Individual Exam Arrangements (IEA) manual for scribes ... · Individual Exam Arrangements (IEA) manual for scribes, readers and IEA supervisors ... has difficulties keeping up with

IEA training manual - 2013- 1 -

Individual Exam Arrangements (IEA)manual for scribes, readers

and IEA supervisors

Hints and tips for starting out at UWSDisability Serviceand Assessment and Graduation Unit

Released April 2014



Table of contentsIntroduction 4

Exam scribes 5Why do students use exam scribes? 5What makes a good exam scribe? 6Role of the exam scribe 6Responsibilities of the scribe in exams 7Responsibilities of the student 8

Exam readers 9Why do students need exam readers? 9What makes a good exam reader? 9Role of the exam reader 9Duties of the exam reader 10

Exam supervisors 11What is an IEA exam supervisor? 11Role of the IEA exam supervisor 11Duties of the IEA exam supervisor 11

Procedures for exam scribes, readersand IEA exam supervisors 13Before the exam 13During the exam 13After the exam 14What if a student becomes unwell during the exam? 14

Using USBs for IEA exams 15Setting up and using USBs 15Printing exam answers 20

Contact details 22


IntroductionUWS has a legal responsibility to ensure students with a disability or chronic health condition are provided with appropriate support to enable them to sit exams and compete equally with their peers academically.

To achieve this, students are provided with ‘reasonable’ educational adjustments to exam conditions. These can include using a scribe, reader, specialised equipment, electronic texts or software, sitting their exam in an individual or small group room or using adaptive technology.

To receive this support students need to be registered with the Disability Service. Each registered student has an Academic Integration Plan (AIP) developed, which sets out all the adjustments the student will need for exams. All adjustments must be implemented. Students who require electronic texts, as stated in their AIP will bring a copy in either USB or CD format to their exam and only be required to access these in exam situations where the exam paper is an “Open-Book exam”.

Some students with an AIP may find it either difficult or impossible to read exam questions or physically write their answers. In other cases the students may write part of the paper and rely on a scribe to write the other part and for others a scribe will need to write the entire paper.

Sometimes the person employed to be the scribe will also be the reader. This person will also act as the exam supervisor. In other situations, where a scribe or reader is not required, the person will only perform the role and duties of an exam supervisor.

The purpose of this manual is to provide clarification on the role, responsibilities, duties and procedures for IEA scribes, readers and exam supervisors. This manual should be read in conjunction with the Exam supervisor manual provided by the Assessment and Graduation unit.


Exam scribesWhy do students use exam scribes?

A student would need to use a scribe because they are unable to write for themselves due to their disability or condition.

Some students are able to write for short periods before they hand over to the scribe while other students will make use of the scribe for the duration of the exam.

Some students will be able to read over the scribe’s work after it has been completed while other students, because of their specific disability, will not be able to read the material. In these cases the scribe will also be required to act as a reader. This means that the scribe will also be required to read the exam questions and read back to the student what the scribe has written on the answer sheet. Reading back what has been written will be particularly important at the conclusion of the exam.

Using a scribe can be difficult at times for both parties particularly if both are inexperienced. For the student this can be a new and unique way of sitting exams -previously the student would have been used to collecting and ordering their thoughts before committing them to paper. Having to think through the answer, put it into a sentence and speak the sentence while someone else writes the answers can be frustrating, stressful and anxiety provoking. Feelings of helplessness are often experienced by students when using a scribe.

For the scribe some of the difficulties they will experience stem from being required to write answers using unfamiliar terminology, being unsure of the meaning or spelling of certain words or being unclear how to set out the work.

The scribe may experience feelings of conflict when the student gives an answer that the scribe knows is incorrect or the information spoken does not make sense. Feelings of frustration can occur when the scribe has difficulties keeping up with the speed of the dictation, or the scribe can feel impatient when the student speaks very slowly or is difficult to understand. Both the scribe and the student may become extremely anxious during the exam particularly if time seems to be running short.


What makes a good exam scribe?

