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Oral board scoring: how police and fire boards are scored

In oral board scoring, two or more raters each mark your answer against a written scale, alone, before they compare notes. The scales that agencies publish are short: the IAFC's model kit uses only 1, 3 or 5, Prince George's County police used 1 to 5 in its 2020 sergeant assessment and converted it to a 100-point score, and LAFD's firefighter interview needs 70 to pass and counts for 100% of the exam. Your rank on the list then comes from that number.

Last checked Nov 1, 2026

The scoring system in four steps

  1. The agency picks the factors. These are the job dimensions the board will score, such as communication, problem solving, or motivation. In California, every peace officer interview must cover six (more below).
  2. Each question gets anchors. An anchor is a short written description of what a low, middle and high answer sounds like. Raters compare what you said to the anchors.
  3. Each rater scores alone. The IAFC's rater rules say: score independently, don't show numbers or talk until every rater has signed, then compare.
  4. The scores become a number on a list. Ratings are averaged or converted, weighted with any other test parts, and used to rank candidates.

What this means for you: the rater is not grading how you made them feel. They are checking whether your words match the "high" anchor. If you didn't say it, they can't score it.

Scales and weights that agencies actually publish

Who Board Scale Weight or pass mark What it means for you
IAFC model kit (for fire chiefs and HR) Entry firefighter and promotional boards Raters mark 1, 3 or 5 only. "2 and 4 are not used, so a score has to match an anchor." Not set. Follow local civil service rules. You land in one of three buckets. A vague answer lands at 1 or 3, never 5.
LAFD Firefighter interview Not published Weighted 100%. Minimum passing score is 70. The score sets your rank on the eligible list. The interview is the whole ranking. Every point moves you on the list.
LAPD Police officer interview Not published The July 31, 2026 bulletin weights the interview at 100%. The score sets your rank, and a passing score expires after 12 months. Same as LAFD. The board decides your list position.
Prince George's County PD (MD) 2020 sergeant skills assessment 5-point scale: 5 Exceptional, 4 Effective, 3 Minimally Effective, 2 Ineffective, 1 Unacceptable Raw score converted with ((Raw - 3) x 15) + 70. Final score = multiple choice x 0.48 + skills assessment x 0.52. A raw 3 becomes 70 and a raw 5 becomes 100. Each half point on the raw scale is worth 7.5 points.
Denver police 2023 sergeant Not published per item Multiple choice 35 points, assessment center 60 points (critical incident, presentation, situational interview), seniority 5 points The oral exercises are worth 60 of 100 points. The situational interview is scored on content and oral communication.
Denver fire 2024 captain Not published per item Multiple choice 31.5%, assessment center 63.5% (tactical, interview, oral in-basket), seniority 5% Same pattern: the spoken exercises carry most of the weight.
California POST Every CA peace officer hiring interview Not set by regulation. POST's guide is optional. Required before a conditional offer. Must cover the six POST interview factors. Your agency picks the scale, but the six factors are fixed.
LASD Deputy sheriff structured interview Not published Not published LASD lists two areas: your interest in the position and communication skills.

Where a cell says "not published," we looked at the agency's official pages and didn't find it. If your agency publishes its scale in your notice or orientation, that version wins.

The factors boards score

Most hiring boards score some version of the same five to eight factors. Here is how three published lists compare.

California POST (required, § 1952) LAPD bulletin (2026) LAFD (firefighter)
Experience Experience Initiative in learning
Problem Solving Ability Judgment and Decision Making (Problem Solving Ability) Practical orientation
Communication Skills Oral communication (Communication Skills) Oral communication skills
Interest/Motivation Job Interest (Interest/Motivation) Job motivation
Interpersonal Skills Interpersonal Skills Teamwork
Community Involvement/Awareness Community Relations Respect for diversity
Initiative Role adaptability
Stress Tolerance Service orientation

POST's guide says the Communication Skills factor "deals exclusively with oral communication skills: speaking, listening and non-verbal communication." In other words, communication is scored across the whole interview, not on one question.

What raters write down

The IAFC's model scoring sheet is the most detailed public example. For each question, one sheet per candidate per rater, the rater records:

  • the question number and competency (for example "Q2 Communication")
  • the score: circle only 1, 3 or 5
  • the anchor used: a short quote from the 1, 3 or 5 cell that matches what they heard
  • notes: the words the candidate used, with no comments on appearance, accent, family or health
  • their name and signature, signed after the last question and before any discussion

Two rules from that kit matter for candidates. First, follow-ups are scripted: raters ask only the printed follow-up and ask it of everyone. So don't count on the panel to pull a missing point out of you. Second, when raters disagree widely, the IAFC says that is "a flag to re-read the anchors, not a vote." The anchors decide, not the loudest rater.

