The city’s personnel agency bungled a civil service exam for promotion to fire lieutenant last year, then botched its corrective action – so now it’s going to score the test for a third time, The Post has learned.
The Department of Citywide Administrative Services posted a list of 1,166 firefighters who passed the test, a major step up the career ladder at the agency.
But it wasn’t long before complaints came in that one of the multiple-choice questions had two correct answers.
So the exam was re-scored — only to be messed up again with new scores that made no sense.
“This is total incompetence on the part of DCAS to have to score this three times,” fumed one firefighter who took the test.
“I don’t blame the Fire Department. They are handcuffed by what DCAS does. But when you spent two to three years studying to take a test, you expect the people running the test to also put in the same effort.”
Firefighters say they bombarded the testing agency with dozens of calls to seek another correction.
But DCAS only budged after The Post inquired about the mess.
In the first re-do, DCAS credited everyone who accurately answered the botched question, which dealt with using an elevator during a fire.
But after the revisions, many firefighters were stunned to see their scores go down.
Exam results comprised half an applicant’s score. The other half was tallied off a formula based on a firefighter’s seniority, department awards and, if applicable, military training.
When DCAS added up the scores again, it only counted the exam portion without factoring in the rest of the data for all candidates.
Many outraged test-takers aired their gripes on the FDNY Rant website.
“Holy crap. I lost points and dropped 45 names,” posted one firefighter.
“How can DCAS be so incompetent in their jobs?” asked another. “It’s hard to believe.”
DCAS confirmed an internal investigation determined the mistakes were caused by human error, but declined to say whether anyone would be disciplined.
The agency said it is working to correct the issue and will publish a third civil service promotion list to fire lieutenant list by Friday, and mail individual notices to candidates early next week.
Both FDNY and DCAS said the re-scoring will not affect the promotion timetable.
An FDNY spokesman said top scorers would “likely” be notified they’re being promoted in mid-September as planned.
“This was an unusual occurrence and we apologize for any inconvenience,” said a DCAS spokesperson
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