Reading Comprehension Study Guide & Sample Test Questions Version 1

Critical Reading 
INSTRUCTIONS: Read the passage below and answer questions 14-15. NOTE: Actual test questions 
will vary in format, content, and level of difficulty. 
The term “Civil Service” is generally applied to paid nonmilitary service in a nonelective office 
in the executive branch of government. In 1883, in response to public outcry over the Spoils 
System, Congress passed the Civil Service Act, which created the foundations of the American 
Civil Service system. Among the components of the act are provisions for the selection of Civil 
Service personnel by open competitive examinations; guarantees for Civil Service employees 
from forms of coercion for political reasons; and the creation of a Civil Service Commission, an 
appointive board charged with administering the act. At the time of passage, the Civil Service 
Act covered ten percent of all classes of positions in the competitive service. By the early 
1980s however, that number had grown to almost 85 percent of all federal civilian jobs in the 
United States. In 1978 Congress passed the Civil Service Reform Act, which replaced the Civil 
Service Commission with the Office of Personnel Management.
14.
The primary purpose of the passage is to 
A.
explain the origins of the U.S. Civil Service system. 
B.
describe the functions of the Civil Service Commission. 
C.
contrast the Spoils System with selection-by-examination. 
D.
illustrate the breadth and scope of public-sector employment. 
15.
From the passage, it can be inferred that the 
A.
Spoils System of employee selection was highly corrupted. 
B.
Office of Personnel Management will eventually be abolished. 
C.
Civil Service Commission failed to properly administer the Civil Service Act. 
D.
number of jobs covered under the Civil Service Act will continue to increase. 

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