I am the chief executive officer with the SEC. I am joined by my colleague, Mr. Richard Dolan, director of operations. I thank the committee for the invitation to talk to members about the petition for extra time to be introduced as a reasonable accommodation for dyslexic students in the State examinations.
The SEC has statutory responsibility for the operation, delivery and development of the State certificate exams. We are fully committed to providing an examination and assessment system with the highest possible standards of inclusiveness, equity and fairness and which enables all candidates to display their achievements. We take very seriously our obligation to provide access to the certificate exams for candidates with special educational needs and we work closely with school authorities, the Department of Education, which has responsibility for matters of examinations policy, and other agencies in planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluating the access arrangements in the exams. We also actively engage with persons with disabilities through their representative organisations.
Before addressing the specific matter of additional time, I will first provide an overview of how the SEC ensures the accessibility of the State certificate exams, first through the design of examinations and, second, through the RACE scheme.
The accessibility of an examination refers to the extent to which all candidates are facilitated in demonstrating their achievements in the context of the need to preserve the integrity, fairness and standards of the examination. Access is facilitated by developing examination papers and other instruments that are designed to be as accessible as possible to the broadest range of candidates, including those with special educational needs. All examination materials are reviewed in the course of their development with a view to eliminating inappropriate barriers, and careful consideration is given as to whether the means of assessment rely on a skill or competence that is not properly part of the focus of the assessment but which could exclude candidates with certain disabilities.
Through the RACE scheme, the SEC also facilitates access by candidates who would have a difficulty with access or communicating what they know to an examiner because of a physical difficulty - this category includes medical, sensory, behavioural and mental health issues - visual and hearing impairments, or learning difficulties. It is important to note that access arrangements are intended to, first, remove, as far as possible, the impact of a disability on the candidate’s performance and enable the candidate to demonstrate their level of attainment; and, second, ensure that while giving candidates every opportunity to demonstrate their level of attainment, the special arrangements will not give the candidate an unfair advantage over other candidates in the same examination. It has been said that these two key principles are core to any discussion on the scheme. It encapsulates the fundamental challenge of, on the one hand, attempting to provide access for candidates with particular needs to demonstrate their level of attainment while, on the other hand, attempting to ensure that the principle of inter-candidate equity is not compromised in the measures taken to provide access. In common with similar schemes that operate in other jurisdictions, the focus of the scheme is on removing barriers to access while retaining the need to assess the same underlying skills and competencies as are assessed for all other candidates.
The application process is school-led and schools have devolved authority to recommend the supports that are required from among those available within the scheme based on the candidates’ needs and their normal way of working. Eligibility criteria apply and accommodations are provided in accordance with the principles and requirements of the scheme. In general, the SEC will accept the recommendation of the school based on its assessment against the criteria. Accommodations granted at junior cycle are generally carried through to leaving certificate, which gives certainty from an early stage of a student’s post-primary education of the supports that they will have in the State exams.
The scheme is operated within the context of an annually issued RACE Instructions for Schools, which includes a framework of principles developed by an expert advisory group to guide all policy and operational decisions. Decisions are open to appeal to an independent appeals committee and there is also recourse to the Ombudsman and the Ombudsman for Children.
An extensive range of accommodations is available, including reading accommodations; writing accommodations; provision of non-standard versions of examination papers; modified tests; sign language interpreters; assistance in practical tests; access to shared or individual special examination centres; waivers and exemptions; as well as additional time and rest breaks in certain circumstances.
For candidates with learning difficulties such as dyslexia, the accommodations available are: an individual reader to read the examination papers; a reading assistant; an exam reading pen, which scans text and converts it to speech; a laptop or tablet to type responses; a recording device to record responses; and, in exceptional circumstances, access to a scribe. Finally, we have the waiver from the assessment of spelling, punctuation and certain elements of grammar in language subjects.
As my colleague said, the numbers of candidates accessing supports has increased steadily year on year since the establishment of the SEC in 2003, when 5% of all candidates were provided with reasonable accommodations. Ten years later, in 2012, this had increased to 13% of the overall cohort. In 2023, when 132,000 candidates sat examinations, almost 22% of the total cohort had access arrangements provided to them under the RACE scheme. Of the 34,500 individual accommodations granted last year, 75% were granted to candidates on grounds of learning difficulties such as dyslexia, but limited to that condition.
