Equality in assessment
Julie Swan
Associate Director, Regulatory Policy and Vocational
Qualification Policy
Aims of the session
To highlight:
 the links between equality & accessibility and validity
 the issues to be considered at each stage of the qualification lifecycle
 your legal and regulatory obligations with respect to equality and the
accessibility of your qualification
And to get a sense of:
 current practice
 the need for further guidance
Validity
 Well designed assessments will differentiate between learners who have the
knowledge, skills and understanding the qualification is intended to recognise
and those who do not
 They will not differentiate on other factors
The starting point
 Clear learning outcomes
 That are all necessary for the qualification’s purpose
 So any barriers are justifiable
 In line with General Condition of Recognition, Condition D2
Assessment
Valid assessments will:
 use appropriate language and stimulus materials (General Condition of
Recognition, Condition G3)
 differentiate on relevant factors only
Protected characteristics
 Age
 Disability
 Gender reassignment
 Marriage and civil partnership
 Pregnancy and maternity
 Religion or belief
 Sex
 Sexual orientation
 In Northern Ireland also political opinion and those with dependents
Examples of potentially unjustifiable barriers in assessments
 Use of unnecessarily complex language
 Use of diagrams or pictures that are distracting or are hard to see
 Tasks that disadvantage learners who have not had particular experiences,
where these are not relevant to the knowledge, skills and understanding being
assessed
 Assessments of skills that are not relevant to the learning outcomes
 Requirements to demonstrate skills in contexts that are not essential for the
qualification
Reasonable adjustments
 Awarding organisations are subject to a legal duty to make reasonable
adjustments for disabled learners (some exceptions for some general
qualifications)
 A person is disabled if:
• they have a physical or mental impairment
• the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their
ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities (the Equality Act 2010)
 Reasonable adjustments are made to remove or reduce the disadvantage
caused by the disability that would otherwise arise
 The cost of making the adjustment cannot be recovered from the disabled
person
Competence standards
 The application by a qualifications body of a competence standard to a
disabled person is not disability discrimination if it is a proportionate means to
achieve a legitimate aim
 A competence standard is an academic, medical or other standard applied for
the purpose of determining whether or not a person has a particular level of
competence or ability
 Reasonable adjustments are made to how the essential knowledge, skills and
understanding are assessed, not to what is assessed
Typical reasonable adjustments
 Large font
 Extra time
 Use of British Sign Language
 Electronic rather than paper and vice versa
But there is no definitive list – each request must be considered
Arrangements with centres
 Condition C2
Agreements with centres must:
“Require the Centre to undertake delivery of the qualification required by the
awarding organisation in accordance with Equalities Law.”
Discussion
 How do you identify and remove any unjustifiable barriers at qualificationdesign stage?
 How do you monitor for such barriers?
 How would you respond to the requests for reasonable adjustments and other
issues on your tables?
Sources of information
 Fair access by design published by CEA Regulation and Qualifications Wales
http://ccea.org.uk/sites/default/files/docs/accreditation/compliance/fair_access_by_design_jun
e_2015.pdf
 Guidance: modification and production of papers for visually impaired students
http://www.rnib.org.uk/sites/default/files/exam_best_practice_guidance_2012-13_0.doc
 EHRC guidance for further and higher education providers
http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/private-and-public-sector-guidance/educationproviders/higher-education-providers-guidance
 UK Association for Accessible Formats
http://www.ukaaf.org/exams-modification-best-practice/
 Draft Ofqual guidance, out for consultation
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/ofqual-consultation-on-new-statutory-guidance