Assessment strategies

Here are some specific assessment strategies to help support children with hydrocephalus and/or spina bifida in the classroom.

• Use assessment strategies that focus on the knowledge the child has learnt  rather than the speed at which they can apply or demonstrate that knowledge.
• Replace timed tests with alternative assessment procedures
• Allow extra time for tests and examinations
• Allow supervised breaks during tests
• Provide a reader or text-to-voice software to read test questions to the pupil in order to accommodate different reading fluency
• Provide a scribe or voice-to-text software to record pupils’ answers to accommodate different writers’ fluency
• Use test formats with reduced written output formats  like true/false or fill in the blank forms of assessment
• Avoid multiple-choice questioning which can be confusing and lead to ‘guess’ responses
• For advice about examinations, follow the link for the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) regulations booklet