Instead of police officers taking a written test for promotions, the State College Borough Council enacted a resolution Monday to replace the old format with a video test for management and supervisory positions.

The Police Civil Service Commission used video testing during the summer for entry-level candidates. The resolution extends video testing to officers seeking promotion to the ranks of corporal, sergeant and lieutenant.

In video testing, officers watch a video in the municipal building and react verbally to the real-life situations they see, Personnel Director Michele Nicolas said.

The test depicts eight scenes that a company developed after working with police departments nationwide, she said. The person's reaction is taped and a team of trained raters evaluates the response.

"I think the video test gets at skills that are more important," Nicolas said. "The written test is a good test of police knowledge that can be gained from textbooks, but the video test measures the person's ability to deal with people and that's what's real hard to measure in a paper and pencil type of test."

The council also enacted a resolution Monday to amend the commission's procedures for re-employing officers. As the policy now reads, the procedures apply only to entry-level officers and not to all ranks.

"It was really just some verbiage that could have been construed as specific to an entry-level officer so we just broadened the scope," commission member Tom McElhaney said.

To apply for re-employment, individuals must have been police officers in the borough for two years and apply for re-employment within two years of leaving their job.

If re-employed an officer would not go through the testing process for new employees.