Food Service/School Lunch Manager Series
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New York State Department of Civil Service Committed to Innovation, Quality, and Excellence A Guide to the Written Test for the Food Service/School Lunch Manager Series Andrew M. Cuomo Governor INTRODUCTION The New York State Department of Civil Service has developed this test guide to familiarize you with the written test for the Food Service/School Lunch Manager Series. This test guide provides a general description of the subject areas which will be tested and the different types of questions you may see on the test. The written test for the Food Service/School Lunch Manager Series has an overall time allowance of 5 hours. The following lists all of the subject areas that are included in this series. The exam announcement will tell you which of the following subject areas you will be tested on. 1. Overseeing food service operations – These questions will test candidates’ ability to assess the management and performance of food service operations in maintaining standards of quality, sanitation, and service. Topics will include food service management practices, large scale food preparation equipment and techniques, sanitation standards for food service premises, holding and serving prepared foods, storing and handling food products, and sources of food contamination and food-transmitted diseases. 2. Supervision and training – These questions test for the knowledge required by a supervisor to set goals, plan and organize work, train workers in how to do their jobs, and direct workers towards meeting established goals. The supervisory questions cover such areas as assigning and reviewing work, evaluating performance, maintaining work quality, motivating employees, increasing efficiency, and dealing with problems that may arise on the job. The training questions cover such areas as determining the necessity for training, selecting appropriate training methods, and evaluating the effectiveness of training. 3. Office record keeping – These questions test your ability to perform common office record keeping tasks. The test consists of two or more "sets" of questions, each set concerning a different problem. Typical record keeping problems might involve the organization or collation of data from several sources; scheduling; maintaining a record system using running balances; or completion of a table summarizing data using totals, subtotals, averages and percents. 4. Basic nutrition and dietetics – These questions test for knowledge of basic nutrition and dietetics, including such areas as the nutritional value of foods, nutritional needs of the persons served, balanced diets and specific foods and their relation to health. 5. Administration – These questions test for knowledge of the managerial functions involved in directing an organization or an organizational segment. These questions cover such areas as: developing objectives and formulating policies; making decisions based on the context of the administrator's position and authority; forecasting and planning; organizing; developing personnel; coordinating and informing; guiding and leading; testing and evaluating; and budgeting. 6. Preparing written material – These questions test for the ability to present information clearly and accurately, and to organize paragraphs logically and comprehensibly. For some questions, you will be given information in two or three sentences followed by four restatements of the information. You must then choose the best version. For other questions, you will be given paragraphs with their sentences out of order. You must then choose, from four suggestions, the best order for the sentences. 7. Understanding and interpreting tabular material – These questions test your ability to understand, analyze, and use the internal logic of data presented in tabular form. You may be asked to perform tasks such as completing tables, drawing conclusions from them, analyzing data trends or interrelationships, and revising or combining data sets. The concepts of rate, ratio, and proportion are tested. Mathematical operations are simple, and computational speed is not a major factor in the test. The remainder of this test guide explains how you will be tested in each of the subject areas listed above. A TEST TASK is provided for each subject area. This is an explanation of how a question will be presented and how to correctly answer it. Read each explanation carefully. This test guide provides at least one SAMPLE QUESTION for each subject area. The sample questions will be similar to what will be presented on the actual test. This test guide provides the SOLUTION and correct answer(s) to each sample question. You should study these in order to understand how the correct or best answers were determined. 