NAPLAN 2021 Adjustments for students with disability

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16 February 2021 Prep – Year 10 Number: 006/21

NAPLAN 2021 Adjustments for students with disability

Purpose

To inform schools of the process to request disability adjustments for eligible students who will participate in the 2021 National Assessment Program — Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) tests.

Background

All eligible students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 are expected to participate in the NAPLAN tests.

Adjustments are permitted for students with disability to support their access to the tests and facilitate maximum participation.

The Disability Standards for Education 2005 (Cwlth) provide a framework to ensure that students with disability are able to access and participate in education on the same basis as other

students, and outline the obligations of school education providers under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cwlth).

Information

Disability adjustments

Adjustments that are intended to enable students with disability to access NAPLAN tests on an equivalent basis to students without disability, should be consistent with adjustments for their in- class assessment. Decisions should be made on a case-by-case basis, and should reflect standard assessment practices for these students. Adjustments permitted in the tests apply only to students with disability. Not all students with disability, or medical conditions, require

adjustments to participate in NAPLAN testing.

All schools, regardless of delivery mode, will need to order alternative format materials for all students who require these to access NAPLAN tests. For Online schools, this ensures that all students will have appropriate paper materials in the unlikely event of requiring QCAA

authorisation to revert to paper testing.

Key dates

To meet national deadlines for production of alternative test materials, schools must submit all applications prior to the closing dates outlined in this memo.

The NAPLAN portal opened for all applications for disability adjustments on Monday 1 February.

Memo

Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority

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NAPLAN 2021 Adjustments for students with disability Queensland Curriculum & Assessment Authority 16 February 2021 Page 2 of 4

Types of disability adjustments

Some disability adjustments require approval by the QCAA, while others can be approved at the school level by the principal. These are shown in the tables below, which also include the due dates for applications.

Details of all student disability adjustments must be recorded by the school on the Record of adjustment for disability form — this applies to both QCAA- and school-approved disability adjustments. A second step is required for QCAA approval — submitting an application through the NAPLAN portal.

QCAA-approved disability adjustment Application due by

Braille 18 Feb

Large print

Black and white format

25 Feb

Assistive technology

Colour contrast modifications Extra time double

Interactive PDF Scribe (writing test only) Template (use of a computer)

1 Apr

School-approved disability adjustment Assignment of adjustment Extra time

Rest breaks Coloured overlays NAPLAN support person Oral/signed support

Up to the commencement of a test session.

Online schools only:

Alternative items (audio and visual) Alternative colour themes

Up to the commencement of a test session.

What you need to do

Before applying for disability adjustments

Carefully read Section 6 of the Handbook for principals and NAPLAN coordinators — NAPLAN Online 2021 or the Handbook for principals and NAPLAN coordinators 2021 to determine if a disability adjustment is appropriate.

The principal will need to consult with specialist staff, school staff and parents/carers to identify students who require disability adjustments to access the NAPLAN tests and to determine the appropriate adjustment/s for each student.

Schools should contact the QCAA if in any doubt about disability adjustments.

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Completing the Record of adjustment for disability form

Where schools identify that a disability adjustment is appropriate, they must complete a Record of adjustment for disability form (for school use only) for each student requiring a disability

adjustment.

This form is available from the ‘Forms’ menu under ‘Forms for school use only’ in the NAPLAN portal. After completing the form, the school must file the original, and give a copy to the student’s parents/carers. The QCAA does not require copies of school-approved disability adjustments.

However, it is important that schools maintain accurate records and store these with other NAPLAN test administration records as they may be required in the future.

Some of the adjustments recorded on the form also require the school to submit a disability adjustment application for approval by the QCAA. The Record of adjustment for disability form is not an application form for adjustments requiring QCAA approval — please see below.

QCAA-approved adjustments

If a school wishes to apply for disability adjustments that require QCAA approval, they must submit the appropriate form for each student by the due dates communicated. These applications must be done by completing the relevant Request for disability adjustments form in the NAPLAN portal.

To access the form:

1. Go to the NAPLAN portal: https://naplan.qcaa.qld.edu.au/naplan

2. Select Test administration login and enter the school’s Brief Identification Code (BIC) and password. A personal BIC and password cannot be used for this task.

Note: The BIC and password are unique to the school and should be kept secure.

3. Select Forms from the menu provided on the left-hand side.

4. Click on the Request for disability adjustments form.

5. Complete the appropriate application for each student requiring a QCAA-approved adjustment.

6. Print a copy of the completed application for the school records.

7. Click Submit to send the application to the QCAA.

8. After processing the application, the QCAA will email the outcome to the principal and NAPLAN coordinator.

Remember — if the QCAA approve an application for a disability adjustment, you will also need to complete details for each student on a Record of adjustment for disability form.

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Finding out more

Refer to Section 6 of the Handbook for principals and NAPLAN coordinators — NAPLAN Online 2021 or the Handbook for principals and NAPLAN coordinators 2021.

For further information and support regarding disability adjustments and applications for alternative format materials, please contact the NAPLAN Unit at

Web: www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/p-10/naplan Email: [email protected]

Phone: (07) 3864 0481

For help accessing the NAPLAN portal, please email the Assessment Operations Unit at [email protected] or phone (07) 3864 0396.

Claude Jones

Director, Assessment, Reporting and ICT Systems Division

Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 | Copyright notice: www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/copyright — lists the full terms and conditions, which specify certain exceptions to the licence. |