A study led by Dr Kate James from Éirim: The National Assessment Agency suggests that students that receive a spelling and grammar waiver (SGW) in their Leaving Certificate Exams receive an unfair advantage over other students, thus casting doubt on the validity of the accommodation.
What is a Spelling and Grammar Waiver (SGW)?
In 2001, introduced the SGW for students with dyslexia and spelling difficulties sitting their Junior and Leaving Cert. Exams. It is one of a few examination accommodations offered by the State Examinations Commission (SEC) in Ireland to ensure that students with additional learning needs are not disadvantaged in their exams and can show their actual ability. The SGW meant students were exempt from Spelling and Grammar, accounting for 10% of their overall exam mark. But, of course, they do not lose this 10%; instead, their marks are pro-rated, which means that they receive a percentage of the 10% available, but the total get depends on how they did on the rest of the paper.
The SGW is the most popular examination accommodation offered, with 9% of all students sitting their Leaving Cert. using it, rising year on year. However, until now, no research has been conducted on the SGW's validity or fairness.
The Spelling & Grammar Waiver Study:
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James & Hannah (2017) took a sample of student mock Leaving Certificate papers during their study. Half of the students were granted an SGW (i.e. indicating they had dyslexia), and half weren't. Experienced examiners marked the first batch of papers with an SWG, and two months later, the same exam papers were without the waiver.
Ideally, if an exam accommodation is valid or fair, we expect a 'disabled' student to benefit more from an exam accommodation than a 'non-disabled' student. (i.e. the exam accommodation is of little or no benefit/advantage to a 'non-disabled' student). So, for example, enlarging the text on an exam paper for a visually impaired student will increase the marks for that student but shouldn't make too much of a difference for a student with normal vision. Similarly, reading an exam paper to a student with reading difficulties will increase the marks they receive compared to if they were left to read it alone. Still, it shouldn't make a difference for students with everyday reading skills. If a similar logic applies to SGW, we expect the results of the dyslexic/weak spelling student to increase with the accommodation much more than that of a non-dyslexic student with the same exam accommodation.
Does Using a Spelling and Grammar Waiver Unfairly Give Students Higher Marks?
The results from James and Hannah's study demonstrated that, on average, all papers marked with an SGW, including those written by students with dyslexia, received considerably higher marks than those marked without an SGW. These results, therefore, indicate that the SGW gives an unfair advantage to students that receive it (even those that don't need the accommodation). If this is the case, the spelling and grammar could be seen as a prized or privileged possession, providing a boost or advantage to all who get it. If students are favourable to receiving an increase in marks, wouldn't everyone be keen to get it?!
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According to James and Hannah (2017), this research has "implications for the State Examinations Commission in how they grant SGWs to students. Given the high-stakes nature of the Leaving Certificate, we need to ensure that the results a student receives are a true reflection of the student's performance and not an inflated view. You can read the full research article here.
Can the Spelling and Grammar Waiver Give Your Lower Marks?
While the general trend of results was towards higher marks for dyslexic and non-dyslexic students when using an SGW, the results at an individual level were also very interesting. For example, James and Hannah found that while 61% of dyslexic students received higher grades with the SGW, 29% received a lower grade! So while the general belief may be that having an SGW boosts marks, it will decrease some students' exam results.
How Do We Make Things Fair?
Ultimately it is the role of the State Exams Commission (SEC) in Ireland to examine how the SGW is used and applied so that exam marks can be allocated fairly to all students. Unfortunately, though, this research suggests that at the moment, the waiver could be seen as a prized possession, boosting the marks of students that receive it. With so much at stake in the Leaving Certificate exams and college places dependent on marks and points obtained in exams, some students will likely exaggerate a spelling difficulty to receive the waiver (because they see it as an advantage).
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With this in mind and attempting to make the process fairer, Dr James and colleagues spent many years designing the new SPaRCS test. This test is for use with students applying for the spelling and grammar waiver through the Reasonable Accommodations at Certificate Examinations (RACE) scheme. It has in-built effort indicators to alert teachers when students attempt to exaggerate their spelling difficulties. Unlike other spelling tests, with this test, teachers can be much more confident that the students they are sending forward for the waiver are indeed the ones that need it most.
You can view the SPaRCS test here.
Build Your Confidence
If you are a teacher interested in learning more about the RACE system and how to accurately and effectively apply for a spelling and grammar waiver, readers and scribes in exams, then be sure to view this comprehensive self-paced online course here.
Source: https://www.eirim.ie/spelling-grammar-waiver-can-get-higher-grade-not/
