannot take reports of crimes in progress; they must be made by calling 999.

8. "Ardlowe Council runs the library."
   Show answer and reason

   Not possible to say. The passage says the housing adviser comes from Ardlowe Council and the surgery is held at Ardlowe Library. It never says who runs the library. Do not join two facts into a third.

Read the passage, then decide each statement before opening the answer. All names and figures are invented.

1. "Most residents named road safety as their main concern."
   Show answer and reason

   False. "Most" means more than half. 35% is the largest group but it is well under half, so the statement is contradicted by the figures.

2. "Road safety was named by more residents than any other single concern."
   Show answer and reason

   True. 35% is higher than 30% and 20%. The remaining group is 15%, which is also lower.

3. "60 residents named an issue other than road safety, antisocial behaviour or housebreaking."
   Show answer and reason

   True. 100% - 35% - 30% - 20% = 15% and 15% of 400 is 60.

4. "Housebreaking in Dunvale has increased."
   Show answer and reason

   Not possible to say. The survey measures what residents are concerned about, not how much crime there is. A concern is not evidence of a trend.

Read the passage, then decide each statement before opening the answer. All names and figures are invented.

1. "From November the counter will be open for eight hours on each weekday."
   Show answer and reason

   True. 10am to 6pm is eight hours and the new hours apply on weekdays.

2. "Before the change, the counter opened on Saturdays."
   Show answer and reason

   True. The old hours were 8am to 8pm every day, which includes Saturdays.

3. "After the change, the counter will be open for fewer hours each week than before."
   Show answer and reason

   True. Before: 12 hours x 7 days = 84 hours. After: 8 hours x 5 days = 40 hours. The sum proves it.

4. "The review found that more than 20 visitors an hour used the counter after 6pm."
   Show answer and reason

   False. The review found fewer than 15 an hour, which contradicts more than 20.

5. "Lost property will be held for longer after the change."
   Show answer and reason

   False. It will continue to be held for 28 days, so the period does not change.

6. "The change was made to save money."
   Show answer and reason

   Not possible to say. The passage says the change follows a review of visitor numbers. It gives no reason about money, even if that seems likely.

7. "Residents can report a non-emergency matter online."
   Show answer and reason

   True. They can use the online form outside the new hours. (The statement does not claim more than the passage says.)

8. "Carnbrook's counter opens at 8am."
   Show answer and reason

   Not possible to say. The passage only says Carnbrook has a counter open at weekends. It gives no opening times for Carnbrook.

9. "Glenlinn is the only police office within 11 miles of Carnbrook."
   Show answer and reason

   Not possible to say. The passage says Carnbrook is the nearest office with a weekend counter. There could be other offices nearer that do not open at weekends. "Only" needs proof.

Here is the same fact from passage A ("Volunteers must be at least 18 years old and must complete a half-day training session before taking part") tested with seven statements. Only a word or two changes each time, but the answer moves between all three options. This is exactly what the real format rewards: reading the statement as carefully as the passage.

Short drills for the patterns that cause most errors. Each passage is a single sentence; decide the statement, then open the answer.

1. Passage: "The scheme recruited 40 volunteers, of whom 25 were women." Statement: "Most volunteers were women."
   Show answer

   True. 25 out of 40 is 62.5%, which is more than half.

2. Passage: "The meeting was attended by councillors and officers." Statement: "A councillor chaired the meeting."
   Show answer

   Not possible to say. Attendance does not tell you who chaired.

3. Passage: "The hall can hold up to 80 people." Statement: "100 people attended the event in the hall."
   Show answer

   False. Up to 80 means no more than 80 can be held, which contradicts 100.

4. Passage: "Applications close on Friday." Statement: "Applications can still be made on Saturday."
   Show answer

   False. Closing on Friday contradicts applying on Saturday.

5. Passage: "The bus service has been reduced to two an hour." Statement: "There used to be more than two buses an hour."
   Show answer

   True. Reduced to two means it was higher before.

