Fact Sheet: Accommodations and Exemptions South Africa

What are barriers to learning?

Barriers to learning encompass difficulties that are likely to impact on a learner’s ability, during an examination, to achieve according to their potential. These difficulties may arise from:

• a learning difficulty/disability (e.g., dyslexia, language-based learning difficulty),
• a communication or speech impairment (e.g., Aphasia),
• a physical difficulty or sensory impairment (e.g., involving impaired functioning of hands or legs, partial sightedness or hard of hearing),
• a Psychological/Psychiatric disorder. (e.g., Anxiety or Depression),
• a medical condition (e.g., severe diabetes, epilepsy, chronic pain).

What are examples of accommodations and exemptions granted

The International Dyslexia Association (IDA) highlights four types of basic accommodation measures that learners with barriers ought to be eligible for. These include presentation of material, response of learners, setting and timing. Examples of these broad accommodation categories include, but are not limited to:

Presentation

• reader: a person reads aloud all instructions to the learner, to ensure accurate reading of instructions;
• text-to-Speech software: such as an electronic reader including a CPen e-reader;
• enlarged text: to support learners with visual impairments.

Response

• scribe: writes verbatim what learner dictates to enable oral testing to optimize the learner’s ability to express ideas and responses;
• speech-to-text software programmes: such as Google Chrome VoiceNote or iWordQ allowing the learner to respond optimally;
• spelling: the learner’s spelling in written output is not penalized because of spelling errors;
• computer: laptop, iPad – to allow learner to type as opposed to handwrite responses to support illegible and difficult to decipher handwriting;
• predictive text and/or predictive spelling: to support the learner with written language barriers to record responses optimally;
• handwriting: only if a scribe is not available and the learner’s typing skills are inadequate;
• prompter: refocuses the learner who is easily distracted;
• use of a calculator during Mathematics: to support learners with dyscalculia or working memory difficulties;
• practical assistant: to support learners because of medical conditions.

Presentation and Response

• amanuensis: providing the learner with the support of a reader and a scribe.

Setting

• a separate venue to alleviate performance anxiety and/or reduce visual and/ auditory distractions.

Timing

• additional time: 5-15 minutes per hour to support slow reading and/or handwriting pace, opportunity to edit and check work, and/or to reduce impulsivity.

Examples of exemptions include:
Afrikaans as a first additional language if a significant reading (dyslexia) and/or language difficulty can be shown.
Mathematics if a significant difficulty with working with numbers (dyscalculia) can be shown.
The learner may then be expected to select another subject in its place.

Who regulates accommodations and exemptions?

Schools are responsible for screening learners and identifying those who may be eligible for assessment accommodations and/or exemptions.

Examination accommodations and exemptions are granted to primary school learners at the discretion of the school principal.

Examination accommodations and specific exemptions are granted to high school learners, at the discretion of examining bodies such as the Independent Examination Board (IEB) Accommodations/Exemptions Panel or the Department of Education (DE) District Assessment Accommodations Committee, after review of an application to it.

Learners at university level can also apply, to respective universities, for accommodation measures if they were granted during high school.

Who is responsible to apply for accommodations and exemptions to the examination body?

It is the responsibility of the principal of the school to manage the overall process and provision of support for learners who require assessment accommodations and exemptions.

What documentation is required to support an application for accommodations and exemptions?

The Department of Education and the Independent Examination Board (IEB) provide policy guidelines detailing the required documentation.  In general, the following is required:

• Psychological and Educational Assessments to highlight level of intellectual ability and extent of barrier to learning. If there is a diagnosis of Dyslexia, then this must be noted in BOLD and mentioned numerous times throughout report. But diagnosis does not automatically qualify for an accommodation. The report must show a significant discrepancy between level of functioning and academic difficulty. 
• Teachers’ comments, recent school reports and schoolwork samples. Teachers’ comments carry huge weight to support how the learner’s difficulties present and impact on their academic performance in class and in assessments. For example – handwriting deteriorates over time; tests incomplete; slow to complete classroom work; reading accuracy/comprehension is poor. Stating what supports they are currently receiving is also useful.
• Documented evidence to show a history of difficulty such as medical reports, Occupational Therapy, Speech-Language Therapy and/or Remedial Therapy Reports.

When must an application for accommodations and exemptions be submitted?

Formal application usually starts from Grade Seven.

Accommodation measures for Grade 12 must be submitted by no later than Grade11.