Equality in assessment Julie Swan Associate Director, Regulatory Policy and Vocational Qualification Policy

Aims of the session To highlight:  the links between equality & accessibility and validity  the issues to be considered at each stage of the qualification lifecycle  your legal and regulatory obligations with respect to equality and the accessibility of your qualification And to get a sense of:  current practice  the need for further guidance

Validity  Well designed assessments will differentiate between learners who have the knowledge, skills and understanding the qualification is intended to recognise and those who do not  They will not differentiate on other factors

The starting point  Clear learning outcomes  That are all necessary for the qualification’s purpose  So any barriers are justifiable  In line with General Condition of Recognition, Condition D2

Assessment Valid assessments will:  use appropriate language and stimulus materials (General Condition of Recognition, Condition G3)  differentiate on relevant factors only

Protected characteristics  Age  Disability  Gender reassignment  Marriage and civil partnership  Pregnancy and maternity  Religion or belief  Sex  Sexual orientation  In Northern Ireland also political opinion and those with dependents

Examples of potentially unjustifiable barriers in assessments  Use of unnecessarily complex language  Use of diagrams or pictures that are distracting or are hard to see  Tasks that disadvantage learners who have not had particular experiences, where these are not relevant to the knowledge, skills and understanding being assessed  Assessments of skills that are not relevant to the learning outcomes  Requirements to demonstrate skills in contexts that are not essential for the qualification

Reasonable adjustments  Awarding organisations are subject to a legal duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled learners (some exceptions for some general qualifications)  A person is disabled if: they have a physical or mental impairment the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities (the Equality Act 2010)  Reasonable adjustments are made to remove or reduce the disadvantage caused by the disability that would otherwise arise  The cost of making the adjustment cannot be recovered from the disabled person

Competence standards  The application by a qualifications body of a competence standard to a disabled person is not disability discrimination if it is a proportionate means to achieve a legitimate aim  A competence standard is an academic, medical or other standard applied for the purpose of determining whether or not a person has a particular level of competence or ability  Reasonable adjustments are made to how the essential knowledge, skills and understanding are assessed, not to what is assessed

Typical reasonable adjustments  Large font  Extra time  Use of British Sign Language  Electronic rather than paper and vice versa But there is no definitive list – each request must be considered

Arrangements with centres  Condition C2 Agreements with centres must: “Require the Centre to undertake delivery of the qualification required by the awarding organisation in accordance with Equalities Law.”

Discussion  How do you identify and remove any unjustifiable barriers at qualification- design stage?  How do you monitor for such barriers?  How would you respond to the requests for reasonable adjustments and other issues on your tables?

Sources of information  Fair access by design published by CEA Regulation and Qualifications Wales e_2015.pdf e_2015.pdf  Guidance: modification and production of papers for visually impaired students  EHRC guidance for further and higher education providers providers/higher-education-providers-guidance providers/higher-education-providers-guidance  UK Association for Accessible Formats  Draft Ofqual guidance, out for consultation