This additional qualification will also stand SP Poon in good stead for his job as the officer-in-charge of the Examinations and Assessment Division (E & A Div) of the Learning Development Support Centre.

With 127 years of history, the City and Guilds offers vocational education and training, and confers internationally recognised vocational qualifications, based on the UK's National Vocational Qualifications system. The IAA is conferred on career trainers who specialise in the fields of examination and assessment.

In obtaining his award, SP Poon passed four practical and one written theory examinations, and submitted a series of written assignments. In the practical part, in which he chose firearms handling, law of evidence and first aid, he was judged on his skills of conducting practical, written and oral examinations.

"The overall IAA examination places particular emphasis on the use of competence-based assessment as a means of gauging the standards of trainees or employees. This is exactly what we are doing in the E & A Div," he said.

"As examination and assessment are an integral part of training and development for officers, and with the future Police College aiming to achieve excellence, our examination system is constantly being enhanced. In preparing for the IAA examinations, I read a lot of reference material on training and assessment, and as a result, I am convinced that the system in the Hong Kong Police measures up international standards. Comparing with many international organisations, we are indeed very professional," he added.

Work of E & A Div

Having worked in E & A Div for six years, SP Poon said the main roles of his division are to maintain the professional standards of the Force by finding out if officers have adequate knowledge, skills and a positive attitude; and by enhancing officers' responsiveness to changes in laws and police procedures and practices.

"We also provide a mechanism to help identify qualified officers for consideration for promotion. In other words, E & A Div is responsible for administering all major police written examinations and practical assessments, namely the Promotion to SGT, SGT(A) Qualifying Examinations and Inspectorate Standard II & III Examinations. We administer examinations and assessments for Regular and Auxiliary recruit trainees, UB and Crime officers. We also act as a consultant to units of the Force that need advice on running examination and assessment," he explained.

In order to ensure that examinations and assessment are conducted in a fair, impartial and open manner, E & A Div has fine-tuned examination questions, assessment methods and the marking guide.

"For example, before conducting a practical examination, we'll demonstrate the standard skills for members of the assessment team and prepare a detailed checklist for grading relevant observable behaviours so as to minimise subjectivity of different assessors.

"If it is a written examination involving open-ended questions, we'll assign one officer to mark the same question for all candidates to avoid deviation that may arise if it is marked by different assessors," SP Poon added.

As the Force has adopted a criterion-referenced model for examination and assessment, candidates must reach a specified standard in performance in order to pass. There is no pre-set quota or percentage of pass or failure.

"We have to make sure that our officers are professional and up to standard. Problem-based scenarios are often set to test not only candidates' knowledge and skills, but also their understanding of the reasons behind their actions. For multiple-choice or true or false questions, a mark deduction system has been adopted to discourage candidates from blind guessing. Marks would be deducted for a wrong answer, but not for skipping a question. This approach is analogous with the concept that in their daily work, officers should not speculate and take reckless actions if they are not sure about the truth of, or the proper way to handle a case," he noted.

Upcoming examinations

In conclusion, SP Poon reminded officers that the Promotion to the SGT and SGT(A) Qualifying Examinations are scheduled for October 23 and 29 respectively. Information is available on-line to assist candidates in preparing for these examinations.

"Officers should treat this examination as a challenge for their continuing professional development. They should make use of PGO, FPM, PM, and HQO, etc on POINT. The Knowledge Management System and the Department of Justice's Bilingual Laws Information System will be useful. They can also access examination-related information on Training Wing's Examinations Website, such as study skills, examination techniques, administrative instructions and examination debriefing reports," he said.

SP Poon says good preparation for examinations is indispensable