Supporting Students in the SACE

SACE requirements General SACE requirements Subject requirements: compulsory subjects number of credits etc Subject requirements: standards skills knowledge Students should enrol in a subject with a reasonable expectation of being able to achieve the requirements by undertaking the assessments described in the subject outline. For example – a student with a physical disability should avoid PE or Dance

Supporting students in SACE Disability Impairment Illness Personal circumstance Misadventure Short or long term difficulty, NEP, illness, kicked out of home, grandma died, missed the bus on the way to an exam.

Supporting student in the SACE What is the impact of the situation, condition, disability, illness etc on the student’s ability to: participate in the assessment and/or access the requirements of the assessment? For example: blind student Wheelchair bound Hearing impairment Injury eg broken leg or arm What is the impact on assessment as observed by the school in assessment conditions Illegible handwriting Panic attacks Unable to cope with the volume of work Unable to see Unable to finish tests Late to an exam

Options for supporting students: SACE flexibilities Special Provisions Modified subjects Or a combination of two or more of these

Modified Subjects Subjects at Stage 1 and 2 designed for students with intellectual disability Unable to meet the performance standards for a Stage 1 or 2 subject Must meet eligibility criteria to enrol Awarded completed/not completed against personal goals

SACE flexibilities Subject selections VET Community learning Different assessment options eg oral instead of written VET Community learning Local programs Different assessment options eg oral instead of written. If it needs to be written – use scribes, dragon software etc

Special Provisions Special arrangements or varied assessment conditions For students with a demonstrated significant difficulty accessing or participating in the conditions of the assessment. Eg more time, rest breaks, less tasks, alternative task, Braille, scribe

Grounds for special provisions physical disability vision impairment hearing impairment medical condition psychological illness learning disability misadventure personal circumstances

Types of provisions available Just a few examples: Extension to deadlines Reduced number of assessment tasks Rest breaks and/or extra time for timed tasks Use of a word processor for handwritten tasks Use of a scribe/reader Braille tasks

Principles of special provisions Fairness Same standards Same skills and knowledge Decisions based on a range of evidence Most appropriate provision

Who makes the decisions? Flexibilities – teacher (within the requirements of the subject outline) Modified subjects – school, together with the student, parent, carer Special provisions School assessment (Stage 1 and 2) – the School External assessment (Stage 2) – SACE Board

Special Provisions – how are decisions made? Consideration of A range of evidence – particularly functional and teacher evidence Time and duration when the issue occurs Nature of the assessment task/s affected The most appropriate provision is granted Decisions made fairly and consistently across students and subjects EG use form 29/13

More information SACE Website – policy, forms, information sheets www.sace.sa.edu.au Modified subjects – Jamie Dunnill 83727473 gerardm@saceboard.sa.gov.au VET – Adele Broster 83727461 or Melissa Sherman 83727404 adeleb@saceboard.sa.gov.au; melissas@saceboard.sa.gov.au Community Learning – Louise Johnson 83727456 louisej@saceboard.sa.gov.au Special Provisions – Lisa Wills 83727408 lisaw@saceboard.sa.gov.au