6. Passage: "Officers patrol the park in the evenings." Statement: "Officers never patrol the park in the morning."
   Show answer

   Not possible to say. Evening patrols do not rule out morning ones.

Short reasons can hide the actual thinking. Here are three of the harder statements from above, worked through the way you might talk yourself through them in the exam.

"In the first year, volunteers recorded more than 10 vehicles at or above 35 mph per session, on average." (Passage A)

First instinct: the passage never mentions a figure per session, so it must be not possible to say. Stop there and check. The passage gives two figures: 96 sessions and 1,140 vehicles at or above 35 mph in the first year. An average per session is simply the total divided by the number of sessions. 1,140 ÷ 96 is just under 12. So the figures in the passage prove the statement. Answer: True. The lesson is that "the passage does not say it in those words" is not the same as "the passage does not tell you".

"Most residents named road safety as their main concern." (Passage C)

First instinct: road safety is top of the list, so True. Check the key word: "most". Most means more than half of the residents. Road safety was named by 35%, which is less than half. The passage gives the figure, so it is not silent; it contradicts the claim. Answer: False. Had the passage said only "road safety was the most common concern" with no percentages, the statement would be not possible to say, because the largest group could in theory be more or less than half.

"Glenlinn is the only police office within 11 miles of Carnbrook." (Passage D)

First instinct: Carnbrook is the nearest office to Glenlinn, 11 miles away, so nothing else is closer. Read the passage again: it says Carnbrook is the nearest office with a counter open at weekends. That is a narrower claim. There could be other offices nearby whose counters do not open at weekends; the passage neither confirms nor rules that out. The word "only" needs proof that the passage does not give. Answer: not possible to say.

Across the 32 statements above, 12 are True, 9 are False and 11 are not possible to say. Do not read anything into that split: Police Scotland does not publish how often each answer appears and you should never guess an answer because you think one is "due". What the examples do show:

• Not possible to say clusters around plans and requests. "Has asked for", "plans to review" and "has applied" never tell you the outcome.
• False needs a contradiction you can find. Four sites contradicts five; a half-day contradicts a full day; "some keepers" contradicts "no keeper".
• Numbers can decide an answer. 1,140 ÷ 96 and 90 out of 120 turn statements into True without the passage ever saying them in words.
• Most is a number word. It means more than half; the largest group is not automatically most.
• Two facts do not make a third. An adviser from the council at a library does not tell you who runs the library.

The full paper allows about 73 seconds a question on average (60 minutes ÷ 49 questions). Police Scotland does not set separate timings for each element, so you decide how to spread the hour. For language questions:

• Spend the reading time. A careful first read of a short passage takes a minute or two and saves time on every statement that follows.
• Go back to the text for each statement. Answering from memory is the commonest source of careless errors.
• Do not agonise. If you are torn between two answers after a minute, pick the one the pointing test supports and move on.
• Use your pen. On a paper exam you can underline the key sentence for each statement; it makes checking faster at the end.

Our PSET test day guide has a full pacing plan for the 60 minutes.

The true, false or not possible to say format is not just an exam trick. It is the same discipline officers use every day: separating what a witness actually said from what you assume they meant, noticing when a report says "approximately" or "about" rather than an exact figure and not filling gaps with what seems likely. Police Scotland's values include fairness and integrity and the constable's declaration commits officers to candour. Reading accurately and reporting only what the evidence supports is part of both.

So the practice is worth doing well, not just to pass. If you can explain why a statement is not possible to say, you are already thinking the way a statement or a report needs you to think.

The PSET follows the application form and comes before the fitness assessment and the assessment day. Reading carefully matters well beyond the test: the group task on the assessment day starts with 10 minutes' independent reading of a scenario of roughly 500 to 600 words, which our group task and SJE guide covers. For the whole process, see how to join Police Scotland.

1919 Magazine (Scottish Police Federation) reported in October 2025, from figures obtained under freedom of information, that the PSET pass rate was 78% in 2022/23, 87% in 2023/24 and 94% in 2024/25. Police Scotland does not publish these figures on its recruitment pages and they do not tell you how many people failed each element.