Introduction

The purpose of this talk is consider ways in which examination questions are modified to make them accessible and meaningful to visually impaired candidates. It is not concerned primarily with questions of presentation, but more with the different ways in which the content of the original print question may be changed. I became interested in this area of work through my involvement with special arrangements for examinations in England. Modification has always been practised in the transfer of curriculum materials from print to braille, but as far as I am aware the principles involved have not been made explicit until now.

Most of this talk is based on a publication called ‘Well Prepared’, which is available from RNIB. This is a short booklet which contains examples of original print questions and compares these with the modified versions which were used in the examinations concerned. In order to make the booklet useful to mainstream teachers as well as specialist teachers of the visually impaired, we based it on modified large print questions rather than braille. In practice, the principles behind the modifications are usually the same.

Although the main focus of our work is on examinations, its implications are more far-reaching. One of the principles underlying special arrangements for examinations in England is that they should replicate normal classroom practice wherever possible. In reality it also works the other way, as examination papers provide an important means by which individual schools can compare their own curriculum materials with any sort of national standard. Drawing attention to the way in which examination questions are modified can therefore play a significant part in encouraging the development of standardised approaches to curriculum modification for all visually impaired children. It also serves the important purpose of encouraging teachers to consider how visually impaired children will be assessed at the end of their course of study. There are still too many instances of children enrolling on examination courses only to find subsequently that they cannot meet the assessment requirements.

Principles governing the modification of questions

These principles are taken from the Specifications which govern the work of modifiers and producers of examination papers in large print and braille in England. Questions are modified only when they require visual skills and/or understanding that a visually impaired candidate cannot reasonably be expected to possess. The following principles govern the modification of examination questions:

· A modified question must assess the same skills, knowledge and concepts as the original question in the print paper and enable the candidate to meet the same assessment objectives.

A modified question should be of the same level of difficulty as the original.
Any changes should preserve the balance of the original paper in terms of the content and weighting of questions.
A modified question should not require candidates to spend a disproportionately large amount of time to gain relatively few marks.
The complete removal or replacement of visual material should only be considered when this material does not constitute an integral part of the purpose of the question.

It is not always possible to meet all these requirements, especially when the assessment criteria for a course involve specifically visual skills. Particular areas of difficulty include the assessment of map reading skills in geography and the appreciation of paintings in art. We have not yet found ways to guarantee access to all examinations in such areas of the curriculum.

Approaches to the modification of examination questions

I would like to spend the rest of this talk outlining the different types of modification and illustrating each one:

Picture or diagram simplified or shown differently. The purpose of this approach is to reduce visual complexity so that visually impaired pupils can be assessed on their knowledge and understanding of the subject content, without being disadvantaged by their lack of visual efficiency. Examples include representing a single three dimensional diagram as separate two dimensional diagrams or removing unnecessary detail from a picture to leave only the relevant details. Many questions can be modified in this way without changes needing to be made to other aspects of the paper.

Picture or diagram replaced with written description. In some questions a picture or diagram may be replaced in its entirety by a written description. The modifier’s job is to make the description as neutral as possible, so that it tells a visually impaired candidate as much as the original picture but no more. To achieve this, it is important that the modifier understands the assessment objective involved. In practice, whether or not the modified question involves exactly the same skills as the original is often a matter of debate.

Picture or diagram supplemented by written explanation. Some questions may require some additional written explanation to ensure that a visually impaired candidate grasps what is happening in a picture or diagram, even if this has also been simplified. In such cases, the issues discussed in connection with approaches A and B may both apply. The modifier needs to be careful to ensure that the combination of extra wording with a simplified diagram does not give an unfair advantage to a visually impaired candidate in answering the question.

Picture or diagram replaced with a real item or model. Some questions involve pictures or diagrams that can be readily presented as real 3D objects or models. This is especially true in mathematics questions that require pupils, for example, to show spatial understanding or to calculate volumes.

Unnecessary picture or diagram removed. Many questions include pictures simply to illustrate the text without adding any new information. In such cases, the modifier may simply recommend the complete removal of these illustrations on the basis that a visually impaired candidate may waste time looking at them to gain useful information.

Amount of information reduced. Some questions require candidates to scan tables, graphs or text in order to obtain information. Such tasks present visually impaired candidates with a much greater challenge than their sighted counterparts, because one of their main difficulties lies in locating specific information quickly and accurately. Questions of this kind may therefore be modified to reduce the amount of information so that the task remains equivalent in time and effort to the original.

Measurements altered. It is inappropriate to expect a visually impaired candidate to measure with the same degree of accuracy as sighted pupils. Questions which involve accurate measurement may be dealt with in several ways. Firstly, the question may be modified so that a visually impaired candidate can achieve the correct answer from a less accurate measurement. Alternatively, the question may be left unmodified and the mark scheme amended instead.

Inherently visual material replaced with equivalent non-visual material. Some questions rely on visual understanding or experience in such a way that the original material needs to be replaced in its entirety in the modified version. This is commonly the case where candidates are required to comment upon the linguistic use of visual imagery or to respond to a visual stimulus such as a picture or photograph. Where this is the case, the replacement material should be chosen to test the same skills and meet the same assessment objectives as the original. This can sometimes be difficult to achieve.

Discussion

In all of these examples, modifiers have exercised their professional judgement in order to ensure that they are upholding the key principles of modification. There is no single correct way of doing this in every instance and it is unlikely that all teachers will agree with the modifications adopted. Some questions may seem to have been made easier while others appear more difficult. Some modifications may appear to have changed the assessment objective of the question. However, it is important to remember that a visually impaired candidate will not be required to compare his or her modified questions against the standard version. As long as the modified version tests the same skills at the same level of difficulty, it has served its purpose. Ultimately, it is more important that the overall balance of the assessment remains intact than that every individual question tests exactly the same skills as the original.

I use these and similar examples in much of my training work, as I find they provide a very good focus for teachers and other staff to discuss the nature of different educational tasks. Now that most visually impaired children are educated in ordinary schools, teamwork between those responsible for their education is becomingly increasingly important. This is especially true where a teaching assistant works alongside the class teacher to provide curriculum access for a visually impaired child. The skill of modification lies in understanding the purpose of the question, identifying what information has to be retained and deciding how to convey this in the modified version. In some instances this may appear simple and obvious. In many cases, however, effective modification requires knowledge and understanding of the educational implications of visual impairment as well as a strong grasp of the subject itself. It is not realistic to expect one person to possess this range of skills. This is why it is so important that the teaching assistants who produce modified curriculum materials for visually impaired children in our schools are given time to plan their work with the classroom teachers who set the learning objectives which these materials are intended to meet.

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