A good scribe is a person who is able to:

• be punctual• follow verbal instructions• write legibly and at a reasonable speed• resist the temptation to prompt or correct a mistake• respect confidentiality• keep facial expressions neutral• stay calm, be reassuring and above all be patient• negotiate with the student about structure, grammar and breaks

during the exam.

The job of the scribe is to perform their duties to the best of their abilities and never seek to put a student either at an advantage or disadvantage. The task of scribing is in essence, one of commonsense.

Role of the exam scribe

The principal task of the scribe is to write down the dictated answers of the student. The scribe is not to render any assistance whatsoever to the student, either directly or indirectly, during the course of an exam.

In some cases students will choose to write some of the exam answers themselves handing over to the scribe when they are unable to continue or need to rest. When illustrations/diagrams/graphs/formulas are required the student may choose to write their own answers or alternatively they may ask the scribe to copy their rough drawing onto the exam answer sheet. Rough drawings etc. should be labelled with the student’s name and question number and must be returned with the completed exam paper as an appendix.

During the course of the exam, the scribe should only speak to the student when absolutely necessary, for example, if there is a problem, asking for the word to be repeated or to ask the student to slow down.

The student cannot ask the scribe any questions relating to the content of the exam paper, including the meaning of a word in the exam question. Obviously the scribe might unwittingly correct spelling of a word that the student has quoted incorrectly but this would only occur on the odd occasion and is unavoidable. Essentially, the student must be treated as far as reasonably possible as if they are taking the paper in the standard way.


In some instances with the consent of the student, the scribe would be given some basic information relating to the student’s disability. For example, the scribe needs to be advised to look directly at a hearing impaired student when speaking so the student can lip read.

Prior to the commencement of the exam, the scribe and student need to establish if the scribe is to read the exam questions or not. Reading the questions may be relevant in cases of learning difficulties e.g. dyslexia, but would not be applicable to someone experiencing the effects of a hand/wrist/arm injury.

The scribe and student need to negotiate how the two are going to work together during the exam. The following needs to be addressed:

• Is the student going to develop a plan or mind map for answering each question with headings or subheadings?

• Punctuation — does the student want to give only the main punctuation breaks, leaving the rest to the scribe, or would they rather dictate every punctuation mark?

• Will the student spell any jargon terms for the scribe?• If the scribe misses or can’t grasp a word does the student want

the scribe to interrupt their flow of words to repeat there and then, or come back to it later?

• Does the student want to be reminded of the time throughout the exam or only towards the end?

• Is the student intending to have a break during the exam, if so when e.g. after each essay question or at half time?

Responsibilities of the scribe in exams

The principal duties of a scribe are:

• to meet the student 15 minutes prior to the commencement of the exam in order to discuss arrangements and the mechanics of the task ahead

• to read, if necessary, the questions and instructions to the student, as often as is necessary

• to write in the answer book(s) provided, during the time allowed for the exam, answers to questions exactly as directed/dictated by the student

• after the student has finished dictating the answers, to read aloud what has been written or allow the student to read what has been written and to make spelling or other corrections as required by the student


• the scribe should ask no questions, even as to the spelling, nor make any comment while the student is dictating the answers

• it is essential that the scribe understands the student’s speech and if there are any implications for the scribe arising from the use of specialist equipment e.g. a PC, then this should be made clear before the commencement of the exam

• check the time permitted for the exam on each student’s exam pack.

Responsibilities of the student

• Negotiate agreement between student and scribe on appropriate punctuation, e.g. comma, new paragraph etc to be used.

• The student must not in any way consult with the scribe about his/her answers, and the scribe must not in any way advise the student.

• It is the student’s responsibility to check the work produced by the scribe within the time allocated for the exam.

• It is the student’s responsibility to provide any materials specified for the exam e.g. pen/pencil, calculator. The scribes are responsible for providing their own pens, pencils, and eraser or where appropriate a laptop computer.

• The student and the scribe should not be writing at the same time during the exam.


Exam readersWhy do students need exam readers?

Reading is a central part of all university study, and any student who has difficulty reading is at a disadvantage. Readers are used in exams when a student has a disability that makes reading impossible, or the student becomes exhausted from reading or they have to reread the same material multiple times.