2 SUBJECT AREA 1 OVERSEEING FOOD SERVICE OPERATIONS: These questions will test candidates’ ability to assess the management and performance of food service operations in maintaining standards of quality, sanitation, and service. Topics will include food service management practices, large scale food preparation equipment and techniques, sanitation standards for food service premises, holding and serving prepared foods, storing and handling food products, and sources of food contamination and food-transmitted diseases. There will be 45 questions in this subject area on the written test. TEST TASK: There are three test tasks covered in this subject area. There is a sample question representing each of the tasks below to give you a comprehensive overview of the subject area. You will be presented with situations in which you must apply knowledge of food service management principles and practices, proper food storage and handling techniques, and proper food preparation and serving techniques in order to answer the questions correctly. SAMPLE QUESTION 1: Which one of the following is the first thing you should do when someone makes a complaint about the food service program? A. Prepare a timely written response to each complaint. B. Investigate each complaint in a prompt and unbiased manner. C. Make program changes that address the complaints. D. Discuss the complaints at future program planning sessions. SOLUTION: Choice A is not correct. Not every complaint that is made about the food service program will require a written response. Choice B is the correct answer to this sample question. Complaints need to be addressed promptly, no matter what the nature of them is. You must remain objective as well, in order to effectively handle the situation. Choice C is not correct. Program changes will not need to be made to address all complaints that are made. Choice D is not correct. The complaint should be addressed immediately, not at some point in the future. The correct answer to this sample question is B. 3 SUBJECT AREA 1 (continued) OVERSEEING FOOD SERVICE OPERATIONS (continued) SAMPLE QUESTION 2: Assume that all of the following foods will be stored in the same refrigerator. Which one of the following should be stored on the topmost shelf? A. ground beef B. poultry C. frosted cake D. fresh fish SOLUTION: Choice A is not the correct answer to this question. Ground beef should be stored below ready-to-eat foods, so no juices drip and contaminate the prepared foods below. Choice B is not the correct answer to this question. Poultry should be stored below ready-to-eat foods, in order to avoid possible contamination of the foods below. Choice C is the correct answer to this question. In order to avoid cross-contamination, ready-to-eat foods should be stored above any uncooked or raw foods. Choice D is not the correct answer to this question. Fresh fish should not be stored above ready-to-eat foods, so it does not cross-contaminate them. The correct answer to this sample question is C. 4 SUBJECT AREA 1 (continued) OVERSEEING FOOD SERVICE OPERATIONS (continued) SAMPLE QUESTION 3: Of the following temperatures, which is most appropriate for thawing frozen beef? A. 98 degrees F B. 70 degrees F C. 55 degrees F D. 40 degrees F SOLUTION: Choice A is not correct. Foodborne illness-causing microorganisms grow and multiply at temperatures between 41 and 135 degrees F, also know as the temperature danger zone, so 98 degrees F is not an appropriate temperature to thaw frozen beef. Choice B is not correct. 70 degrees F is in the temperature danger zone, so it is also not an appropriate temperature at which to thaw frozen beef. Choice C is not correct. 55 degrees F is not a safe temperature to thaw frozen beef. Choice D is the correct answer to this question. 40 degrees F is below the temperature danger zone and is also far enough above 0 degrees F, so the beef will thaw without the foodborne illness-causing microorganisms rapidly multiplying. The correct answer to this sample question is D. 5 SUBJECT AREA 2 SUPERVISION AND TRAINING: These questions test for the knowledge required by a supervisor to set goals, plan and organize work, train workers in how to do their jobs, and direct workers towards meeting established goals. The supervisory questions cover such areas as assigning and reviewing work, evaluating performance, maintaining work quality, motivating employees, increasing efficiency, and dealing with problems that may arise on the job. The training questions cover such areas as determining the necessity for training, selecting appropriate training methods, and evaluating the effectiveness of training. There will be 15 questions in this subject area on the written test. TEST TASK: You will be presented with situations in which you must apply knowledge of the principles and practices of supervision and training in order to answer the questions correctly. SAMPLE QUESTION: A new employee is assigned to the unit that you supervise. Which one of the following is MOST important to consider when you set training objectives for this employee? A. the educational level of the employee at the time of hire B. the typical volume of work produced by the senior employee in the unit C. the current production level of the unit D. the performance standards established by the workplace SOLUTION: Choice A is not correct.