Special Provision for
Tests and Examinations:
Lyn Robinson
Resource Teacher – Vision Impairment
Statewide Vision Resource Centre D.E.E.C.D.
What are special arrangements?
Any modification which is required to allow
access to test materials and reasonable
time to complete the test.
Tests and Examinations:
When should special provision begin?
From Prep to Year 12:
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Benchmarking – Preps
Classroom tests – throughout school life
The National Assessment Program – Literacy and
Numeracy (NAPLAN) in Yrs. 3,5,7 and 9.
There is an online application form for braille and large
print.
VCE, VCAL, VET
Who Decides and How?
Class tests and school based exams
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Class teachers, VT, parents, student in senior levels
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Based on:
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reading speed
time taken to produce work
time taken to complete work in class
visual conditions such as visual fatigue
External tests and exams –
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*VCE Support Group – formal process for VCE
VCE and NAPLAN – A written application process to
VCAA
*Based on what’s happened for school assessments
NAPLAN
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Request braille or large print from VCAA
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Fill in form online
Extra Time
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is allowed but not more than school usually gives student for
tests
Guide, forms & more information available from:
http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/pages/prep10/naplan/index.aspx
VCE Special Provision
Aim:
• to provide students with the opportunity to participate in,
and complete their secondary years of schooling.
• Available for VCE, VET and VCAL
Guiding Principals:
• Students are expected to meet the requirements of the
study design for satisfactory completion.
• The provision should not confer an advantage
Special Provision - Eligibility
Application form requires:
• supporting evidence from EVAC or eye
specialist
• There should be a history of the student
receiving special arrangements in the school.
Supporting Evidence
Student has attended the Educational Vision Assessment Clinic
(EVAC) and has been found to have a vision impairment
(i.e. visual acuity worse than 6/18 and/or field reduction of less than 20 degrees).
Or
Medical Report from an Ophthalmologist:
stating that the student is in the partially sighted or legally blind range
And
A support statement with comments and recommendations from a
specialist teacher (Visiting Teacher or Specialist Teacher)
Preparing for VCE: tips for VI students
Before Year 11
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Seek career advice re: program selection and workload
requirements
Options include:
• Complete units over a longer period e.g. 2 years for Year 12
• Complete fewer units
• Complete some units 3/4 in Year 11. i.e. start in year 10
• Do a combination of VCE, VET, VCAL units
• Check exam timetable for possible clashes-will the student be
able to cope with 12 hours of exams?
• Be aware of the Special Entry Access Schemes (SEAS)
VTAC http://www.vtac.edu.au/
Special Provision: External Exams
What can you apply for?
Extra Time for reading, production & rest breaks.
• Consider fatigue, time for scanning, use of
equipment, format of paper (alternative format papers
may be slower to read than regular print)
Alternative Format Papers
• Large print, audio, braille, e-text
• Treatment of Pictures and Diagrams
• Extra enlargement of Diagrams on a separate sheet
• Written descriptions of pictures, cartoons, graphs etc.
• Tactile diagrams and graphics
Readers and Scribes
Reader
• Read to student as required e.g. exam paper, student
answers, written descriptions, calculator screen
Scribe
• Record verbal responses given by the student into script or
answer book
• Plot/draw tables or graphs at the student’s direction
• Enter data into calculator
• Fill in mark sense answer sheets and student details
• Cannot advise or interpret questions in any way or make comments
on the student’s work
Separate Room and Supervision
Supervisors and Reader/Scribes
• Where permission to use a reader/scribe has been given a separate
supervisor must also be provided
• (must not be anyone who has worked with the student in the past 12
months; must not tutor or teach VCE, must be approved by VCAA)
Separate Room – why?
• Extra space for paper and equipment.
• Flexibility e.g. rest breaks, setting up and managing extra equipment
and time.
• Noise: reading aloud, computer with voice may disrupt other
students. Other students coming and going from exam room may
distract VI student.
Computers…why ?
Many VI students cannot read or produce handwritten work
• Computers are used to:
• Read an e-text copy of the exam paper
• Type answers
• Calculate in mathematics
• How to apply and conditions of approval:
• Must apply for permission for student to use a computer
• Student must only access word processing program and must not
access any other programs or files
• Printer in room – may not use networked printer (security issues)
• May use spellcheck
Note: VI students may need to use own computer…
VI Authorised Materials
May Bring into the Exam Room.
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Enlarging or voice software e.g. JAWS or Zoomtext
Braillers or braille related equipment
Highlighter pens
Approved calculator with voice or large print output
Low vision aids
Bound notes where permitted e.g. mathematics
Reading stand
Desk lamp
CD player
Green line (bold) paper or graph paper
Large print dictionary
General Achievement Test (GAT)
• Students with a vision impairment
may apply for an exemption from the GAT
• Students can sit the GAT if they wish however
special arrangements are limited (extra time/enlarged
paper, not produced in braille)
• If a Derived Examination Score is applied for VCAA
will use school based results to determine this score.
Derived Examination Score (DES)
A DES may be granted where exam performance has been
adversely affected by:
• Illness – physical or psychiatric
• Physical injury
• Personal factors
• These circumstances must have affected the student
immediately prior to the examination period or during
the examination
Vision impairment is not an eligibility criteria for DES
When are applications due?
Applications for
Special Examination Arrangements
must be submitted on
the relevant form
during term 1 (a date in Feb or March)
The VCE co-ordinator or principal will have
access to the form.
More Information:
http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au