Extra time for dyslexic students in Leaving Certificate exams an 'unfair advantage'

The Dyslexia Association of Ireland said dyslexic students can run out of time in exams. Picture: Denis Minihane

Allowing dyslexic students extra time to complete Leaving Certificate exams could create an “unfair advantage” in what is a “high stakes” exam, politicians have been told.

Parents, campaigners, and politicians have been calling for extra time to be given to pupils with dyslexia while sitting their Junior and Leaving Certificate exams.

A petition by the Dyslexia Association of Ireland earlier this year warned that dyslexic students face significant challenges with extended reading and writing and can often run out of time in exams.

However, representatives of both the Department of Education and the State Examinations Commission (SEC) warned that giving this time advantage could have “unintended consequences”.

SEC chief executive officer Andrea Feeney said all exam bodies need to be concerned about the integrity of the process and at the moment additional time in which to complete exams is not an accommodation that can be sanctioned in its own right.

SEC chief executive Andrea Feeney said additional time 'may become something that someone could use to gain an advantage'. Picture: Maxwells

“We could say we will introduce additional time and that may become something that someone could use to gain an advantage. I am not talking about students with special educational needs, but others," Ms Feeney told an Oireachtas committee. 

That would disadvantage all other candidates, including those with special educational needs, were it to happen.

She said current provision for students with all special educational needs “recognises the high-stakes nature” of the Leaving Certificate.

Senator Tim Lombard vented his frustration after the committee meeting and hit out at a lack of urgency around providing dyslexic students with additional time to provide them with an “equal playing field”.

Senator Tim Lombard hit out at a lack of urgency around providing dyslexic students with additional time to give them an 'equal playing field'. Picture: Jim Coughlan

Referencing systems in place in France and the UK he said: “We are looking for kids who are going through the Leaving Cert examination to get the same accommodation as other countries.

“Parents find it very confusing that the European model is giving extra time and the Irish model isn’t, so they’re saying how’s that happening? Then they go to third level and they get extra time in third level.”

He said roughly 10% of the 136,000 students who will sit Junior and Leaving Certificate examinations this year are dyslexic.

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“While there was talk of a review, there was no timelines about this and the lack of urgency is disappointing.

“If we have to wait two or three years for a review, those students sitting Junior cycle this year may well have completed their Leaving Certificate before we see any recommendations or changes. We need a greater sense of urgency on this to be fair to all student,” he said.

Department of Education principal officer Celeste O’Callaghan said an “individual intervention” would need careful consideration as “there could be unintended consequences with regard to fairness and integrity”.