Having a disability that inhibits or prevents reading is very frustrating, distressing and frequently embarrassing for the student. Students with this particular disability are generally often intelligent, capable and highly skilled oral communicators. What makes a good exam reader?

• Being calm, reassuring and patient• Being sensitive to the feelings of others• Able to appreciate the difficulties the student encounters in daily life• Speaking clearly and slowly• Use correct pronunciation• Confident when using unfamiliar terminology• Able to acknowledge when unable to pronounce a word

Role of the exam reader

The role of the reader is to work one-on-one with the student to read all written exam material. In an open book exam this may be reading from a text book, tutorial handout, journal articles or research papers. The reader may have to locate specific information if a text book is being used.

The reader and student need to negotiate before the exam commences how they will work together i.e. reader reads each question and then re-reads a second time. Also, agreement needs to be reached on the seating arrangements of the student and reader. It is important to remember that the student using a reader may not necessarily require a scribe.


Duties of the exam reader

• Organise the furniture in the room in accordance with agreed seating arrangements.

• Read aloud the written material which the student has provided, re-read material, at the request of the student.

• Advise the student when 10 minutes of exam time remains.• At the conclusion of the exam, read the exam answers back to the

student.

The exam reader’s dos and don’ts

Do:

• speak slowly and clearly• face the student when speaking• ask the student how close they want you to sit• negotiate to have breaks during the exam• take water with you into the exam

Don’t:

• put your hands near your mouth when speaking• pretend if you don’t know the correct pronunciation of a word —

tell the student • continue reading if you become tired or your throat is dry — take a

few minutes break and take a sip of water.


Exam supervisorsWhat is an IEA exam supervisor?

At UWS an exam supervisor’s job is to run the exam, assist students if they have any problems and keep an eye out for cheating. You might hear yourself referred to as an invigilator — this is just another term that can be used for exam supervisor.

Role of the IEA exam supervisor

Exams are very stressful for students. They can be particularly problematic for students with a disability or chronic health condition. As these conditions are usually exacerbated when the person is placed under additional stress or placed in a situation that is anxiety provoking. This in turn has a direct impact on the student’s ability to perform to their optimum in an exam. Stress levels and anxiety can be greatly reduced by the exam supervisor having a positive approach to students.

A friendly and welcoming attitude towards the student coupled with having the room, exam paper and additional requirements organised will go a long way towards making the student feel at ease. The exam supervisor should be supportive and display sympathy, respect and understanding.

The primary role of the exam supervisor is to supervise the exam and make sure that the exam environment is maintained until the exam has been completed. The exam supervisor is required to ensure the student does not receive any assistance other than what has been authorised on the student’s AIP.

The supervisor is required to make sure that the individual exam adjustments stipulated in the student’s AIP are implemented during the exam. These adjustments may include the student having extraexam time, use of authorised equipment or being permitted to stand and move about the room.

Duties of the IEA exam supervisor

The principle duties of the IEA exam supervisor are:

• to ensure the exam room is setup according to the student’s ‘Additional Requirements’ on their exam pack

• ensure noise or distractions are kept to a minimum• check the identity of the student


• make announcements at the beginning and during the exam• supervise a maximum of five students during any one exam session• print exam answers before the student leaves the room, in

accordance with the IEA printing Instructions provided by the exam centre, where a student completes their exam on computer

• collect all answer booklets, multiple choice scan sheets, cover sheets, rough workings and notes

• complete an ‘Incident Report’ on any student suspected of cheating or any irregularities that occur during the course of the exam. See the Exam Supervisor Manual for detailed instructions

• return the exam paper to the exam centre as directed in the Exam Supervisor Manual.

The exam supervisor’s dos and don’ts

Exams will run smoothly for you and the student, if a few basic dos and don’ts are followed.

Do:

• be organised• eat before the exam• wear comfortable clothing and soft soled shoes• take water with you• allow enough time to set up the exam• turn off your mobile phone• have a toilet break before the exam commences• have a friendly and approachable demeanour• appear alert and interested• stay calm and relaxed• be patient.

Don’t:

• be late• smoke just before entering the exam room• wear thongs• wear perfume or strong aftershave• ask or make comment about a student’s disability• stand directly behind the student• talk with other staff during the exam• chew gum• read or nod off• panic.


