Reasonable Accommodations in Examinations

Special Arrangements for Students with SLD in State Exams

The State Examinations Commission (SEC) is the body responsible for second level examinations in Ireland. It is a non-departmental public body under the aegis of the Department of Education and Science. They can be contacted as follows:
Address: Cornamaddy, Athlone, Co. Westmeath.
Telephone: 090 6442700
Email: sec_specialneeds@education.gov.ie
Website: www.examinations.ie

Reasonable accommodations, previously termed special arrangements, can be made available to students with SLD/dyslexia when sitting State examinations. Arrangements may include the provision of a reader, use of a word processor, use of a tape recorder or a spelling waiver. The accommodations are intended to limit the impact of the candidate's disability on their exam performance, while not giving the candidate any unfair advantage.

Applications for reasonable accommodations are generally made by the School Principal, usually at the beginning of the exam year. External candidates should apply directly to the SEC. Applications must be on the official application form which is available from schools/education providers or directly from the SEC.

We must remember that while reasonable accommodations when taking exams are desirable, they are no substitute for early diagnosis and appropriate help. When applying for reasonable accommodations, it is important to consult with the student in question and find out what his/her feelings are, e.g. how might they feel about doing their exam in a separate room (which is the case if a student has a reader, tape or computer). Some students have in fact been embarrassed at the thought of being treated differently to their peers.

Application Procedure - Junior Certificate

The Department of Education and Science circular (S76/00) sent to schools regarding "application for reasonable accommodation" for students with dyslexia in the Junior Cert. contained some interesting changes. In essence the main burden of responsibility for deciding on whether a candidate should receive "reasonable accommodation" is going to rest with the school. It appears that if the school is convinced that a student needs "reasonable accommodation", in most cases this is accepeted by the SEC. Circular S76/00 states "Essentially what we intend to do is accept a school's confirmation on the application form as sufficient evidence to enable us confirm the arrangement. Put simply if the candidate's special need has been established and you are aware of it you do not need to provide documentary evidence to us." This procedure was on a trial basis for 2001 and has been used since then as standard for Junior Certificate applications.

Application Procedure - Leaving Certificate

Circular S76/00 states: "Where approval for an accommodation is approved for Junior Certificate, it does not automatically follow that approval will be granted for Leaving Certificate. A fresh application will be required in respect of the Leaving Certificate and each will be considered on its own merits."

Currently, the Leaving Certificate applications differ from the Junior Certificate applications in that they are decided by the schools' psychologists. Application is made through the school. An up-to-date psychological report is usually required. If necessary, the psychologist may come to the school and assess the student themselves. Statistics over the last few years do show that fewer numbers of considerations are given at Leaving certificate.

The four main options students with dyslexia can apply for are:

1. Reader
2. Tape Recorder
3. Word Processor
4. Exemption from spelling and grammatical components in language subjects (waiver)

Exemption from spelling and grammatical components in language subjects is a new concept. It is deemed appropriate when a candidate has:

1. good oral ability
2. good knowledge of course content
3. a score well below average
4. target word easily recognisable as the target word although misspelled.

Where such an exemption is granted, the grades obtained by a candidate in any language subject will be accompanied by an explanatory note, which will read as follows:
"all parts of the examination in this subject were assessed except spelling and written punctuation elements " (This will apply in the case of English); "all parts of the examination in this subject were assessed except spelling and some grammatical elements" (This will apply in the case of all other language subjects).

To apply for reasonable accommodation an application form must be completed. The wording is similar in each of the four cases. For example when applying for a candidate to have the exam paper read:

"I confirm that the above candidate is unable to read or to all intents and purposes is unable to read the contents of examination papers at Junior Certificate level due to a specific reading difficulty as distinct from any general issue of intellectual functioning. Accordingly, he/she in my view, requires the assistance of a reader. The candidate is aware that the assistance of a reader will alter the assessment methods in language subjects and consequently the grades obtained by the candidate in any language subjects taken by him/her will be accompanied by an explanatory note to that effect."

