The SAEE or The Special Agent Entrance Exam is the exam all potential agents have to pass before embarking on a career as a special agent or in the secret service.
The test is long, difficult, and arduous, but we have compiled a comprehensive guide to help all potential agents succeed and begin a special agent career.
Take the Special Agent Entrance Practice Test to improve your score.So if you spent your childhood idolizing the Men in Black and Mission Impossible, humming the James Bond theme, or yearning for a spot in Spy Kids, this test and career are for you.
To see all of the components of the SAEE, keep reading!
Table of Contents
The SAEE stands for the special agent entrance exam. It is the only examination used to determine eligibility and induction into espionage and secret services like CIA & FBI.
There are two methods for the test:
If those wishing to start a secret service or spy career fail the SAEE test, they can wait six months before attempting the exam again. With limited space for test slots, it is best to know your material and prepare once you receive a testing slot.
The test has five separate sections:
Let’s break down what each of those sections looks like. We will point you to the top practice resources on the internet too, so you can become familiar with the questions.
This difficult section presents test-takers with thirty questions to complete in a 40-minute time frame. As it is logic-based, there are twelve passages complete with a bunch of facts. The test-taker reads the facts and answers a few questions based on the reading.
Usually, you will read the passage and choose between:
Be careful in this section, the passages pay attention to minute details, and if you rush through the sections, you will trip up. Take your time, underline, and read each word carefully before moving on to the questions.
Reread each passage and use the context clues from the passages to narrow down your answers and select the best choice.
How to prepare for logic-based reasoning
Job Test Prep is hands down the best resource on the internet to prepare for the SAEE exam. Their prep pack includes:
Tips for Preparing with the Study Guide:
This section of the SAEE boasts 64 questions to answer in a 20-minute time frame. You can relax a little bit for this section because it asks you about previous experiences.
It might ask if you ever studied for more than two hours, had a friend sleepover, or hosted a large shin-dig. There are multiple questions the test could ask, and you answer in the capacity you’ve completed the activity.
Example Question:
Have you ever received detention in school?
The test will format the questions in this fashion. Circle the answer that applies to your honest answer and push through the rest of the exam. Don’t spend too much time on a single question.
Preparing for Experience, Inventory
Job Test Prep’s preparation package comes with a personality test to help you ace this portion of the exam.
An inventory experience guide is also included in this prep pack.
Tips for Preparing with the Study Guide:
This portion of the exam has 25 questions to complete in 40 minutes. This section has two kinds of reports to quiz you with.
Both mediums have errors throughout the bodies of text. Your job is to find and identify the errors.
Let’s take a look at some common errors in the Language Usage portion.
Example subject-verb agreement question:
“She is great.” This sentence illustrates one person — she, who is great. The verb “is” applies to one singular person. The incorrect subject-verb agreement for this would be “She are great.” “Are” applies to more than one person, making the verb account for more than one person.
A plural example of a correct subject-verb agreement looks like this. “Jim and James are wonderful.” Jim and James represent two people (a plural) amount and the verb “are” matches their amount. The incorrect use of a subject-verb agreement for this statement would look like this, “Jim and James is wonderful.” The verb “is” represents a single person, but James and Jim are two separate people.
The passages have numbered sentences and will ask you questions relating to the grammar. For example, the test could ask which sentence needs proper punctuation. You choose between all the examples and pick the best choice.
Language Usage Preparation
To practice, read quickly but carefully and note any grammatical issues. When you see the options for the sentences with errors, reread each sentence and see if they have any errors.
They will probably all have errors, so you must pay attention to the particular error the sentence asks about. To hone this skill, you can practice with Job Test Prep’s prep guide. It includes:
Tips for Preparing with the Study Guide:
Like the first inventory assessment, this one is about you; however, you need to answer questions describing how people view you. You need to have a pretty good understanding of yourself and be self-aware for this section.
It has 96 questions for you to complete in 30 minutes. The questions revolve around how your supervisors, mentors, or teachers would describe you. Questions can range between your work ethic, attitude, or personality.
