No. The deadline is set by the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) and cannot be extended. Seven weeks is considered a reasonable length of time to complete this type of exam.

DCAS will not schedule another exam until it exhausts the civil service list of those who took this exam. Any of us who don’t take this exam will not be on this list, and our positions may be offered to others who are on the list. Civil service rules require DCAS to hire from the list. Each of us must take this exam or risk losing our current positions.

Both New York State and the federal government adopted civil service rules in 1883 as a way to prevent political patronage in decisions on hiring and promotions in government jobs. Because civil service aims to base hiring on merit and fitness rather than favoritism, it requires the use of exams and a hiring list to maintain objectivity and fairness.

Once permanently appointed to the title, you will not be required to take the exam again.

No. The only credential you need is a New York State license to practice occupational or physical therapy and to be currently registered. If you have any further questions about this aspect, contact DOE’s Division of Human Resources & Talent at AskAQuestionAboutCivilServiceExaminations@schools.nyc.gov.

You can save your work on the exam and complete it later. However, once you submit it, you will not be able to make any changes. Follow the directions and complete and review your entries carefully prior to submitting. Be sure to submit before the Dec. 31, 2013 deadline.

It is important to understand that this exam is used for many civil service titles and some parts of it don’t fit our titles, which is why some questions like this one are confusing. You should put exactly how many hours you work each week. We have been assured that whether you report your service as full- or part-time, it will not affect your employment status as a DOE therapist, your pension or any other rights and benefits.

Enter the date on which you complete the exam. DCAS will assume that every occupational and physical therapist who indicates the end date as the date they apply for the exam as being employed at least through the exam deadline, Dec. 31, 2013.

All service in schools, whether directly for the DOE or for a contract agency, counts as school experience.

You should record each period of time separately. Example: Start date: 9/5/2000, end date: 7/1/2004 and then a new entry for the next time period as if it were a new job, Start date: 9/3/2010, end date: 11/15/2013 (use date you file for the exam to indicate that you are currently still working).

Yes, you should include all "therapist" experience regardless of whether or not it is in a school setting.