Ofqual guidance to ensure no student is disadvantaged in exams

Ofqual has published new guidance on making exams accessible for all, following a 12-week consultation.

The guidance explains that, in their exams and assessments, awarding organisations should use accessible and appropriate language; use clear and consistent layouts; and should use source material, context, images and colour in ways that do not disadvantage students.

They should also consider how Reasonable Adjustments could be made to the exam or assessment to make sure disabled students are not disadvantaged

The decisions following consultation are published. These explain that a qualification that requires candidates to have a command of complex language must continue to test students on this. For example, an English exam might test use of complex sentence structures, or analogy, inference and allusion. Conversely, maths papers testing numeracy should not contain overly complex text.

Ofqual Chief Regulator Dr Jo Saxton said: "It’s crucial that assessments in every subject have integrity and are accessible, to give all students a fair opportunity to demonstrate what they know and can do, and to achieve results which reflect this.

"Exams and assessments must remain rigorous but must not unfairly disadvantage any student because of poor design or presentation.

"This isn’t about making exams and assessments easier, but about breaking down the barriers that stop young people achieving their true potential and making sure that exams actually test the things they are designed to test.

"If an exam is intended to assess understanding of complex language, then of course the questions will use complex language. But if an exam is assessing numerical skills, it does not need to include complex language which could get in the way of some students showing those skills.

"This will be particularly important for students with SEND, but actually it matters for all students. If students know their subject matter and are well-prepared, they should be able to get on and demonstrate what they know and can do in their assessments, so that the examiner can assess it. This requires questions and tasks in all subjects, however demanding they are, to be framed clearly and unambiguously."

A range of SEND groups responded to this consultation. They include the Autism Education Trust, British Dyslexia Association, National Deaf Children’s Society, National Autistic Society and the Royal National Institute of Blind People.

Ofqual received 163 responses to this consultation. Of the 125 online respondents, 111 agreed or strongly agreed that the draft guidance will help awarding organisations to design and develop assessments that are as accessible as possible for learners.