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12.5Arrangements for pupils who have difficulties reading
Schools can make the following access arrangements at their own discretion; they do not have to request permission. The use of a reader must be normal classroom practice. Schools must have evidence to show that resources are routinely committed to providing this support.
Using readers
The school must arrange for a reader to be on hand for pupils taking a test who regularly have reading support in the classroom. A reader must be used on a one-to-one basis only. In most cases, these are pupils whose reading age is much lower than their actual age (as a guide, a reading age of nine or lower).
Readers must not be used with pupils who are capable of reading the test materials on their own. Local authorities and the NAA will monitor whether schools are using readers correctly during the test week. The inappropriate use of readers may lead to the annulment of a pupil’s results.
Readers are usually teachers or support assistants but do not need to be specialists in the subject being tested. They should be able to read accurately and at a reasonable speed. They must not be another pupil at the school or a relative of the pupil.
Before the test week, the school needs to make sure that readers understand:
- the test format and style
- their role
- any subject-specific issues that might occur.
Test administrators can read the occasional word or phrase to a pupil upon request during a test. This is available for all pupils. This does not constitute having a reader. In contrast, the use of a one-to-one reader will involve the reading of larger amounts of text and must be normal classroom practice.
Schools can use past test papers to help readers prepare. They must not open the 2008 test papers early for this purpose.
Using readers in English tests
In the English tests, the reader may help the pupil to read general instructions. This includes information on the front cover of the test paper and any directions that are not part of the actual questions, for example ‘These questions are about the story Quiet Heroine’.
In the English writing test, the reader may also help a pupil by rereading the writing prompts that the teacher reads to the whole class. The reader may also read back to the pupil any part of the pupil's responses in the writing tests. However, the reader must not read back any of the pupil's responses in the reading test. Furthermore, pupils cannot read their answers to a test administrator unless they are working on a one-to-one basis with a test administrator in a separate room to all other pupils.
Using readers in the mathematics and science tests
A reader may help a pupil to read any part of the mathematics and science tests, including:
- reading signs, symbols and numbers. Symbols may be read but the process or operation should not be indicated
- reading back a pupil’s responses, at the pupil’s request
- clarifying instructions, as long as no additional information is given and the assessment is not invalidated
- reading, but not clarifying, subject-specific vocabulary
- in multipart questions, referring pupils back to the previous part of the question.
Further information is available in the Test administrators’ guide.
Very occasionally, a pupil will need more than single words or sentences read to them. Some pupils’ identified needs, for example their individual education plan, will show that they need the whole question paper read to them so that they can access the test.
Where this is the case, schools should consider testing the pupil in a separate room, following the same procedures as for the main tests. Readers must never read question papers to more than one pupil at a time.