Special assessment conditions - preparing an application

Candidates with permanent or long-term medical or physical conditions or learning disabilities which they believe will significantly impair their performance in internal assessment and specified external assessments may apply to the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) for an entitlement to Special Assessment Conditions (SAC) in the current year. This includes candidates with physical disabilities as well as those with specific learning disabilities.

Applications for entitlement should be made for all eligible students irrespective of whether their programme is fully internally assessed or a combination of internal and external assessments.  Student application form Section A (DOC, 66KB); School application form Section B (DOC, 83KB).

Entitlement granted in previous years does not necessarily mean that it will be granted in the current year. NZQA will notify schools of candidates whose entitlement has not been rolled over, and for whom a new application is required.

Step 1 Application for Entitlement to Special Assessment Conditions for all assessments

Applications from candidates new to assessment for qualifications and those with newly diagnosed conditions or requiring a new application should be made on the application form and emailed along with the updated spreadsheet to SAC@nzqa.govt.nz before the end of the first term each year. It is not necessary to make an application for other candidates listed on the spreadsheet.

Schools that did not have any previous applicants for SAC must complete and send the SAC application form to the SAC mailbox. A spreadsheet will be generated for the school to use.

Any application for entitlement is considered confirmation by the school that the school holds on file all of the required supporting documentation.

Read these instructions carefully before making an application for entitlement for candidates not holding a current entitlement to Special Assessment Conditions as noted on your final SAC spreadsheet for the previous year.

First check the Documentation Requirements to determine whether you need to request more evidence from the applicant. Then for each applicant please make a separate application.

1. The Candidate Details must include the name, date of birth and NSN, if available, of the applicant.
2. The Details of independent assessment must note:
   • the date of the current independent assessment that recommends special assessment conditions. A report is deemed as current if it was written in the last four calendar years, i.e. all reports dated 2008 will be invalid for 2012.
   • the name of the assessor, medical professional etc. and their qualifications for making the assessment
   • the scope of recommendations made to assist this candidate prepare for assessment for national qualifications including any recommendations about special assessment conditions.
3. The Needs Analysis must note:
   • the use a candidate made of SAC in previous years (including information from the Examination Centre Manager about NZQA run examinations)
   • an analysis of the effectiveness of the SAC in meeting the candidate’s needs.
4. For candidates applying on the basis of an SLD (like dyslexia) additional data must also be provided.
5. Email the completed application forms and SAC spreadsheet to SAC@nzqa.govt.nz and keep a file copy.

The School Relationship Manager or their appointed representative may also contact the school with a request to provide extra details or expand on an application before an application for entitlement is approved.

To apply using alternative evidence for candidates without a current independent assessment

If, because of lack of access to an assessor or the affordability of such an assessment, you are unable to provide NZQA with the required current assessment report from a qualified independent professional for candidates you have identified as having a specific learning disability, the school must provide additional supporting information. Any school in this position should contact their School Relationship Manager for guidance and assistance when making an application.

Applications using alternative evidence are not able to be made through the SAC mailbox. They must be fully documented in hard copy and three copies of each collated and posted, along with the application for entitlement to Special Assessment Conditions form to:

Special Assessment Conditions
School Quality Assurance and Liaison
New Zealand Qualifications Authority
PO Box 160
Wellington 6011

Alternative Evidence Applications are due at NZQA by 1 May.

Before seeking approval to make an application using Alternative Evidence the school must first be assured that:

• either the school does not have access to a Level C assessor in their region
• or the student's family can not afford to pay for a Level C assessor's report and that financial assistance is not available from the school or other agencies
• or the student has arrived from overseas and does not have appropriate documented evidence from a suitable New Zealand registered or qualified professional.

All applications for Alternative Evidence must be signed off by the school Principal as representing a genuine need and attesting to the authenticity of the alternative evidence.

Applications based on alternative evidence are considered by the NZQA expert panel which includes Level C assessors. As there may be no opportunity to engage in further feedback, schools need to ensure that they have addressed in full all of the criteria below when making their application.

Each application based on Alternative Evidence must be accompanied by the school’s Screening for Entitlement to Special Assessment Conditions (DOC, 71KB) and provide supporting documentation addressing each of the following:

That:

1. the school does not have access to a Level C assessor in their region or that the student's family can not afford to pay for a Level C assessor's report and that financial assistance is not available from the school or other agencies
2. appropriate testing tools have been used to assess the student's learning during the previous two years to identify their learning problem and the need for appropriate special assistance
3. the student can demonstrate competence at a higher level with reader, writer or special assistance than without. Comparative evidence is required
4. the student is receiving ongoing support to manage their learning problem and that the school has a specific programme of learning support that they have provided and continue to provide for the student
5. in their current year of learning, if entitlement is granted the student will be offered Special Assessment Conditions for school-based assessments as well as those requested for external assessment.

Closing dates

NZQA will not accept new applications after the end of Term 1, except for those candidates with a newly identified, significant, ongoing medical or physical disability which affects their ability to perform in assessments. In these cases, the school must contact NZQA imediately.

New Alternative Evidence applications cannot be considered after 1 May.

Step 2 Processing Special Assessment Conditions for external assessments

Once applications made to NZQA have been processed and the current years spreadsheet returned to schools, these need to be followed up as outlined below, to notify candidates of their entitlement to Special Assessment Conditions for internal assessments and to make specific entries for external assessments.

1. Approved
   • Notify the candidate in writing of their entitlement to Special Assessment Conditions
   • Inform each candidate’s teachers in writing of their entitlement
   • Make the appropriate entries for external standards and confirm the Special Assessment Conditions required before 1 September.
2. Approved, but has been amended
   • Notify the candidate in writing that their entitlement to Special Assessment Conditions has been approved with amendments. This includes candidates whose entitlement for external assessment has been declined
   • Inform the candidate’s teachers in writing of their amended entitlement
   • Make the appropriate entries for external standards and confirm the Special Assessment Conditions required before 1 September.
3. Declined
   • Inform the candidate in writing that their application does not meet NZQA requirements and that Special Assessment Conditions can not be offered for any internal or external assessments
   • Inform teachers in writing that the application has been declined and ensure teachers are aware that the candidate cannot be offered Special Assessment Conditions for any internal or practice external assessments
   • Write to parents informing them that the application has been declined
   • Inform the candidate of the school’s right to appeal this decision.
4. Appealing a decision
   • Notify NZQA of the appeal and request confirmation of the date by which the appeal must be received for consideration by the independently chaired SAC panel
   • Compile an application using the criteria for Alternative Evidence and submit it to NZQA for consideration by the SAC panel at its next scheduled meeting

Step 3 Final confirmation by schools of Special Assessment Conditions for externally assessed standards

Candidates with an entitlement for 2012 will be visible through the online facility when it opens on 1 August 2012. Schools must contact their SRM immediately if a candidate whose name appears on the school’s master spreadsheet is missing online.

Read these instructions carefully before completing the online application for externally assessed standards.

• First remind teachers of candidates entitled to Special Assessment Conditions that final entries into externally assessed standards including Scholarship are due in the 1 August file.
• Then, with reference to your master spreadsheet, for each candidate entitled to Special Assessment Conditions check that teachers have made entries into external achievement standards and Scholarship where applicable. This can be seen in the Special Assessment Conditions pages of your school’s NZQA website. If an examination session is missing from this page it means that no entries for externally assessed standards examined in this session have been made and therefore no Special Assessment Conditions can be attached to this examination session. Follow up with teachers as necessary.
• Next confirm with each candidate that the preferred SAC is attached to each examination session (e.g. a candidate entitled to both may prefer a writer for one subject but a computer for the rest) so that appropriate applications can be made for each externally assessed standard. Refer to the exclusions of assistance list as you do this. Remember to include Scholarship exams.
• Read through the Applications for Special Assessment User Guide prior to making the web entries for SAC in High Security. NZQA progressively throughout the month approves or amends the Special Assessment Conditions entered. Schools cannot make changes themselves after that.
• Check and print the list of special assessment conditions applied for each candidate against the candidate's Admission slip. Use this as a reference once applications have been processed by NZQA as in some instances it may differ from those the school has requested, or the student may have a late entry that has missed having SAC attached. Any applications that appear to be made in error or do not seem warranted will be amended appropriately by NZQA. For example, a school may have inadvertently made an application for extra time for a candidate entered for only one standard in an examination session. NZQA would reject this application because there are three hours available for this student to complete the one standard. Similarly, a late entry may make the candidate's entitlement to extra time valid.

Schools must review and confirm all requests for Special Assessment Conditions for external assessments made online before the facility is closed on 1 September. Errors and additions must be referred to SAC@nzqa.govt.nz.

Record-keeping

All applications will be subject to audit by NZQA. Schools must keep on file all evidence used to support applications for Special Assessment Conditions for at least one year and until they are no longer required to support further applications by a candidate.