SAC newsletters
February 2022
SAC#2 -
Topics in this SAC UPDATE
- Assessing Internals
- Amending SAC entitlements
- Updating contact information
- Information for new Learning Support staff
Assessing Internals
- Send the names and their SAC entitlements to each student’s teachers. There is always a need to guarantee authenticity for internals and staff need to check the objectives of standards being assessed as it might mean not using certain SAC entitlements.
See Assessments where SAC Provision is Not Appropriate or Not Allowed - There are very few standards where the work for assessment must be written/typed and students might present valid authentic verifiable evidence of their knowledge in a video, podcast, interview or a presentation etc. instead.
- Many schools encourage students to use common accessibility software for schoolwork and internal assessments, especially helpful when it is difficult to timetable sufficient Readers and Writers. There are also scanning pens that will read via an ear bud.
- Should students or assistants be working from home then Zoom or phone sessions might be possible for some reading or writing/typing of assessments.
- Training Assessment Assistants
There is a Quicklink at the bottom of the nzqa.govt.nz/sac page for learning about Assessment and Exam Assistants (Readers and Writers/Typists)
The Ministry of Education has a training module on being an effective assessment assistant(MOE).
Amending SAC entitlements
As the year progresses, if a change of SAC is needed for a student, click on their NSN and send a request through the Notes & Messages section.
Also upload any reports associated with the request.
Updating contact information
For new Learning Support staff to receive these updates add their names as SENCO or SAC contact in High Security Features/School’s Administration/Profile, and authorise them to access the Special Assessment Conditions section in High Security if they will be using the online application tool.
Information for new Learning Support staff
There is a new Quicklink on the SAC page: “Video Tutorial: Introduction to SAC”.
The “Handwriting Observation Sheet” is a new document in SAC Forms and Guides to record posture etc. when students are doing their 20-minute handwriting sample.