Checked 11 November 2026. Checked on 11 November 2026. The two official guides cited here, from New York State and San Francisco, describe different formats and scoring. Your employer's may differ again, so follow your own exam announcement or candidate guide.
An in-basket exercise gives you a job, a deadline and a pile of mail, and asks what you would do with each item. Public employers, including the two whose guides are cited below, use it to select and promote supervisors and managers. The items are the everyday business of the job: emails from staff, a memo from your manager, a complaint, a deadline, a request you should not grant.
This page shows what in-basket items look like, works through two original items with each listed action rated and explained, and sets out how two public employers score their in-baskets. The practice boxes let you try the first three items of a full supervisor inbox.
New York State Department of Civil Service sample job simulation exercise, read 11 November 2026.
FreeTests: Prioritization
The back stairwell exit: free sample
Read the situation, then rate each of its 5 actions, as an in-basket asks. The first 3 of 13 items are free.
3 items free▶ Start nowThis one is free · no sign-in neededUntimed, like the real testWhat an in-basket item looks like
Both cited guides give a background for the role; read it before judging the items. New York State's published sample, for example, makes you the new head of a group in a fictional state agency, back after three days away, with a secretary and three unit supervisors under you (NYS sample). Then come the items. Typical ones:
| Item type | Example (ours) | What it practices (our view) |
|---|---|---|
| A safety or legal risk | An emergency exit is blocked; a records request says not to delete anything | Prioritization: some things cannot wait until you are back |
| A hard deadline | Timesheets must be approved by noon; a report is due Thursday | Planning: start the work now, even if you finish it later |
| A people problem | A staff complaint about a colleague's remark; a leave request that leaves a gap | Judgment: fairness, confidentiality, getting advice |
| A request you should not grant as asked | An office asks you to move one applicant to the front of the line | Judgment and communication: help, but within the rules |
| Work someone else should do | Counter cover for an afternoon; a new employee's first complex task | Delegation: the right person, a clear aim, a way to check |
| Low-priority mail | A course reminder due in four weeks; an invitation for next month | Prioritization: schedule it, do not spend the morning on it |
A worked example: two items, every action rated
Below is a short inbox we wrote for this page. It is not taken from any employer's exercise or manual, and it is not one of the items in our practice inbox. For each item we give four possible actions and rate each one on the scale our practice inbox uses: Strong (the right action, at the right time, by the right person), Acceptable (helps, but a better option was there), Weak (does little, but causes no real harm) and Harmful (makes things worse). Judge each action as your whole response to the item. This rating format is ours. Neither cited guide describes this four-level scale.
Your background (written by us)
- It is Friday, 7:30 a.m. You are the new supervisor of a county recreation center. At 8:00 you leave for a full-day budget workshop and you will not see email until 5:00 p.m. Your assistant supervisor, Jamie, runs the center when you are out. Your manager is the county's Recreation Division Manager.
Item 1 of 2 · Email from the aquatics lead, Thu 9:40 p.m.
- "Two of the three lifeguards on Saturday's 9:00 to 1:00 shift have called off. The county rule says the pool cannot open with fewer than two lifeguards on deck. The swim lessons have 40 children booked."
- Action: Ask Jamie to book at least one relief lifeguard for Saturday today so that two are on deck, and if that fails by 5:00 p.m., to keep the pool closed, cancel the lessons and tell the parents. Our rating: Strong. Jamie runs the center while you are out and gets the job, a deadline and a closure plan. If cover cannot be found, parents hear on Friday that Saturday's lessons are canceled.
- Action: Reply to the aquatics lead asking them to find cover. Our rating: Acceptable. It hands the problem to someone who knows the lifeguards, but it gives no deadline and no plan if cover cannot be found.
- Action: Reply to thank the aquatics lead for letting you know. Our rating: Harmful. As your whole response, it leaves a known safety staffing gap with no plan for cover or closure. Ratings can repeat: two actions here are Harmful.
- Action: Tell the aquatics lead to open with one lifeguard and watch the deep end closely. Our rating: Harmful. It tells staff to open below the stated minimum of two lifeguards, with 40 children booked.
Our item and our ratings.
Item 2 of 2 · Voicemail note from the front desk, Thu 4:50 p.m.
- "A parent called, upset. Her son's summer camp refund has not arrived after six weeks. The refund policy says ten business days. She asked for the supervisor to call her back."
- Action: Email the finance clerk now to trace the refund, and ask Jamie to call the parent today to apologize, say what is being done, and tell her you will call her yourself on Monday. Our rating: Strong. The inquiry starts at once with the person who can trace the money, the parent hears back today, and the supervisor she asked for follows up.
- Action: Call the parent before you leave to apologize, and promise to look into it next week. Our rating: Acceptable. She hears from you in person, but nobody starts tracing the refund until next week.
- Action: Email the parent a copy of the refund policy. Our rating: Weak. Polite, but it repeats the policy instead of tracing her money or answering her request for a call.
- Action: Leave the message until Monday, since refunds are handled by finance, not the center. Our rating: Harmful. A refund already well past its ten-business-day limit waits longer, and the parent is ignored after asking for a call back.
Our item and our ratings.
Notice what decided the ratings: a rule in the item (two lifeguards, ten business days) and a time (Saturday, Monday). For any item, find the problem, the rule and the deadline, then decide who acts, by when, and how you will know it is done. These are our practice suggestions, not an employer's scoring guide.
FreeTests: Prioritization
The back stairwell exit: free sample
Read the situation, then rate each of its 5 actions, as an in-basket asks. The first 3 of 13 items are free.
3 items free▶ Start nowThis one is free · no sign-in neededUntimed, like the real testHow in-basket exercises are scored
The two official guides cited here show two formats: set choices (New York State) and written answers scored by raters (San Francisco). New York State's Department of Civil Service publishes how its job simulation exercises, which present in-basket items with lists of possible actions, are scored (NYS sample):
| Rule (New York State sample) | What it means |
|---|---|
| Mark every choice | You mark A for each choice you select and B for each you do not; every choice must be marked. |
| Each choice is worth +1 or 0 | In the sample, the best actions are valued +1; actions that are less effective or inappropriate are valued 0. |
| The instruction sets how many count | "Choose ONLY ONE", "Choose UP TO TWO" (or three) or "Choose AS MANY as are appropriate". |
| Zero-valued choices are scored first | When a section limits how many you choose, your choices valued 0 are counted before those valued +1, so extra choices can push out credit for better ones. |
| Scores are scaled | Section scores are totaled and scaled to the subtest's range, for example 0 to 15 or 0 to 30. |
San Francisco's Department of Human Resources, in its 2010 preparation manual for the Sheriff's Captain in-basket, describes seven scenarios answered in writing. A Scoring Key Development Committee writes the scoring key, and two raters score each candidate's answers independently against it, then confer to agree a final rating (SF DHR manual, 2010).
For set choices, follow the instruction on how many to choose: where a limit is set, extra choices valued 0 count first. For written answers, answer every part of the prompt. The San Francisco manual asks four questions for each scenario: what action you would take, whom you would communicate with, how, and what you would tell them. In our practice, also state deadlines and how you will check the work is done.
Our practice inbox rates every action rather than asking you to pick some, so a near miss still earns half a mark. It also scores each of five competencies and shows whether your ratings tend to be higher or lower than ours. These describe agreement with our ratings, not an employer's score.
Practice on a full inbox
Our in-basket practice inbox puts you in a new supervisor's chair in a fictional city Permit Center at 8:00 on a Monday, with a course to leave for at 8:45: 13 items, from a blocked exit and a staff complaint to a records request and an overtime budget, each with four or five listed actions to rate. Every action comes with our rating and the reason for it, you get a score for each of five competencies (prioritization, delegation, judgment, communication and planning), and an optional 45-minute timer runs across the whole inbox. The first three items are free. Independent practice. Not affiliated with any employer, civil service commission or testing agency: none of them wrote our inbox or endorses it.
For a minute-by-minute plan, a sorting method and delegation rules, see how to pass an in-basket exercise.
FreeTests: Prioritization
The back stairwell exit: free sample
Read the situation, then rate each of its 5 actions, as an in-basket asks. The first 3 of 13 items are free.
3 items free▶ Start nowThis one is free · no sign-in neededUntimed, like the real testFrequently asked questions
What is an in-basket exercise?
A work simulation used to select and promote supervisors and managers. You take on a role, receive a set of emails, memos and messages, and decide what to do with each one within a time limit: act now, hand it to someone, schedule it, escalate it or leave it.
What are examples of in-basket items?
A safety risk that cannot wait, a hard deadline, a complaint about a colleague, a leave request that leaves a gap, a request to bend a procedure, work that should go to someone else, and low-priority mail that should simply be scheduled.
How is an in-basket exercise scored?
It depends on the employer. In New York State's published sample, each possible action is valued +1 or 0, the instruction says how many you may choose, and if you pick more than allowed, your choices valued 0 are scored before those valued +1. In a San Francisco manual for written answers, two raters score each candidate against a key written by a committee.
How long is an in-basket exercise?
Each employer sets its own time limit; check your exam announcement or candidate guide. Our practice inbox has an optional 45-minute timer.
Is there an in-basket exercise with answers?
Some employers publish a sample with scoring information, such as New York State's job simulation sample, which values each choice +1 or 0. This page has two worked items, and our practice inbox gives a rating and a reason for every action.
Do these examples describe my exam in Canada or elsewhere?
The two official guides cited here are from New York State and San Francisco. Our original items practice the same workplace judgment, but check your own employer's guide for its format, instructions and scoring.
Are your examples real exam questions?
No. Our items are original and set in fictional public offices. We at ProSyllabus are independent and not affiliated with any employer, civil service commission or testing agency.
More in this series
Sources
- official — New York State Department of Civil Service: Sample Test Material for Administrative management of work and resources (job simulation exercise, scoring of choices), read 11 November 2026
- official — San Francisco Department of Human Resources: Preparation Manual for the In-Basket Exercise (8312 Sheriff's Captain Examination, September 2010; how written responses are scored), read 11 November 2026
official = a document published by the conducting body. reported = a news or coaching site we could not check against an original. Where sources disagree this page says so rather than picking one.
