Disability & Learner Support – May 2012
Marking Guidelines for Students with Stickers
This document aims to provide tutors with a guide they can use in order to successfully
mark the work of disabled students who have been recommended the use of stickers.
The University recognises and appreciates the work developed by schools and services
across the University in supporting disabled students.
The stickers that students will be using are no longer specific to students who have a
Specific Learning Difficulty such as Dyslexia as has been the case in the past. The new
stickers known as Marking Guidance stickers will only be given to students who have a
disability which affects the spelling, punctuation and grammar of their written work as
well as expression, structure and handwriting, therefore not all students with disabilities
will receive these stickers.
Examples of good practice in this area are Library/ITS’s guide for printing materials and
HuLSS’s (formally known as ESPaCH) guidance for producing lecture notes/handouts.
These guides provide further support to disabled students. The University encourages
staff to develop teaching strategies that are inclusive of the needs of disabled students.
The Disability Service are happy to provide as much support to academic staff as we
can to help the University move towards inclusive teaching and learning.
THE RATIONALE FOR MARKING CONSIDERATION STICKERS
It is normally expected that reasonable adjustments, such as extensions to course work
submission dates and additional time in examinations, will be made available to some
disabled students where this is recommended by the Disability Service. Although
additional time can help take into account slow reading, writing and retrieval of
memorised information, it cannot cure deep-rooted language organisation,
concentration, fatigue or memory problems. It is still necessary to provide adjustments
when marking the work of students who experience certain disability-related difficulties
(Corrigan 2001). The approach to marking advocated in these guidelines is designed to
help create a more ‘level playing field’ for this group of students.
Assessment, whether by coursework or examination, most frequently uses the medium
of written expression as a means of demonstrating a student’s talent and learned
capabilities. Some disabled students can find it difficult to express their thoughts in a
written format and will struggle with certain elements of a written assessment. Students
who receive stickers as a reasonable adjustment can demonstrate an apparent lack of
order or structure to their work. These students may also struggle with spelling and
punctuation; have difficulties with the presentation of work and with handwriting. Some
have a slower reading speed and may omit words when reading. As a result of all the
above these students will have difficulties recognising their own mistakes in a written
text.
PROCEDURE
For the disability-related difficulties mentioned above the use of stickers which request
marking consideration are recommended in the student’s Student Support Plan. This
recommendation asks that tutors refer to the marking guidelines in this document when
approaching marking the work of students using stickers. As part of this, markers are
also asked not to subtract marks for poor spelling and/or expression unless this is a
core competence of the course.
Students who receive the stickers will attach them to the top of their work for both
electronic and paper submissions. If there is any doubt as to the use of stickers by a
student it is recommended that their Student Support Plan is checked.
If a student has not got a Student Support Plan, or has not been recommended stickers
in their Plan, and you think this recommendation needs to be considered please refer
the student to the Disability Service so this can be investigated further. If you have any
other questions regarding the use of stickers then please feel to contact the Disability
Service.
MARKING THE WORK OF A STUDENT WITH STICKERS
When the Support Plan recommends ‘Do not subtract marks for poor spelling and/or
expression’, the student’s written work should be read with a view to giving
consideration to the content. Therefore when marking the work of a student using
stickers you may like to adopt a faster than normal reading style, this makes it easier to
follow the ideas the student is trying to convey and their thought patterns.
Fast reading is best accomplished by:
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Ignoring any mistakes of grammar, punctuation or spelling.
Not making corrections to or comments on the grammar, punctuation or spelling.
Focusing on what the student is trying to say/argue rather than on the errors.
Concentrating on understanding the point even if there are mistakes in the text.
A note about dyslexic students
People with dyslexia often think in a holistic way, which is non-verbal in format. This
way of thinking does not lend itself to the linear nature of words and a written format.
The apparent lack of order in the work of dyslexic students can be the result of a
mismatch between their holistic way of thinking and the linear way of the written word.
Providing written and verbal feedback on the work of students using stickers
Disabled students using stickers may find it hard to see that what they have written
does not reflect the ideas they wanted to convey. Also, they have often developed very
low self-esteem and may hold a low opinion of themselves and their academic ability.
Adverse criticism rarely helps a student solve these memory and self-esteem problems.
These students may also find it hard to “read between the lines”, so when providing
written and verbal comment on the work you should:
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Try to offer positive comments and use positive statements.
Avoid using innuendoes, nested or double negatives or telling them what not to
do.
Avoid marking in red.
Use different colours to mark and comment. Use one for ideas, understanding
and knowledge, and a second for comments about grammar, punctuation and
spelling.
Make the comments legible and write them in properly constructed English.
Explain how the work could be improved.