Procedures for exam scribes, readers and IEA exam supervisors Before the exam

• It is the responsibility of the IEA exam supervisor to ensure that they have all the correct materials for each IEA exam according to the student’s exam pack ‘Additional Requirements’.

• The scribe, reader must arrive at the nominated exam venue 15 minutes prior to the official commencement time of the exam in order to discuss seating arrangements and the mechanics of the task ahead.

• The scribe and student are to negotiate on structure of answers and appropriate punctuation, e.g. comma, new paragraph, etc to be implemented. Where the student will be using a computer, the exam supervisor must ensure, prior to the commencement of the exam, that the computer is working and the printer is functioning by printing a test page.

During the exam

• Ensure no equipment, aids, calculators or dictionaries are brought into the exam room unless they are specified on the exam pack and exam cover sheet.

• It is the student’s responsibility to provide any materials specified for the exam e.g. pen/pencil, calculator, laptop computer or specialised keyboard.

• Exam commencing time is announced and the time recorded. If a student requires you to provide this information in writing it will be specified in the ‘Additional Requirements’ on the exam pack.

• The reader is to read the questions and instructions to the student, as often as necessary or when requested by the student.

• The scribe is responsible for providing their own pens/pencils and eraser.

• The scribe is to write in the answer book(s) and or multiple choice scan sheets provided; answers to questions must be exactly as directed or dictated by the student.

• When the student has finished dictating the answers, the scribe, if acting as a reader as well, is to read aloud what has been written, or, if only acting as a scribe the student will read what has been written. The scribe will need to make spelling or other corrections as required by the student.


• The scribe should not ask any questions, even as to the spelling, nor make any comment while the student is dictating the answers. The student must not in any way consult with the scribe about his/her answers, and the scribe must not in any way provide advice to the student.

• It is the student’s responsibility to check the work produced by the scribe, within the time allocated for the exam.

• The scribe, reader or exam supervisor will advise individual students when they have 10 minutes exam time left by either leaving a note on the student’s desk or using a quiet voice.

• Students using a computer for the exam are required to print a hard copy of the answers before leaving the room. Follow the steps in the IEA Printing instructions provided by the exam centre.

After the exam

• Ensure the ‘IEA Exam Supervision’ form has been completed and returned with the exam papers.

• At the completion of the exam(s) collect all exam documents including exam questions, exam answer booklet, printed answers, rough drawings/illustration etc. and place in the student’s exam pack.

• Any incident must be reported on an Incident Report form and returned with the exam papers.

• Return the exam pack along with any hand-held equipment to the exam centre.

What if a student becomes unwell during the exam?

• If a student becomes unwell during the exam check the students ‘Additional Requirements’ for specific instructions.

• If no instructions are provided, the student is to be asked whether they wish to continue the exam or not. The scribe, reader or exam supervisor is not to offer an opinion and must not give the student any medication.

• The scribe, reader or exam supervisor are to write an incident report outlining the problem and place it in the exam pack.


Using USBs for IEA examsFollow these instructions for IEA students who use a computer to complete their exam and record their answers on a USB.

Where an IEA student requires the use of a computer to complete their exam, the exam pack will include one or two USBs along with the exam paper.

The USBs will be clearly marked with either a yellow or red dot.

A USB with a yellow dot:

• belongs to the School• contains a copy of the exam paper• must be returned with the completed exam papers• must not have its contents deleted.

A USB with a red dot:

• belongs to the Disability Service• is used to record the student’s answers• must be taken to the exam centre when the exam finishes to be

printed• will have its contents deleted – only once the contents have been

printed and checked• must be kept by the exam centre.

Setting up and using USBs

‘Yellow dot’ USBs:

• Insert the USB into the USB port of the computer.


• When the ‘AutoPlay’ screen pops up, the student will need to click on ‘Open folder to view files’.

• Instruct the student to not read the exam paper until advised.• Instruct the student to open the exam paper by double clicking on

the document in the new screen that has appeared.

• The student will then need to open a blank Word Document and save it to the computer’s Desktop. This is where the student will type their answers. Important: advise the student to regularly save the document (to the Desktop) and not to use highlighting or coloured text as their answers will be printed in black and white.


