Accommodating Special Needs and Barriers

Accommodating Special Needs and Barriers to Learning Whilst Assessing

Assessment procedures should address the barriers to learning to make competence accessible to the learner. As not all learners experience the same barriers or need the same level of support, assessment modification becomes a very individual process. Its aim is to assist the learner to demonstrate the same outcome as other learners by changing the task to accommodate the learner's barrier to learning, without changing the core of the outcome. Modification is therefore geared towards the particular learner and not towards the type of disability.

Different types of barriers will have to be addressed through different alternative and/or adaptive methods of assessment. A specific barrier might require more than one adaptation. Strategies to be applied will vary according to whether the barrier is long-standing, recently acquired, fluctuating, intermittent or temporary.

The learning site where the assessment is conducted is responsible for the:

• Audio-tape - the material should be audio-taped well in advance;
• Enlargement of print of assessment paper;
• Transcribing of the assessment task into Braille (or appointment of someone to do so); and
• Supply of assistive devices, special equipment, etc.

A summary of recommended alternative methods of assessment: