Vol. 536 No. 1
168 Ms O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Education and Science the plans there are to indicate on the results documents of junior and leaving certificate students who have availed of special facilities for the examination that they have done so; if any assessment has been carried out following the introduction of this practice in 2000; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13371/01]
This year it will again be possible for a student, depending on his or her special need, to have his or her result in a subject based upon all except some element of the examination in that subject. Drawing on best international practice this significant improvement is enabled by having an explanatory note accompany the grade.
In all such cases the grade awarded is a full and accurate reflection of the candidate's performance in the examination, and the examination certificates issued by my Department state that unequivocally.
This measure enables a candidate to obtain maximum marks for the subject even though his or her special need precludes him or her from demonstrating attainment in core elements of the standard assessment. In other words, the grade awarded which will subsequently be used to calculate points for third level admission purposes need no longer be based on some element of standard assessment that he/she would have difficulty with. While recognising the autonomy of third level institutions in relation to setting their admission policies, the overall policy thrust is to ensure increased participation by those with special needs at third level and I fully expect this measure to assist in that regard. It is also consistent with the Report of the Commission on the Points System which set out the need to facilitate, in every way possible, those with special needs both in terms of initial access to third level and thereafter in terms of their needs while at third level.
My Department keeps the arrangements that are made for examination candidates with special needs under constant review and assessment, with a view to making appropriate improvements to those arrangements. This is achieved primarily through meeting groups representing those with particular disabilities and through contact with the National Disability Authority.
Subsequent to the 2000 examinations our review of the operation of these arrangements has resulted in a further improvement for 2001. A candidate who has a specific learning difficulty can now apply for an exemption from the spelling component of a language subject even if that candidate's difficulty is not severe enough to warrant the grant of a scribe or tape-recorder.