Be explicit about specific problems so that the student can see a way forward,
and/or seek the appropriate help.
Marking oral presentations
Students who have oral presentations will only use stickers if they have written work
which is to be handed in alongside the presentation. If there is a student who is to carry
out a presentation and you are aware that they have a Student Support Plan, then
please bear the below guidance in mind when marking their presentations.
Some disabled students also experience spoken language difficulties (including those
with specific learning difficulties). These can include problems with word finding,
hesitations, mispronunciations and incomplete sentences. They may also experience
difficulties with organising their ideas for the oral presentation, in exactly the same way
as with their written work.
Oral presentations can be very stressful, as the student may not have yet developed
presentation techniques and strategies which work for them. Many disabled students
who experience difficulties with presentations feel the only way to remember what they
want to say and to be confident is to read from a script. However this strategy is fraught
with problems for students who have difficulties with reading fluently, particularly when
reading in front of others.
Oral presentations can be particularly problematic because of:
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The load on short-term memory.
Having to read aloud from notes.
Organisational problems.
Added stress from past experiences.
Understanding the problems a disabled student has with presentations will assist you
when assessing such work. They will benefit from specific help, enabling them to
prepare in a style that suits them best.
As with the written work you should:
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Mark for content rather than the fluency of the presentation.
Use positive feedback, which is informative and constructive.
Explain both the good points and how it might be improved.
Consider the presentation environment to try to reduce the stress.
Allow extra time to set up if requested.
RELATIONSHIP OF THESE GUIDELINES TO ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
Standard of written English as assessment criteria
It is not intended that these guidelines should conflict with assessment criteria. The
specified assessment criteria for an assignment or examination may include reference
to the standard of written English to be achieved by the student, to ensure that the
intended learning outcomes of the programme have been achieved. In this case the
criteria should be applied and these marking guidelines should be used sympathetically
to help the student develop the relevant skills. However, as a reasonable adjustment, it
is still necessary to consider whether an alternative method of assessment should be
used to determine the student’s knowledge of the subject material.
Core Competencies
Some students will be studying courses that require them to demonstrate that they have
a certain level of competency in aspects of reading, writing and translation, in either
English or a foreign/second language. It may be hard for the marker to determine
whether errors in spelling and grammar are disability-related or due to a lack of ability in
the language being assessed. Where grammar and spelling are core competencies of a
course, a student’s work must be marked on the basis of accuracy in the language and
therefore the advice in this guidance will not apply. These guidelines should be used
alongside the marking criteria for the course, but not supersede it in respect to core
competency.
FURTHER HELP OR ADVICE
If you require further help or advice, please contact
The Disability Service
0161 295 9000
disability@salford.ac.uk
This guidance has been produced with reference to and permission from the University
of Bournemouth Dyslexia Marking Guidelines (2003) by the Additional Learning Needs
Unit.
RESOURCES
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Waterfield, J. and West, B. (2006). Inclusive Assessment in Higher Education: A
resource for change. University of Plymouth: Plymouth. includes case studies and
provides raw materials for exploring the equity, validity and reliability of assessment
regimes:
http://www.plymouth.ac.uk/pages/view.asp?page=10494
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Accessible Assessments - Staff Guide to Inclusive Practice. Practical support to
academic staff in the design and delivery of inclusive academic assessments.
http://www.shu.ac.uk/services/lti/accessibleassessments/
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Inclusive Assessment, Inclusive Curriculum for Disabled Students, University of
Westminster
http://www.wmin.ac.uk/pdf/ICDS%2010-Inclusive%20Assessment.pdf

SPACE Project, ‘Inclusive assessment in higher education: A resource for change’,
University of Plymouth, www.plymouth.ac.uk/pages/view.asp?page=10494

‘Making your teaching inclusive’, Open University,
www.open.ac.uk/inclusiveteaching/pages/inclusive-teaching/assessment.php
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‘Thinking about Dyslexia: Assessment and Marking’,
www.nottingham.ac.uk/dyslexia/assessment/exams/
‘Guidance for Lecturers Marking the work of Students with Dyslexia’, University of
Greenwich, w3.gre.ac.uk/students/affairs/dd/staff/marking.htm
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DEMOS, ‘Guidance when marking the written work of Dyslexic students’,
jarmin.com/demos/course/assessment/marking.html
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Access Summit – Joint University Disability Resource Centre
http://www.access-summit.org.uk/, 0161 275 0987
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Dyslexia Action - http://www.dyslexiaaction.org.uk/
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British Dyslexia Association (BDA) - http://www.bda-dyslexia.org.uk/
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Davis R D (1997), The Gift of Dyslexia, Souvenir Press
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Gilroy, D (1996), Dyslexia and Higher Education, University of Wales, Bangor