National Survey of Alternative Assessment Arrangements Policy and Practice in Tertiary Education with Reference to International Policy and Literature
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National Survey of Alternative Assessment Arrangements Policy and Practice in Tertiary Education with Reference to International Policy and Literature A Research Report Martha G. Bell, PhD Media Associates April 2015 © 2015 ACHIEVE, The National Post-Secondary Education Disability Network Incorporated National Survey of Alternative Assessment Arrangements Policy and Practice in Tertiary Education with Reference to International Policy and Literature: A Research Report For further information, please contact: ACHIEVE, c/o University of Otago PO Box 56 Dunedin 9054 New Zealand Email [email protected] Web www.achieve.org.nz ISBN: 978-0-473-31119-3 2 Executive Summary New Zealand’s 29 tertiary education institutions (TEIs) are mandated in the Education Act 1989 to provide access to education guaranteeing equal educational opportunities to students with impairments who enroll for academic study in public providers. In 2013, the number of students with impairments rose to 5% of all students. The proportion of students with impairments in the tertiary population has almost doubled since these statistics were first recorded in 1998. ACHIEVE, the National Post-Secondary Education Disability Network Incorporated (ACHIEVE), is concerned that there be continuity in professional practice across the sector. This study was contracted to survey and compare policy and practice of alternative assessment arrangements to accommodate diverse needs for extra time in examinations and tests for students with impairments in tertiary education institutions in New Zealand. The study findings illustrate how alternative assessment arrangements for accessing, allocating and evaluating extra time supports are provided in the 28 TEIs which set examinations as a mode of assessing student achievement of learning outcomes. The only residential, Māori-medium, iwi-wānanga in New Zealand does not set examinations as a mode of assessment. The findings are compared in order to present an overview of current practice. It is recommended that further research engage with Māori support services staff in wānanga by using collaborative hui so that current provision is fully illustrated. Of the 28 institutions surveyed, all offer extra time supports either on a case-by-case basis (18%) or by allocating a standard with flexibility on an individual basis (82%). The most common standard is 10 minutes per hour of examination or longer test, with 15 minutes the next most common. The provision of a support for pacing in assessment shows a strong commitment to reducing barriers encountered by tertiary students with impairments. Four international exemplars of policy and/or guidelines on extra time supports which use standard amounts of extra time allocation offer the same standard amounts of extra time as the majority of New Zealand TEIs. They offer 10 minutes and 15 minutes per hour of examination or test. A recommendation is made for a national standard following the Irish consensus of a time allowance of 10 minutes per hour of examination or test developed by the Disabled Advisors Working Network (DAWN) involving 21 member institutions. Implementation of a standard in alternative examination arrangements rests on the sustainable capacity of the TEIs throughout the sector to mobilise knowledge of teaching, learning and assessment accommodation without focusing on students with impairments themselves. It is up to tertiary institutions to engage students with a range of impairments at the levels of policy and governance while institutions expand the capacity to embed disability access, equity and inclusion throughout their educational environments. 3 Acknowledgements Sincere thanks are due to the many people in participating tertiary education institutions around New Zealand who facilitated this research with access to personnel, documents and resources. The expertise, time and effort of the Disability Advisors, Coordinators and Services staff and Examinations Office staff who responded to the survey in very busy circumstances in their offices are acknowledged with appreciation. In addition, the comments and corrections received during the consultation period strengthened the final research report. The assistance of Rachel ’Aluesi, ACHIEVE Administrator, throughout the project is also very much appreciated. Thanks are extended to the two Co-Presidents of ACHIEVE, Marg Dobson and Melissa Lethaby, and the National Executive Committee for initiating the research. Thanks also go to the two original authors of Kia Ōrite Achieving Equity, Ava Gibson and Grant Cleland, for their advice during this project. Associate Professor Gregor Wolbring, Community Rehabilitation and Disability Studies, University of Calgary, Canada, and Associate Professor Lise Bird Claiborne, University of Waikato, New Zealand, who have both written in the area of inclusive tertiary education, provided extensive peer review of this report in draft. Their constructive criticism and suggestions for accuracy were very useful and much appreciated. In addition, peer review provided by the co-funder, Ako Aotearoa, served to sharpen the accuracy and focus for the intended audience. The author also wishes to thank colleagues in disability studies and research who have shared their reading and resources, especially Gill Rutherford, Leigh Hale and Ruth Fitzgerald, in the University of Otago, New Zealand. Dedicated to the vision of Disability Support in all segments of society and the memory of Donna-Rose McKay 4 Table of Contents Chapter I Introduction ..................................................................................................... 7 ‘Alternative Arrangements’ in Public Providers................................................................ 7 Private Providers of Tertiary Education ........................................................................... 8 Partnership with Māori .................................................................................................... 8 Chapter II Background .................................................................................................... 9 Education Provision for Tertiary Students with Impairments ........................................... 9 Access, Equity and Capacity ........................................................................................ 17 Chapter III The Study ..................................................................................................... 20 Aims and Objectives ..................................................................................................... 20 Method ......................................................................................................................... 20 Findings ........................................................................................................................ 22 Chapter IV Policy ........................................................................................................... 29 New Zealand ................................................................................................................ 29 Chapter V Discussion: Alternative Arrangements....................................................... 32 DAWN: A Model for ACHIEVE ...................................................................................... 33 Capacity: A Framework for ACHIEVE ........................................................................... 33 Chapter VI Conclusion .................................................................................................. 37 References ..................................................................................................................... 38 Appendix 1 Survey Instrument ..................................................................................... 45 National Survey of Alternative Arrangements Policy and Practice in Tertiary Education ..................................................................................................................... 45 Appendix 2 Sample ........................................................................................................ 53 29 Public Providers of Tertiary Education ..................................................................... 53 Appendix 3 Review of Literature ................................................................................... 62 Extra Time Accommodations ........................................................................................ 62 “Reframing Accommodations” ...................................................................................... 65 Appendix 4 International Comparisons ........................................................................ 67 Enrolments ................................................................................................................... 67 Research Context ......................................................................................................... 67 Appendix 5 International Exemplars ............................................................................ 75 Policy and Practice ....................................................................................................... 75 List of Tables Table 1 Tertiary Students by Disability Status in 1998 and 2013 ...................................... 10 Table 2 Domestic Students and Domestic EFTS by Disability Status 2013 ...................... 11 Table 3 Tertiary Students with Impairments Accessing Services by TEI 2013.................. 17 Table 4 Equity Funding: