Last month, as the Learning Support teacher for Year 6, I was involved in the administration of the National Curriculum Tests. It was my job, following the rules and regulations of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, to organise the special arrangements for the tests. It is our duty as teachers to enable students to show what they know in examinations, tests and assessments.
Support
After careful consideration of each student's needs the nature and extent of support was decided upon.
* Additional Time - the test should be a measure of their knowledge - not of the speed of their reading or writing.
* Use of an adult reader to read out the questions if necessary - maths, science, etc., tests should test those subjects and not the student's ability to read.
* Rest Breaks - dyslexic children can often suffer from fatigue in long tests because for them the processing of information requires more effort than for for most students. By giving rest breaks their true ability in a subject can be shown.
* Use of an 'amanuensis' (an adult who will write down the child's answer to dictation) - to record the student's answers, hereby allowing the student to focus on the questions asked rather than the process of recording.
* Use of word processors - this is particularly important where this is the usual classroom practice.
* Prompters - this is especially helpful for students with associated difficulties such as ADD and ADHD.
* Colored paper (e.g. off-white, gray or yellow) - many dyslexic students find that the background colour of a text affects their ability to read it as the white paper produces a glare.
* Use of visual aids - this can be useful as dyslexic students can have strengths in their visual-spatial skills.
* An alternative location - this allows the student to work without feeling self conscious about their work pace, rest breaks or additional time.
* Provide model answers - many dyslexic children, teenagers and students are confused about what is expected of them regarding the planning and layout of an essay in an exam. The provision of some model answers would show the type of layout, introduction, paragraphing, and conclusions required in essay answers.
When setting tests teachers can think about the format of the test, including the type and size of font. Arial is a good font for dyslexic students. Key words can be written in bold. The amount of writing on the question and answer papers, the size of answer spaces etc. should all be considered.
Other alternatives
Even with all the above provisions a dyslexic student may not give of their best in a written examination and other alternatives should be considered, whenever it is possible, for example:
* Oral examinations
* Taped responses - coursework often gives a good indication of a dyslexic student's capabilities, as it allows them to work at their own pace.
Variety in coursework
With coursework there is also the opportunity to present findings in a variety of ways, e.g:
* Oral presentations.
* Power point presentations.
* Question and answer sessions.
Inform the student
With both formal and informal testing it is good to make all students aware of the purpose of the test. What will the examiner/tester be looking for? Also inform them of such things as:
* Spelling and grammatical errors will not affect the grade.
* Handwriting will not be marked.
* Answers can be given in note form.
* Diagrams are acceptable.
Instructions
For all students, but especially dyslexic students, the manner in which instructions are given can greatly affect the outcome of a test. Instructions should be:
* Clear and concise.
* Step by step.
* Read to the student/s if necessary.
Start and stop times should be clearly displayed and verbal reminders of the time remaining given.
With a little thought and forward planning all teachers can reduce the stress of exams for students and allow them to show what they really know.
Gillian Sams
June 2003
