Reasonable accommodation during calibration studies and national assessments

The M-decreet entered into force in September 2015. The government introduced new measures to offer students with specific educational needs a place in mainstream education.Reasonable accommodations remove barriers that pupils face with specific educational needs in a normal school environment.STEP provides reasonable accommodations during calibration studies and national assessments. Two conditions must be met:Condition 1: There must be a "report" or justification describing why a specific pupil wants to rely on a certain reasonable accommodation during a certain calibration study or national assessment. This can include:

• A motivated report
• A report
• A registration report
• An ADIBib-attest
• A report with motivation written by the teacher involved

Condition 2: This pupil makes use of this reasonable accommodation in the learning or subject domain covered by this specific calibration study or national assessment (for instance when taking tests within this learning or subject domain) in daily school life. The pupil is familiar with this reasonable accommodation. An example: When a pupil with dyslexia uses certain reading software in the context of reading comprehension (in the classroom), this student (with a report or justification; see condition 1) may also use this reading software during the test on reading comprehension. STEP wants students to work in a similar way during the calibration study or national assessment as during other evaluation moments in the classroom.Some examples of reasonable accommodations during a calibration study or national assessment:

• Pupils with dyslexia who use reading software in class (for instance Kurzweil 3000, Sprint, Alinea, Textaid)
• Pupils with dyspraxia who use a computer or another digital writing aid in class for tests and exams
• Pupils who need additional time to take tests and exams in class (for example following a report or a motivated report, cf. supra)
• Hearing impaired pupils who use aids in the classroom to take tests and exams
• Pupils for whom all study material in the classroom is converted to Braille or large print
• Pupils who use technical aids in the classroom, such as a reading magnifier or a modified table and chair
• Other accommodations, such as pupils who put on headphones in class during a test so that they are less likely to be distracted, pupils who sit in a quiet corner of the classroom during a test so that they are less likely to be distracted, etc.

STEP will consider every question concerning reasonable accommodations within the framework of the specific calibration study or national assessment.