Example Question:
An example of one of these questions is: You need extra time to complete your work.
You pick the best option between:
This shouldn’t attack your character, the test administrators and graders use it to get a better understanding of your character and eligibility for the secret service. And be honest, some questions can pick up on dishonest answers.
Experience, Inventory preparation
Job Test Prep’s packet comes with a personality test to assist you in preparing for this portion of the exam. This prep test shows you how to answer questions to illuminate the best parts of your personality.
Plus, how to answer questions that apply to the job but might not align with your personality, so they still consider you for hire.
An inventory experience guide also comes with the prep pack.
Tips for Preparing with the Study Guide:
This section of the SAEE uses photographs instead of passages or statements to assess you.
This portion has three photographs and three groups of questions based on each photograph and unrelated to the photographs. The photographs are ones you might see while working as an agent, but the questions following the photos relate to the material in the pictures.
What’s the catch?
You have to use your memory during this exercise because you look at the picture and answer questions that don’t have anything to do with the photos. This segment tests your memory by giving you distractions to interfere with your memories. After you answer these questions, you move on to questions about the photos.
You look at each photo for two and a half minutes, answer the questions not about the photo for five minutes, and after that time runs out, you answer the questions about the photo for six minutes.
For these questions, you answer them without looking at the photos. To the best of your abilities, you answer the questions. The questions can ask about
Preparing for Detail observation
Job Test Prep’s practice guide includes four practice detail observation tests that help improve your memory and answer questions based on visual data.
Tips for Preparing with the Study Guide:
The overall exam takes over three hours to complete. Make sure to rest, study, and eat properly before heading into the exam room.
The complexity of the exam compares to some of the same difficulties with standardized exams. Still, the SAEE has more complex and trickier questions and additional sections making this test more difficult to pass.
The secret service does not report how many people take or pass the SAEE test, nor what the passing grade for the exam is, but the rates are slim.
To dress for the part, wear formal business clothes like a suit and pants. Also, remember to tie your hair up if you have long hair.
The Secret Service provides study guides and prep materials for the test, but no other company delves into as much detail as Job Test Prep. While you can also use the help of the secret service’s guides, Job Test Prep will increase your score even more.
This study guide focuses on the main studying tips. General ones that do not break down specific questions you might have trouble with.
General tips work when you begin studying, but if you have difficulty with a detail observation question, the secret service’s study guide does not explain how to answer it correctly. Job Test Prep’s guide breaks down each answer and why the correct choice is correct.
The Secret Service does not supply timed tests, meaning you might spend two hours on a section instead of the hour you have to devote to answering the questions.
If you only practice with this study guide, you will run into trouble and time constraints when you take the real administered exam.
This study guide asks fewer questions than the one Job Test Prep supplies, and it doesn’t bother to give users any help with the personality/ inventory section.
Since the secret service does not release the passing scores for any of the sections on the test or the cumulative score required to enlist as an espionage agent, you need to make sure you prepare for the most intense and tricky questions.
We prefer the materials of Job Test Prep over most other test prep companies out there. Here are some additional offerings included with their packages:
This also helps improve your score and notice which sections you need more help with or need to spend more time practicing.
If you are studying to take the SAEE, you might know the hiring process for the secret service. But here is a refresher for those who are not so familiar with the hiring process.
The process has two phases:
Let’s look at what each phase entails.
Joining the secret service is difficult and the hiring process takes months — even if you don’t make it through to the end. The SAEE test is the first examination required for admittance into the service. While it is time-consuming and strenuous, Job Test Prep’s study guide and test prep kit can help you prepare for the test.
By using these resources, you have a higher chance of joining the team and becoming a secret agent!
Related Study Guides:
Sarah is an accomplished educator, researcher and author in the field of testing and assessment. She has worked with various educational institutions and organisations to develop innovative evaluation methods and enhance student learning. Sarah has published numerous articles and books on assessment and learning. Her passion for promoting equity and fairness in the education system fuels her commitment to sharing insights and best practices with educators and policymakers around the world.