A worked scoring example

Below is one common police question, a model anchor set written by us in the style of the IAFC kit, and two answers scored against it. This is an illustration, not any agency's real rating guide.

Question: "Tell us about a time you had a conflict with a coworker. What did you do, and how did it turn out?"

Model anchors (written by Ten-Four as an illustration)

Score Anchor
1 No real event, blames the other person, or no result
3 A real event with a partial sequence. The action or the result is thin.
5 Names the situation, the specific words or steps used to resolve it privately, the result, and what the candidate learned or changed

Answer A (written by Ten-Four as a model, not from a real candidate)

"I had a coworker who was always late, which meant I had to cover for him. It was frustrating. Eventually I told my manager and he got moved to another shift. After that things were fine."

Rater notes: real event, yes. Went straight to the manager with no attempt to talk to the coworker. No words used, no reflection. Matches the 3 anchor at best ("partial sequence, thin action"). Some raters would mark it a 1 because the answer leans on blame.

Answer B (written by Ten-Four as a model, not from a real candidate)

"At the warehouse last year, a coworker on my shift kept leaving his scanner tasks for the next crew, and two of us were staying late to finish them. I asked him to grab coffee at break and said, 'I've noticed the scanner list is carrying over most nights and it's keeping Ana and me late. Is something going on?' He told me his kid's daycare had changed hours and he'd been rushing out. We agreed he'd take the first-hour scans when he was fresh, and I'd take the end of shift. I told our lead what we'd worked out so the schedule matched. Within two weeks nobody was staying late. What I took from it is to ask before I assume, and to bring a supervisor in to confirm the fix, not to start the complaint."

Rater notes: situation with time and place, exact words, a private first step, a fix, the supervisor told, a measured result, a lesson. Matches every part of the 5 anchor.

Converting the score (illustration only). If a candidate averaged 4.0 across a set of exercises on Prince George's County's 5-point scale, its published formula gives ((4.0 - 3) x 15) + 70 = 85. A raw 3.0 gives 70 and a raw 5.0 gives 100. Your agency may use a different method.

How to score higher on any board

These follow directly from how the anchors are written.

  • Say the full sequence out loud. Situation, what you did step by step, the result. Anchors reward a complete sequence.
  • Use specific words. "I said..." gives the rater a quote to write in the notes box.
  • Name the result. Many "3" answers stop at the action.
  • Hit the factor on purpose. If the question is about community, say what you did in the community. Don't make the rater infer it.
  • Don't wait for a follow-up. On scripted boards, the follow-up may never come.
  • Practice with a scorer, not an audience. Friends tell you an answer "sounded good." A checklist tells you which point you left out.

See your own score. Ten-Four is AI oral board practice: its panel asks oral board questions out loud and follows up on what you missed. You get a 1 to 5 score with the points you made and the points you missed, and a dated plan up to your board. 7 days free. Start a police mock board or a firefighter mock board

FAQ

What is a passing score on an oral board? It depends on the agency. LAFD's firefighter interview has a minimum passing score of 70. Prince George's County police converted a raw 3 on its 5-point scale to 70 in its 2020 sergeant assessment. Many agencies don't publish a pass mark, so check your exam notice.

What scale do oral boards use? Published examples use short scales. The IAFC model kit uses 1, 3 or 5 only. Prince George's County police used 1 to 5, from Unacceptable to Exceptional, in 2020. Many agencies don't publish their scale.

Do oral board raters score together or separately? The IAFC's model rules have each rater score independently and sign before any discussion, then compare. Some agencies then reach a consensus score. Your agency's orientation will say which method it uses.

How much does the oral board count? At LAPD and LAFD the interview is weighted 100% and sets your rank on the eligible list. In Denver's 2023 police sergeant exam the assessment center, which included a situational interview, was worth 60 of 100 points.

What do raters write during my answers? In the IAFC model, raters write the words you used, the anchor your answer matched, and the score. They are told not to note appearance, accent, family or health.

Can I see my oral board score sheet? Rules vary. Many civil service systems allow an appeal or a review, and the IAFC kit tells departments to keep score sheets for the appeal window their rules set. Ask your civil service office.

Related guides

Official sources

Ten-Four is not affiliated with any police or fire department, civil service commission, POST, or testing company. Scoring methods change. Always check your own exam notice or orientation guide.