FASS Disability Initiative
Seminar Four:
Assessment Strategies
Dr. Leanne Dowse
School of Social Sciences and International Studies
l.dowse@unsw.edu.au
and
Dr. Brooke Dinning
Disability Studies and Research Centre
b.dinning@unsw.edu.au
Seminar overview
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Welcome
What is ‘alternative assessment’?
Who may require alternative assessment?
Why is alternative assessment necessary?
What to consider when arranging alternative assessment
Examinations
Other forms of assessment
What if a student fails an alternative assessment?
Useful resources
Seminar evaluation
What is ‘alternative assessment’?
 Alternative assessment = any alteration to the standard form
of assessment (examinations and / or assignments) or
conditions relating to the assessment which are put in place
to accommodate a student's disability.
 Alternative assessment minimises the impact of a student’s
disability on their performance and allows the marker to see
beyond the disability to the student’s knowledge and skills.
 Alternative assessment places students with disability on a
more ‘equal footing’, and does not give them any kind of
advantage.
Who may require alternative
assessment?
• Some broad types of disabilities are associated with functional
difficulties that make an alternative assessment strategy
desirable. For example:
o chronic pain
o CFS – chronic fatigue syndrome
o deaf or hearing impairment
o learning disability
o medical condition
o mental illness
o physical disability
o vision impairment (blind and low vision)
Why is alternative assessment
necessary?
• Associated functional difficulties for students with these
disabilities may include:
o impaired concentration
o lower endurance for writing and / or reduced writing speed
o restricted auditory input
o problems accessing information that is in written / print form
o inability to write using a pen
o unable to manipulate immediate environnent (e.g. turn page,
insert computer disks)
o extreme examination-related stress
o inability to communicate orally
o inability to see own handwriting when answering questions
What to consider when arranging
alternative assessment
• Adjustments should be made flexibly, as the result of negotiation between
you, disability service staff and the student, and in consideration of the
following:
o The nature of the disability. This information will generally be included
among disability-related documentation required by the university to
verify a student’s disability.
o The nature of the assessment task. Student need will vary according to
the skill and ability required.
o The nature of the course or subject. What kinds of skills and knowledge
does your particular subject demand, and in what ways does the student’s
disability impact on their capacity to demonstrate them?
o The student’s usual work methods. What kinds of assistance does the
student usually require? These should be available during assessment
activities also?
Examinations
Hints for organising equitable
examination accommodations
o Check that the wording of the paper is as clear and
straightforward as possible.
o Provide a reader or interpreter for students who need one.
o Provide the paper in large print, Braille or other formats.
o Allow extra time for students who are deaf or dyslexic so that
they can spend more time ensuring they understand the
question, or checking their answers for spelling and grammar.
o Allow time for rest breaks (for example, for students who
experience fatigue or have back problems and need to
stretch).
Hints for organising equitable
examination accommodations,
cont.
o Provide a scribe. Students may need some time to practice
before the exam. Scribes may also need to have some
familiarity with the subject matter.
o Allow a student to submit scripts on computer. This will also
entail making sure that the computer is “clean” and that
technicians are on hand to deal with problems.
o Ensure that those with extra time or other arrangements sit
their exam in a separate room (with a separate invigilator) to
prevent them disturbing or being disturbed by others.
o Adjust the examination timetable to keep a student in
‘isolation’ and allow them to rest between exams.
Is additional time for examinations
equitable?
• There has been significant debate and research on the issue
of extended time in examinations. However, there are a
number of relatively clear findings from literature on this,
including:
o Students with learning disabilities perform more poorly in
exams than other students.
o Students with learning disabilities benefit more than students
without disabilities.
o Allowing extra time in examinations for students with learning
disabilities is an appropriate accommodation.
Is additional time for examinations
equitable?, cont.
o The best way to provide accommodations for students with
learning disabilities without providing them undue advantage
is to allow ample time for all students.
o There is little evidence that extra time is an advantage to
students with ADHD.
o Providing section breaks (i.e. Separately timed sections within
the exam) may assist students to perform better (irrespective
of disability) in exams.
Alternatives to examinations
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Oral presentations
Additional assignments and course work
Dot point assignments marked for content, rather than for structure
Multiple-choice questions
Unsupervised exam with follow-up oral review (to establish that the result
is the student's own work)
Practical demonstrations or production of models or displays
Take home exams, written over a number of days
Class presentations or role plays
A combination of any of the above
Other forms of assessment
Oral presentations
o Students who find standard means of communication difficult,
or who use sign language need to be able to make
presentations in alternative ways, or be given additional time
to communicate.
o Sign language interpreters or other support workers need to
have high levels of skills if they are not to disadvantage the
student.
Group work
• In group work it is important that both the student with a
disability and the other students in the group can contribute
equally to the project and have the opportunity to
demonstrate their abilities.
o Do other students receive training in disability equality so that,
for example, they can appropriately involve a person with
disability in the group or know how to communicate with a
deaf person?
o Do tutors talk through with groups any practical difficulties
that might arise because of an individual’s disability, and make
sure any appropriate adjustments can be made?
o Where groups discussions are assessed, are adjustments made
to ensure full contributions from students with communication
difficulties?
Practicals and performances
• In a practical subject it is necessary for students to
demonstrate their skills. However, it may be necessary to make
adjustments to allow students with a disability to demonstrate
their abilities.
o Some students may need assistants to act as extra ‘hands’. For
example a student with manual dexterity problems might use
an assistant to operate machinery.
o Some students may need extra time. For example someone
with a mobility difficulty may need extra time to move
between patients when taking patient histories for a medical
exam.
Computer assisted assessment
o Are workstations with enabling technologies available? Is the
assessment accessible to those using such technologies (for
example, screen reading software) or those who cannot use a
mouse?
o Is the layout and structure of the assessment suitable for
students with dyslexia or with partial sight?
o Do any sound clips have text alternatives or sub-titles?
o Do tutors monitor automated marking to ensure, for example,
it does not pick up misspellings as wrong answers?
o Does the software allow students to have extra time or to take
rest breaks during the assessment?
Computer assisted assessment,
cont.
 Good practice guidelines are available from the World Wide
Web Consortium (W3C) and also from TechDis (see ‘Useful
resources’ slide).
Work-based assessment
o Have assessors in the workplace been trained in how to assess
the student?
o Are assessment criteria adjusted to take into account any
adaptations that have been made to the placement?
What if a student fails an
alternative assessment?
o It is possible that despite the adjustments made a student
with a disability may not pass an examination or assignment.
This may mean that, like any student, they may not have
mastered the course material to the necessary standard –
therefore a fail grade would be appropriate.
Useful resources
UNSW Student Equity and Diversity Unit
http://www.studentequity.unsw.edu.au
Examinations and Assessment - a good practice guide
http://www.adcet.edu.au/StoredFile.aspx?id=2008&fn=Examina
tions+Good+Practice+Guide.pdf
Alternative Assessments for Students with Disabilities Australian National University (Provides an overview of types of
disability and related alternative assessment strategies)
http://www.anu.edu.au/disabilities/resources_for_staff/alternati
ve_assessment.php
Useful resources, cont.
Teachability: Creating an accessible curriculum for students with
disabilities
www.teachability.strath.ac.uk
TechDis website:
www.techdis.ac.uk
World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
http://www.w3.org/