• When the exam is finished, instruct the student to save the answer document to the USB and Desktop. Note: the student is not allowed to make any changes to the document after this time

• Safely remove the USB from the computer by ‘right clicking’ (with the mouse) on the ‘Removable Disk’.

• Select ‘Safely remove hardware’ or ‘Eject’ (depending on the options the computer brings up).

• You may now remove the USB.

Select ‘Eject’ or

‘Safelyremove

hardware’


‘Red dot’ USBs:

• Insert the USB into the USB port of the computer.• When the ‘AutoPlay’ screen pops up, Click the red ‘x’ in the top right

corner to close it.

• The student will need to open a blank Word Document and save it to the computer’s Desktop. This is where the student will type their answers. Important: advise the student to regularly save the document (to the Desktop) and not to use highlighting or coloured text as their answers will be printed in black and white.

• When the exam is finished, instruct the student to save the answer document to the USB and Desktop. Note: the student is not allowed to make any changes to the document after this time.


Select ‘Eject’ or

‘Safelyremove

hardware’

• Safely remove the USB from the computer by ‘right clicking’ (with the mouse) on the ‘Removable Disk’

• Select ‘Safely remove hardware’ or ‘Eject’ (depending on the options the computer brings up)

• You may now remove the USB.


Printing exam answers

Advise the student they may accompany you to the exam centre to have their answers printed. If the student does not want to accompany you to the exam centre, they must sit outside the exam room with the door locked until you return to the room (after printing their answers).

Once the exam paper is printed:

• The student must verify that it is the correct paper and all pages have been printed.

• You and the student will also need to complete the ‘USB exam printing declaration’, which was included in the exam pack. An example is at the end of this manual procedure. Note: The declaration in the student’s exam pack will have the student ID number, name, unit and exam room details already completed.

• Once the declaration is complete it must be inserted into the student’s exam attendance slip envelope.

• The printed exam answers (once verified and declaration complete) need to be inserted into the exam paper.

• Return to the exam room and delete the student answers from the computer’s desktop. To delete the answer document from the Desktop, right click the Desktop icon and select Delete from the drop down menu then click the ‘Yes’ button.


Important

You also need to make sure the exam is deleted from the Recycling bin. To do this:

• Click on the recycling bin icon on the Desktop.• The ‘Recycling bin window’ will open. Then ‘right click’ (with the

mouse) on the exam material you want to delete.• Select ‘Empty Recycle Bin’.


Contact detailsAssessment and Graduation UnitContact External phone Internal phoneManager (02) 4736 0656 2656

Coordinator (02) 4736 06010414 264 737

2601

Team Leader (02) 4736 06040404 025 969

2604

Assessment team (02) 4736 0600 2600UWS Switchboard (02) 9852 5222Email: [email protected] address: Locked Bag 1797, Penrith NSW 2751 Australia

Exam centresCampus Address External phone Internal phoneBankstown Building 1, room 151-152

Bullecourt AvenueMilperra

(02) 9772 6358 6358

Email: [email protected]

Campbelltown Building 5, room LG.17Narellan RoadCampbelltown

(02) 4620 3389 3389


Hawkesbury Building H5, room G.07Bourke StreetRichmond

(02) 4570 1121 1121


Parramatta Building EJa, room G.31James Ruse Drive and Victoria RoadRydalmere

(02) 9685 9130 9130


Penrith (Kingswood)

Building Y, room G.25Second AvenueKingswood

(02) 4736 0819 2819



Notes


University of Western Sydney Locked Bag 1797 Penrith NSW 2751 Australia www.uws.edu.au

2014Disability ServiceT: (02) 9852 5199F: (02) 9685 9616

E: [email protected]: www.uws.edu.au/disabilityservice

Assessment and Graduation UnitT: (02) 4736 0600F: (02) 4736 0499

E: [email protected]: www.uws.edu.au/exams

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Individual Exam Arrangements (IEA) manual for scribes ... · Individual Exam Arrangements (IEA) manual for scribes, readers and IEA supervisors ... has difficulties keeping up with