EASTERN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Disability Support Services
Guidelinesfor
ExamSupport
D I S A B I L I T Y S U P P O R T S E R V I C E S
G U I D E L I N E S F O R E X A M S U P P O R T
Table
of
Contents
INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................... 2
TYPES OF EXAM SUPPORT / “REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS”............................. 2
THE ALTERNATIVE EXAM PROCESS ................................................................................. 3
GUIDELINES FOR EXAM SUPPORT STAFF ....................................................................... 4
GUIDELINES FOR STUDENTS ............................................................................................. 4
TROUBLESHOOTING ........................................................................................................... 5
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Introduction
EIT has two goals in providing alternative assessment support to students:

To recognise that some students require alternative arrangements for their exams due to
the presence of a disability, medical condition or impairment. These may be temporary or
permanent conditions. The primary purpose of providing alternative assessments is to
minimise the impact of a student's disability on their academic performance.

To promote equity of access for students who have a disability, medical condition or
impairment which would disadvantage them should they sit the exam in the usual
manner. It is designed to place students with a disability on a more equal footing with
non-disabled students, without giving them an unfair advantage.
This manual is provided as a guideline on providing effective and fair alternative exam conditions
for the student, the responsibilities of students and support staff, and some troubleshooting for
possible problems. If you have anything you would like to see added to this manual or have
some point you would like to clarify or discuss please contact the Disability Liaison.
Types of Exam Support / “Reasonable Accommodations”

Extra Time. Extra time may be provided during examinations where, because of a
disability or impairment, there are significant demands on:
o
o
o
o
Reading
Writing
Comprehension skills
Physical and psychological aspects of stress or pain management and endurance
Extra time may be approved for a student with a specific learning disability or visual
impairment, or it may be used as time-out for a specific activity, e.g. extra time may be
used by students with physical injuries for stretching, walking etc. If a student requires a
reader or writer, extra time is granted to allow for the fact of dictation and transcription
being a longer process than a student writing their own exam. Extra time is calculated by
taking into consideration the disability and the use of any additional aids or assistance.
Extra time can range from 10 minutes per hour to 20 minutes per hour, and in some
exceptional cases may be extended further.

Supervision. Exams are to be supervised by appropriate support staff AT ALL TIMES.
Supervision staff may include:
o Exam Reader for students who require reading assistance, e.g. for specific
learning disabilities, vision impairment
o Exam Writer (scribe) for students who require writing assistance, e.g. for specific
learning disabilities, vision impairments, physical/motor impairments and injuries
(tetraplegia, limb deformities, broken limbs, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s)
o Supervisor for students who do not require reading or writing assistance but may
still require a separate room e.g. mental health (anxiety disorders), physical injuries
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and impairments (back injury, broken limbs), medical conditions requiring special
conditions (natural lighting for epilepsy)
o Interpreter or Communicator for deaf and hearing-impaired students

Separate Room. Any exam requiring an exam reader, writer or where the student needs
to move around will need to be held in a separate room. If special conditions need to be
set up for a student – e.g. natural lighting only for an epileptic – that could disadvantage
other students, a separate room to accommodate these will be arranged.

Exam papers in alternative format. Some exam formats may be unsuitable or
inappropriate for some students and they may require the exam to be given in an
alternative format. Depending on the alternative format, the student may require a
separate room and an invigilator. Alternative formats may include:
o Enlarged print for visually-impaired students
o Different coloured papers and print (visual impairment and some learning
disabilities)
o Electronic format (computer).

