CritiCall Test: What the 911 Dispatcher Test Covers, Module by Module, and How to Practise
If you have applied to be a 911 dispatcher or call taker, there is a good chance the next step is CritiCall. It does not test dispatch knowledge. It tests whether you can enter data accurately, remember what you just saw, read a map, decide which agency to send, rank calls by urgency and write clearly, all against a clock. PrepClubs practice covers eleven of those skills in 60-question forms of about 45 minutes, starting with a free diagnostic.
By PrepClubs Editorial Team, updated October 23, 2026
What CritiCall is
CritiCall is a computer-based pre-employment test from Biddle Consulting Group, delivered through its TestGenius platform. Emergency communications centers use it to screen dispatcher and call-taker applicants before interviews.
There is no single CritiCall test. Each agency picks the modules it wants from a library and sets its own pass marks, so two centers in the same state can give quite different tests. Your invitation or the agency's hiring page usually lists the modules.
No dispatcher knowledge is assumed. The test measures listening, memory, judgment, accuracy and language, the skills a new hire needs on day one. Answers are mostly multiple choice with four options, and some modules play recorded audio or test typing speed.
The CritiCall modules and what each one looks like
These are the modules agencies choose from most, in the order PrepClubs forms present them. Each PrepClubs form has 60 questions in these blocks.
Data entry (8 questions)
A call card and a typed entry side by side. Find the field that was keyed wrong: a swapped digit in a phone number, one wrong letter in a street name, a transposed plate.
Cross referencing (6 questions)
Look up a name, address or phone in a directory or table. Look-alike names, such as MCALLISTER and MACALLISTER, are the usual trap.
Comparing information (6 questions)
Compare a list of addresses or codes with a copy and count how many lines differ. Speed matters, but so does checking every character.
Memory recall (6 questions)
A list of vehicles with colors, plates and directions appears on a timed study screen, then hides. You answer from memory.
Map reading (6 questions)
A street map with units and landmarks. Which unit is closest, which way a unit faces after a turn, which route reaches the scene.
Decision making (8 questions)
A box of dispatch rules and a short incoming message. Decide whether to send Police, Fire, Medical (EMS) or Utility (Public Works), including when more than one rule fits.
Prioritization (4 questions)
Four incident summaries. Pick the call to dispatch first, or sometimes the lowest priority: threats to life before serious injury, before property crime, before nuisance calls.
Call summarization (6 questions)
Two call transcripts, each shown once on a timed screen that then hides, with 3 questions each: an exact detail, the most accurate summary and one more detail or inference.
Spelling, sentence clarity and reading comprehension (10 questions)
4 spelling items on sound-alike and commonly misspelled words, 3 items asking which version of a report sentence is clearest, and 3 questions on a dispatch policy or procedure passage.
Try three CritiCall style questions
Original questions written for this page, not taken from any scored form. Click to reveal the answer and walkthrough.
- A.Police
- B.Fire
- C.Medical (EMS)
- D.Utility (Public Works)
- A.Purse snatched outside a pharmacy ten minutes ago, the victim is unhurt.
- B.House fire on Linden Court, the caller says her father is still upstairs.
- C.Teenager with a sprained wrist after falling off a skateboard.
- D.Stop sign knocked flat at a rural crossroads, no crash reported.
- A.Last name
- B.Address
- C.Phone
- D.Plate
The real CritiCall and PrepClubs practice side by side
PrepClubs practice covers the modules that can be done on screen. Two things it cannot copy, and it says so: typing speed and recorded audio.
| CritiCall | PrepClubs CritiCall style practice | |
|---|---|---|
| Modules | Chosen by each agency | Eleven modules in every form |
| Length | Depends on the modules | 60 questions in about 45 minutes |
| Memory and call summaries | Study screens and recorded calls | Timed study screens and call transcripts that hide before the questions |
| Audio | Some modules play recorded calls | Not simulated: call summaries are read instead of heard |
| Typing | A keyboarding module if the agency uses it | Not simulated: practise typing speed separately |
| Pass mark | Set by the agency | Score by module so you can see your weak spots |
PrepClubs is independent practice, not affiliated with Biddle Consulting Group, TestGenius or CritiCall. Questions are original.
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How CritiCall is scored
Each module is scored on its own, and the agency decides what counts as a pass. Pass marks are often set between 70 and 80 percent per module, but the number belongs to your agency, so check its posting or ask the recruiter.
When an agency sets a pass mark for each module, a low score on one can hold you back even when the others are strong. That is why the PrepClubs results break your score down by module rather than giving one number.
Agencies that test typing set their own speed requirement. If yours does, practise on a typing site in short daily sessions, separate from the rest of your prep.
A two-week plan for CritiCall
Day 1: Find your modules
Read the agency's posting or invitation for the module list and any pass marks. Then take the free 60-question diagnostic to see where you stand.
Days 2 to 4: Accuracy modules
Data entry, cross referencing and comparing information reward a steady method: check field by field, character by character. Slow down until you stop missing swapped digits, then speed up.
Days 5 to 7: Memory and call summaries
Practise holding a list of 6 to 8 vehicles: say each plate and color to yourself once. For transcripts, track the address, people, vehicle and direction of travel as you read.
Days 8 to 10: Judgment modules
Learn the dispatch rules and the tie-break order until they are automatic. For prioritization, sort every call into life threat, serious injury or crime in progress, property, or nuisance.
Days 11 to 13: Full timed forms
Sit full forms under time and review every miss. If your agency tests typing, add 10 minutes of typing practice each day.
Day 14: Rest and set up
Test day may use headphones for audio modules. Know where you are going, bring what the invitation asks for, and sleep.
Common CritiCall mistakes
Reading for meaning in the accuracy modules
Your brain fills in what it expects: 555-0148 and 555-0184 look the same at a glance. Compare one character at a time.
Ignoring the tie-break rule
A crash with no injuries is a Police call, but a crash with smoke is a Fire call. When more than one rule fits, the rule order decides.
Trying to memorize everything
On study screens, anchor each item on one detail, such as plate or color, and link the rest to it. Trying to hold every word at once loses more.
Preparing for one fixed test
Agencies choose different modules. Prepare for all the common ones, but spend extra time on the modules your agency names.
Related reading
CritiCall FAQs
A score tells you how you did. The coach tells you what to practice next.
After every test you get a short plan built from your own answers and seconds: which sections cost you points, which ones eat your clock, and the drill that fixes each.
Math: 11 of 12 right, at 31 s a question
Drill math against a 20 s clock. That frees about 2 minutes per test for the sections you miss more.
People who got the same questions right took 20 s.
Illustrative data
- Every section mapped on accuracy against speed, with one fix for each
- The questions that ate your time, and the clock checkpoints to hit next time
- Where rushing costs you, and the point to guess and move on
- A read that sharpens with every test you take
Your pacing report is free with your first test.
Practise for CritiCall before your agency test
A free 60-question diagnostic across eleven modules, then 7 full forms with a worked explanation for every answer.
Start prepping