{{Short description|Exams to become a public administrator}} {{about|government hiring aspects|educational aspects|Educational entrance examination|other aspects|Competitive examination}} {{No footnotes|date=December 2021}}
'''Civil service examinations''' are examinations implemented in various countries for recruitment and admission to the [[civil service]]. They are intended as a method to achieve an effective, rational [[public administration]] on a [[merit system]] for recruiting prospective politicians and public sector employees.
The most ancient example of such exams were the [[imperial examination]]s of [[History of China#Ancient China|ancient China]].<ref>{{cite web |work=Asia for Educators |title=The Song Dynasty In China {{!}} Asia Topics In World History |year=2015 |access-date=31 October 2015 |url=http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/songdynasty-module/ |publisher=[[Weatherhead East Asian Institute]] |agency=[[Columbia University]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Eno |first=Robert |title=Song Dynasty Culture: Political Crisis And The Great Turn |year=2008 |access-date=31 October 2015 |url=https://chinatxt.sitehost.iu.edu/EAsia-survey/Song-overview.pdf |journal=Chinatxt}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Ebrey |first=Patricia Buckley |title=The Cambridge Illustrated History Of China |location=Cambridge |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=1996}}</ref>
== Competitive exam == Competitive examinations are tests where candidates are ranked according to their grades and/or percentile and then top rankers are selected.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sopa.tulane.edu/blog/guide-civil-service-exams|title=A Guide to Civil Service Exams|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020000718/https://sopa.tulane.edu/blog/guide-civil-service-exams|archive-date=October 20, 2020|access-date=May 15, 2026|publisher=[[Tulane School of Professional Advancement]]}}</ref> If the examination is open for ''n'' positions, then the first ''n'' candidates in ranks pass, the others are rejected. They are used as [[Entrance examination|entrance examinations]] for [[university and college admissions]] such as the [[Joint Entrance Examination]] or to [[Secondary school|secondary schools]]. Types are civil service examinations, required for [[Civil service|positions in the public sector]]; the U.S. [[Foreign Service Exam]], and the [[United Nations]] Competitive Examination. Competitive examinations are considered an [[egalitarian]] way to select worthy applicants without risking [[influence peddling]], [[bias]] or other concerns.<ref> {{cite web|url=https://taiwantoday.tw/Society/Taiwan-Review/23249/A-General-Survey-of-China%27s-Civil-Service-Examination|title=A General Survey of China's Civil Service Examination|date=November 1, 1952|publisher=[[Taiwan Today]]|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20251210031026/https://taiwantoday.tw/Society/Taiwan-Review/23249/A-General-Survey-of-China's-Civil-Service-Examination|archive-date=December 10, 2025|access-date=May 15, 2026}}</ref> However, implicit biases within society may adversely impact the purported fairness of the exams.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/puar.13053|title=Do Competitive Examinations Promote Diversity in Civil Service?|doi=10.1111/puar.13053|journal=[[Public Administration Review]]|date=29 April 2019|volume=79|issue=3|author=Nathalie Greenan|author2= Joseph Lanfranchi|author3=Yannick L'Horty|author4=Mathieu Narcy|author5=Guillaume Pierné|access-date=15 May 2026}}</ref>
== See also == * [[BCS Examination]] * [[Civil service commission]] * [[EU Concours]] * [[Government procurement]] * [[Invitation to tender]] * [[Merit, excellence, and intelligence|Merit, excellence, and intelligence (MEI)]] – framework that emphasizes selecting candidates based solely on their merit, achievements, skills, abilities, intelligence and contributions * [[Public utilities commission]] * [[Spoils system]]
== References == {{reflist}} {{Civil service}} {{Authority control}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2026}}
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