Assessment for All

Schools and examining bodies have to be aware of the legislation surrounding disability when looking at the logistics of the new qualifications. We explain the crucial points

When drawing up a new set of qualifications, examination boards must be mindful of the disability discrimination legislation, to ensure that pupils are not disadvantaged by the requirements of assessment.

Discrimination could take place in one of two ways: by disabled students being treated “less favourably” than others, or by examiners failing to make a “reasonable adjustment” when students are placed at a “substantial disadvantage” to others because of their impairment.
In order to have rights under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), an individual must meet the definition of criteria set out in the legislation: “A person has a disability that is covered by the Act if s/he has a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on her/his ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.”

These can include sensory impairments, learning difficulties such as dyslexia, autism and Asperger’s syndrome, and mental health conditions. It can also include progressive illnesses such as multiple sclerosis, cancer and HIV, and conditions such as pain, fatigue or memory loss.

Part 4 of the DDA places a duty on educational bodies to ensure that disabled candidates do not receive less favourable treatment, and that reasonable adjustments are made to remove any substantial disadvantage experienced by disabled students.

When drawing up criteria, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority works with subject experts to decide what skills are needed for a learner to gain a GCSE. Although they take into account disability, some of the criteria may still exclude some candidates from completing them where a skill is an integral part of the qualifications. For example, a candidate who has been deaf from birth may be unable to demonstrate speaking skills in a foreign language.

The Joint Council for Qualifications represents all awarding bodies on the issue of disability discrimination to ensure that all students are treated fairly across the board, regardless of whose specification they study.

OCR has a checking procedure in place to ensure it does not introduce, unwittingly, any additional barriers which might disadvantage disabled students. Its department for access arrangements works to enable students to show what they know and can do, for example by making special arrangements for anyone who cannot access the assessment in the usual way.