A ruling has been made on the reading comprehension component of the English paper:

"An alternative procedure is not acceptable where the purpose of an examination would be compromised by its use (e.g. reading a test of reading comprehension to a candidate with a specific reading difficulty)."

"Approval for any of the accommodations listed above is appropriate where it can be established that a candidate whose general intellectual ability is below the average range also has a more specific learning difficulty."

Annotation of Certificates

When an element or elements of an exam have been deemed to have been significantly altered for the student, this will be indicated by the presence of an explanatory note accompanying the student's Junior or Leaving certificate results. What this seems to mean is that if a student avails of a reader, or uses a tape recorder, in the course of a language subject, then this will be indicated on the examination certificate. An asterisk will appear next to the subject and a supplementary report will be included, which in the case of a reader will say:

"All parts of the examination in this subject were assessed except the reading element."

In the case of a spelling waiver or if a tape recorder was used, the note will say:

All parts of this examination were assessed except the spelling element.

One of the recommendations of the Task Force on Dyslexia was that:

"The Department of Education and Science should refer to the Director of Equality and the National Disability Authority the practice of appending explanatory notes to the certificates of candidates with specific learning difficulties, including those arising from dyslexia, who are granted certain accommodations in examinations."

When contacted by DAI, the Equality Office said it would be necessary for someone to take a test case to establish that a person had been refused a job because of the "explanatory note". This may be a difficult case to prove as it is unlikely that an employer is going to give the existence of an endorsement as a reason for not hiring someone.

Appeals Forum

If a school, parent or exam candidate are in any way dissatisfied with a decision regarding reasonable accommodations, they have access to an independent appeals forum.

Equality Authority Ruling on Endorsement (Asterisk) on Examination Certificates (Autumn 2006)

Members will have noted that two leaving certificate students succeeded in their claim of discrimination under the Equal Status Acts against the Department of Education and Science. This claim arose because of the endorsement of the certificates of the students who received special accommodation in their leaving certificate exams. The Equality Tribunal ruled that such annotation is discriminatory and that new certificates, without any asterisk or annotation, should be issued to the students. For further information visit the Equlaity Authority website: www.equality.ie.

However, the Department has appealed this ruling to the Circuit Court. It may take a year or more for the case to come to the Circuit Court. In the meantime, as the Minister stated in reply to a Parliamentary Question from Sean Crowe, T.D. on February 13th: "I do not anticipate that changes will be made to practice in this area in advance of the outcome of the review and the findings in regard to the appeal."

Statement on the ruling handed down on October 19, 2007 that annotation of exam certificates is not discriminatory.

The courts have ruled that students whose certificates were annotated because they received reasonable accommodation in the Leaving Certificate examination were not discriminated against. The judge found that they were treated differently to other students, but not less favourably. He said that annotation was in line with international practice and respected the integrity of the examination.

The judge also said that a person with a disability is best served by the making public of the disability and by educating and informing the attitudes of employers about the disability. The time for cloaking disability is past, he said. Disclosure is beneficial and serves to dispel myths. Forced disclosure is not unlawful, he said, as other disabilities (presumably physical and sensory) cannot be hidden.

The judge also said that the end users of examination certificates were entitled to know if some parts of the syllabus were not examined. He did not accept that the system of examination accommodations used in universities had any relevance to the case.

The Dyslexia Association deeply regrets this decision and maintains the opinion that the educational system does not sufficiently meet the needs of students with dyslexia and that the examination system is not flexible enough to allow students with dyslexia to display their full ability and knowledge.

Anne Hughes, DAI Director, 19th October 2007.

Accommodations at Third Level

Many third level colleges and examination bodies make provision for dyslexic students taking written exams. These provisions can include being given extra time, being allowed to use a tape recorder or word processor/computer, having the specific difficulty taken into account when marking the exam paper, etc. Students should consult with the Disability Officer in their college, their Tutor or Course Director, to find out precisely what provisions may be available.

We believe this information is accurate, but readers are advised to check all details with the relevant authorities as the situation may change.