Commenting on the changes, Western Deputy District Commander, Senior Superintendent (SSP) Benson Chau Ping-sun, a co-opted member of the Force Examinations Board said: "The changes will more closely align the nature and content of the exam with the core competencies of a Chief Inspector as Standard III questions reflect the level of the responsibilities at that rank."

The changes will include increasing the number of open-ended questions from one to two but reducing the overall number of questions from 10 to eight. SSP Chau explained: "Feedback from exam candidates was very positive about open-ended questions. Some, however, did comment that it takes longer to answer such questions as compared with the more traditional questions. The reduction in the overall number of questions, whilst keeping the time allowed for the exam at two-and-a-half hours, should give candidates sufficient time to complete the exam."

Apart from adding one open-ended question and reducing the overall number of questions, allocation of marks will also be changed. SSP Chau said: "To reflect the extra time and content required for open-ended questions, 20 marks will be allocated for each open-ended question while the remaining six questions will continue to have a maximum of ten marks each. Total possible marks will remain 100 and pass marks will not be affected by these changes."

SSP Chau went on to explain that to ensure fairness in marking open-ended questions, any marginal failures (candidates who score between 45 and 49 marks) will have their open-ended questions re-marked by the original marker whereas other questions will be re-marked by a different marker.

"Open-ended questions have a much more flexible marking guide than traditional questions. So to have an open-ended question re-marked by a new marker may result in a dramatically different score potentially putting a candidate at a disadvantage," said SSP Chau.

To ensure that all future candidates are aware of these changes, Staff Associations have been briefed on, and Major Formation Commanders have been informed of, the changes. In addition, trainee Probationary Inspectors joining the Police College have been made aware of the changes. Details are also available on the Police Examinations Website in the Learning Portal on POINT. The website contains samples of past open-ended questions, the scoring guide for open-ended questions used by members of the marking panel and a set of frequently asked questions.

According to Mr Chau, the format change will more closely align the exam with the competencies of a Chief Inspector