Additional time in which to complete the examinations is not an accommodation that can be sanctioned in its own right within the scheme. Other than in leaving certificate Irish, English, history and geography, additional time at a rate of ten extra minutes per hour can be provided in three specific circumstances: candidates for whom the use of a scribe has been sanctioned; vision-impaired candidates under the care of the visiting teacher service; and candidates unable to make adequate use of a sanctioned laptop or tablet in examination conditions.
Any consideration of the question of additional time in which to complete examinations cannot be viewed in isolation from the policy context in which the SEC provides the scheme of reasonable accommodations. In its consideration of additional time, the expert advisory group recognised the particular challenge in providing time-related accommodations. It stated:
The provision of extra time has the clear potential to allow a candidate to provide additional information in response to questions ... On the face of it [that] additional time could confer an unfair advantage on individual candidates ... [F]or some candidates, additional time would do no more than enable them to access the test instrument in a way available to all candidates. To ensure that extra time is restricted only to those who would achieve no advantage is well-nigh impossible.
The challenge in determining the allocation of additional time for candidates with learning difficulties, including dyslexia, was recognised by this group and led to two particular measures being introduced that have endured to this day. First, additional time of 20 minutes per examination was introduced in 2000 for all candidates in the leaving certificate Irish, English, history and geography - subjects with a heavy writing demand. That was introduced to meet the needs of candidates with special needs by making the time element of these examinations less critical. The second was the introduction of a waiver from spelling, grammar and punctuation in the language subjects, which was specifically developed to address the time issue for candidates with learning difficulties.
It should be noted that, to our knowledge, this waiver, which essentially exists in lieu of additional time, is unique to the Irish examinations system.
As noted by the petitioners, a later advisory group made recommendations in its report published in 2009. It stated that accommodations of additional time should continue to be made available for candidates with special educational needs or specific learning disabilities. In exceptional situations, the amount of additional time might be as much as 25%. However, the 2009 group also recommended that serious consideration be given to the withdrawal of the spelling and grammar waiver in language subjects on the basis that spelling and grammar are a core element of language subjects. The group also recommended the withdrawal of the additional time, which applies to this day, to all candidates taking the four subjects that I have mentioned. On the one hand it spoke about enhancing the time accommodation but it also recommended removing two supports that exist in lieu of additional time in the Irish State examinations.
The SEC strives to create an inclusive environment while ensuring integrity and equal opportunities for all candidates. The RACE scheme continues to be developed to best meet the needs of candidates while being faithful to the fundamental principles whereby in considering access and support arrangements for individual candidates with special needs, there must also be consideration of equity and fairness for the general body of candidates. Changes to the scheme included fundamental reform in the 2016-17 school year to improve system quality and delivery issues to align the scheme with overall special education policy and provide greater access for candidates with learning difficulties. Since 2019, deferred leaving certificate examinations have been provided for candidates who miss their examinations due to close family bereavement or, since 2022, due to serious accident, illness or injury. Since 2023 there have been a number of enhancements to the scheme for vision impaired candidates, including piloting digital examination papers.
We acknowledge there is increasing complexity in the special education landscape and, by extension, the certificate examinations. In the context of senior cycle redevelopment, we have commenced work on a comprehensive system-wide review of the RACE scheme. A focus of the review will be on increasing the use of assistive technology to enhance access and integrity and to further support independent learning.
Some areas of recent focus by commentators and stakeholders in relation to RACE include: the provision of supports for candidates who have processing or cognitive issues, including those with autistic spectrum disorders; the range of supports appropriate to those who are vision or hearing impaired; and the adequacy of additional time within the scheme. The review will consider all relevant issues and take account of best practice internationally. There will be extensive consultation and engagement with as broad a range of stakeholders as possible, including young people with special educational needs and their families, and representative organisations including the Dyslexia Association of Ireland. At this time, the SEC is finalising the terms of reference and the composition of the structures that will underpin the review, with the work being overseen by our board of commissioners. Mr. Dolan and I will be happy to respond to questions that committee members may have.
