Vol. 497 No. 6
105 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for Education and Science if his Department has ended the practice whereby students could indicate on their exam papers that they were dyslexic; if so, the reason for withdrawing this concession; the manner in which examiners may now identify a dyslexic student; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25788/98]
A practice whereby students could indicate the presence of a specific learning difficulty on their examination scripts never existed.
The range of special arrangements available to students with specific learning difficulties in the 1999 certificate examinations will be the same as those available in 1998. These arrangements include the use of tape recorders, readers, scribes and enlarged print depending on the needs of each individual case.
Traditionally, where a concern has been expressed regarding the readability of material presented by candidates, this has been brought to the attention of the individual examiner. This approach is intended to ensure that, notwithstanding any presentational or readability difficulties, every effort is made by the examiner to ensure the candidate is given full credit for all work. In the event of an examiner encountering difficulty, he or she is instructed to send the answerbook to his or her supervising examiner.
This year my Department has moved to strengthen this arrangement by instructing all examiners who have a difficulty in accessing the information given by a candidate to refer the script to their supervising examiner. The intention is to ensure problems with readability whether brought to the Department are dealt with by the examiner and that no candidate is disadvantaged.