Aids and Adaptive Equipment. Some students may request to write their own exams
using aids or specialist adaptive equipment instead of an exam reader/writer. This might
include:
o Computer (where a student cannot write on their own)
o Computer with specialist software programs such as:
 Dragon Naturally Speaking dictation software (physical or motor
impairments)
 Read and Write text-to-voice software (specific learning disabilities)
o Oral examinations
o Use of technical dictionaries, spell checkers, thesaurus and grammar checks
(manual and electronic). Students are NEVER allowed to use dictionaries. If
required, the supervisor will use the dictionary and write or spell the word out for
the student.
o Ergonomic furniture such as chairs, height-adjustable tables, sloping tables, etc.
The Alternative Assessment Process
 Students will meet their supervisors or reader/writers outside the disability office 10
mins before the assessment.
 The student and the supervisor or reader/writer will collect the assessment from the
normal test or exam room or the faculty admin office (Nursing, Business and
Computing) and then go to the alternative booked room.
 The supervisor or reader/writer will deliver the assessment to the faculty admin office.
In the event of the school being closed, the paper will be delivered to the library main
desk or placed in the LOCKED assignment box at the library.
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Guidelines for Assessment Support Staff
 Writer skills include:
o Fast writing speed
o Legible handwriting
o Good language skills (grammar, spelling and vocabulary)
 Reader skills include:
o Ability to read fluently
o Good language skills (grammar and vocabulary)
 Readers and writers need to ask the student which side they would like them to sit.
 Writers are required to document the student’s answers accurately. The writer must NOT
re-word or re-structure what is being dictated.
 Writers must NOT prompt the student, give an interpretation of what the student has said,
or provide any written or verbal information which may influence the student’s answer to
exam questions.
 Readers may NOT stress or emphasise one option more than another when reading
multiple choice questions
 Readers must NOT offer interpretations regarding the meaning of exam materials, e.g.
“What they really mean is…” or “What they are asking for is…”
 Communicators for deaf or hearing impaired students are required to verbalise all
communication for the benefit of the exam supervisor.
Guidelines for Students
 Students using assessment assistance need to conduct themselves in the same manner
as any other student undertaking the same test or exam, with the exception of the specific
alternative arrangement they have applied for.
 Students will NOT ask supervisors to:
o Give personal opinions on the correctness of answers (e.g. “Do you think that
sounds right?”)
o Ask for prompting (e.g. “Can you please give me some computer terms to spark
my memory?”)
o Engage in social conversations or ask personal questions
o Ask for open book conditions, unless it is a specified exam condition.
 Students are REQUIRED to:
o Ask supervisors to read questions, accompanying printed materials and exam
instructions
o Ask supervisors to repeat any reading materials, questions or instructions if they
are unsure that they have understood correctly
o Ask supervisors to describe diagrams, if visually impaired or blind
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o Give supervisors instructions on how material should be presented
o Ask supervisors to read aloud what they have written down to check it is correct.
 The student should speak slowly and clearly to ensure that the exam writer is able to
accurately document their answers.
Troubleshooting
 Can the student have any materials on the desk apart from pens, pencils, etc?
Unless the student is using an approved aid or adaptive technology, they may NOT have
additional materials on the desk during the exam. Spare paper is supplied with the exam
sheets or they can be requested from the Disability Office.
 An exam reader/writer knows that the answer the student has given is incomplete.
Are they allowed to prompt at all?
NO indication must be given to the student that an answer is incomplete. Reader/writers
are only allowed to document what the student has given as the answer.
 What happens if the student requests a toilet break or is entitled to a rest break?
The supervisor is to accompany the student when they leave the exam room AT ALL
TIMES. In the case of a toilet break, the supervisor should wait outside the toilet.
 What happens when an exam supervisor turns up and the student is not there or
the exam has been cancelled?
Notify the Disability Liaison. The supervisor is entitled to claim for the full time if he/she
has not been given prior timely notification of a cancellation or student absence.
 I am a reader/writer for an exam with technical terms that I may not be able to spell.
Technical dictionaries will be provided for the use of READER/WRITERS or
WRITERS ONLY in assessments with high technical requirements (e.g. nursing
science exams). This is to ensure that the student will not be marked down for
spelling errors made by support staff.
 My student needs a break or I need to leave the exam room.
As in the guideline above, students are to be supervised by appropriate support staff
AT ALL TIMES. Students using exam assistance need to conduct themselves in the
same manner as any other student undertaking the same exam, with the exception of
the specific alternative arrangement they have applied for.
If your student needs to leave the exam room for a break you will need to accompany
them. In the event of a toilet break please accompany them to outside the toilets and
wait for them (the main doors not the toilet stall!). If you need to leave the exam room
for any reason please take the student and the exam paper to the disability office and
have them wait with another staff member until the exam can be resumed. A student
must never be left alone with an exam paper.
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 My student was unwell during the exam and does not know what to do.
Let your student know that they can apply for an impaired performance. They will
need to go to their department with a medical certificate or other supporting
documentation WITHIN 24 HOURS OF THE EXAM and fill out the required form.
Please make sure they understand that this is an application and there is no
guarantee it will be approved.
 My student has had an anxiety attack or some kind of disturbance in their exam.
If your student has an anxiety attack, epileptic seizure or some other disability related
disturbance to their exam you may use 'stop the clock' conditions. This means that
you will need to time the duration of the disturbance and add that time onto the end of
the exam. If they are unable to continue, encourage them to apply for an impaired
performance.
Contact Details
Disability Liaison
Cheri Gillett-Jackson
L101 (Front of the Library)
Phone: 974 8000 ext 6049
Fax: 974 8910
Email: disability@eit.ac.nz
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