The only people who ever do any good with this form of training are strong, muscular and lean. You will never see a fat person efficient at the beep test. The whole test takes 3 minutes and 35 seconds and covers 525m. The 15m Multi-Stage Fitness test (15m MSFT) The standard needed for an officer who requires PST as part of their role is 5.4 which means running at least in time with the bleeps for four shuttles at level 5.
I can confirm that there is very little difference between the two tests, I found the 20m test slightly harder but interestingly did slightly better then on the 15m test reaching 11.2, compared to 11.1 in the process.
If you need a particular role, then you complete the test at a higher level. In level three, it’s 6.1 seconds per shuttle, 5.8 seconds per shuttle in tier 4, 5.5 seconds for level 5, and you need to meet the 3 minutes 45 seconds running pass mark. The exam is typically not difficult, but you may want to brush up on these basic skills before test day. The Police Officer Selection Test (POST) is much like many other civil service exams in that it is a test of basic skills, not necessarily specific law enforcement knowledge. 5.4 is the minimum standard required and Police Officers will be expected to pass this test on an annual basis. This gives opportunity to understand the bleep system as well as warming you up. The bleep test is used also by physical training instructors to assess fitness as it is deemed to be most likely the most effective cardio workout for fat loss. Level 5.4 (the required pass mark) involves 3 minutes and 40 seconds of running. The table below lists the number of seconds you are given per shuttle to reach the other side of the 15 meter track between levels 1 and 5.