FSOT Exam Information and Guideline
Foreign Service Officer Test
Below are complete topics detail with latest syllabus and course outline, that will help you good knowledge about exam objectives and topics that you have to prepare. These contents are covered in questions and answers pool of exam.
The Foreign Service Act of 1980 tasks the U.S.
Department of State – and the Board of Examiners
(BEX) specifically – with responsibility for the
evaluation and selection of candidates for the
Foreign Service.
The Department takes this charge seriously and has
devoted significant resources to the development of
a Foreign Service Officer Selection Process with
the goal of providing all candidates, regardless of
socioeconomic background, education, or
experience, a chance to demonstrate their potential
to be a Foreign Service Officer.
Candidates who participate in the selection process
will find that it is designed to challenge them and to
give them the opportunity to demonstrate qualities
that have been identified as necessary to become a
successful Foreign Service Officer. Thus, the
Board of Examiners stands by the validity and
integrity of the assessment process as being a fair
and accurate selection method for Foreign Service
Officers. Indeed, it is vital to the U.S. Department
of States mission and purpose.
To ensure no bias in favor of any candidate, the
Board of Examiners periodically revises its testing
materials. It also asks all candidates to sign nondisclosure agreements before beginning portions of
the assessment, and has implemented other
safeguards. Please note that BEX will terminate the
candidacy of anyone found to have violated the nondisclosure agreement.
The Foreign Service is a unique career and, perhaps
unsurprisingly, the selection process is also unique.
The Foreign Service selection process, including
the Foreign Service Officer Test (FSOT), the
Qualifications Evaluation Panel (QEP), and the
Foreign Service Oral Assessment (FSOA), is an
employment selection tool used by the Department
of State to identify the most qualified candidates for
Foreign Service positions.
In other words, it is a hiring process. Therefore, the
nature and purpose of this assessment process are
different from those of educational testing.
In education, assessment focuses on “mastery
testing” and the goal is to determine if the student
possesses sufficient knowledge or skill to pass a
course or to practice a profession. The assessments
are usually comprehensive, covering the entire body
of required knowledge or skill. The scores verify
current competence and command of a definite skill
set. Such assessments are often accompanied by
extensive feedback, and possibly remedial training
and reassessment, with the ultimate objective of
passing. Education assessments are not a
competition; the objective is for everyone to pass.
In employment selection, the goal is to determine
which candidates are the most qualified because an
organization wants to hire the best. Employment
assessments only sample a job-related body of
knowledge or skills because assessment time is
limited. The scores are used as predictors of
prospective job performance, rather than indicators
of current competence. Thus, tests like those used in
the Foreign Service Officer selection process are not
accompanied by extensive feedback or remedial
training because they are not meant to measure an
entire body of knowledge or skills. Moreover, the
organizations hiring process is meant to be highly
selective given the limited number of openings
available.
The Foreign Service Officer Test (FSOT) is the first
of eight steps in the FSO selection process. It is a
computer-based test that consists of four separate
test sections:
1. Job Knowledge Test
2. Situational Judgment Test
3. English Expression Test
4. Written Essay Test
The first three sections of the test contain items in a
multiple-choice format. The Written Essay appears
in the last section of the FSOT. Each section of the
test is timed separately and must be completed
within the designated time limit.
This Guide provides sample questions for each
component of the FSOT to give candidates a
general idea of the type of questions they will
encounter in the test.
Although the Written Essay section is an important
aspect of the test that is used to determine a
candidates qualifications, it will not be scored
unless the candidate passes the Job Knowledge,
Situational Judgment Test, and English Expression
sections of the test.
Success on the FSOT involves much more than
studying for a test. The FSOT assesses knowledge
and skills that the candidate has acquired from
reading widely from many different sources, study
or course work in a number of related fields, and
other career or life experiences.
In the development of the FSOT, a job analysis
was conducted of the positions held by Foreign
Service Officers to identify the knowledge and
skills critical to success on the job. Then, a
detailed test blueprint was created.
The test blueprint provides an outline of the
required knowledge and skill areas and their
relative importance to the job. The knowledge
and skill areas covered on the FSOT are listed
below.
Correct grammar, organization, writing
strategy, sentence structure, and
punctuation required for writing or
editing reports: This knowledge area
encompasses English expression and
language usage skills required for preparing
or editing written reports, including correct
grammar and good writing at the sentence
and paragraph level.
United States Government: This knowledge
area encompasses a general understanding of
the composition and functioning of the federal
government, the Constitution and its history,
the structure of Congress and its role in foreign
affairs, as well as the United States political
system and its role in governmental structure,
formulation of government policies, and
foreign affairs.
United States History, Society, Customs,
and Culture: This knowledge area
encompasses an understanding of major
events, institutions, and movements in
national history, including political and
economic history, as well as national
customs and culture, social issues and
trends, and the influence of U.S. society and
culture on foreign policy and foreign affairs.
World History and Geography: This knowledge
area encompasses a general understanding of
significant world historical events, issues, and
developments, including their impact on U.S.
foreign policy, as well as knowledge of world
geography and its relationship to U.S. foreign policy.
Economics: This knowledge area encompasses an
understanding of basic economic principles, as well
as a general understanding of economic issues and
the economic system of the United States.
Mathematics and Statistics: This knowledge area
encompasses a general understanding of basic
mathematical and statistical procedures. Items
requiring calculations may be included.
Management Principles, Psychology, and Human
Behavior: This knowledge area encompasses a
general understanding of basic management and
supervisory techniques and methods. It includes
knowledge of human psychology and behavior,
leadership, motivational strategies, and equal
employment practices.
Communications: This knowledge area
encompasses a general understanding of the
principles of effective communication and publicspeaking techniques, as well as general knowledge
of public media, media relations, and the goals and
techniques of public diplomacy and their use to
support work functions.
Computers and the Internet: This knowledge area
encompasses a general understanding of basic
computer operations such as word processing,
databases, spreadsheets, and using e-mail and the
Internet.
Related Areas of Study
Success on the FSOT is not necessarily dependent
on a specific course of study. However, the
curriculum of the following college-level courses
often helps to familiarize a candidate with the
information assessed by the test. The names of the
courses are general and may differ from institution
to institution.
• English Composition/Rhetoric
• American History
• American Studies (including cultural and social history)
• American Political Thought
• United States Political System
• American Economic History
• Introduction to Economics (micro and macro)
• World History (Western and non-Western)
• World Geography
• International Economics
• World Religions
• Introduction to Statistics
• Introduction to Management Principles
• Intercultural Communication
• Mass Communication
• Psychology