Well, who’d have thought it…where have 12 whole months gone…how exactly is it Dyslexia Awareness Week again?!!
Every year we’re given this great opportunity to shine the spotlight on dyslexia and each time it comes around it makes me think lots about individuals I’ve assessed and the impact of the work I’ve done in schools. But, this week also gets me contemplating ‘bigger’ issues for those I work with, and this time, after reading an interesting article in the British Dyslexia Association’s ‘Contact’ magazine, I have started to think about exams and the way we, in the UK, assess our students at the end of their compulsory education.
High stakes exams in year 11 have many disadvantages for those with dyslexia (and indeed those with other special educational needs or disabilities). Whilst putting into place access arrangements such as extra time or using assistive technology may remove barriers to exam access for some, the actual fact that your accumulated skills and knowledge are being judged on your performance on one day, in a single format that doesn’t necessarily suit your learning profile, is not exactly helpful…or fair, for that matter. With the focus on the quick recall of information and using writing as the means of recording what you want to say, those with difficulties relating to working memory or processing speed, or with challenges reading the questions with complete accuracy are at a disadvantage from the off. Any slight misinterpretation of a question due to one or more of the above, or a difficulty with spelling (which can compromise what you feel confident to write or cause you to lose your train of thought) can all result in a student with dyslexia underperforming and not being able to fully express themselves. And don’t get me started on the additional anxiety that those with additional needs often experience around exam time…it is well-documented that working memory capacity is hugely compromised by elevated levels of stress...
Anyway, it therefore pleases me to hear that Exam Reform is a hot topic for the APPG at the moment, and that a person-centred approach to assessment is being discussed. Things like verbal assessments (which allow for different levels of questioning), open book exams (which can evaluate the individual’s ability to apply knowledge and skills, rather than simply ‘recall’ facts) and extended projects, all of which would form a ‘portfolio’ of performance and be recorded on some sort of ‘passport’ or ‘scorecard’, are currently being considered.
So, whilst this might look drastically different from the current system of grading performance on a sliding scale of 9 down to 1, and even though it would be more difficult (or almost impossible) to compare schools’ results directly, the feeling of being a total ‘failure’ if you get a Grade 3 for English or need to keep resitting your maths GCSE until you’re 18, would potentially be eradicated…forever. And I for one, don’t think that would be a bad thing!
See APPG Assessment Reform for more information.
See also the BDA’s free resources/webinars all linked to Dyslexia Awareness Week.