Reasonable adjustments and special consideration guidance for assessment centres
Below is a summary of the key areas of AAT’s guidance on the application of reasonable adjustments and special consideration for sitting assessments.
For more detailed information see the Guidance on the application of reasonable adjustments and special consideration in AAT assessments (PDF).
This includes:
- further information about eligibility criteria
- the types of reasonable adjustment that can and can’t be applied
- responsibilities of the student and assessment centre
- timescales for submitting forms
- supporting evidence requirements
- information about appeals.
Reasonable adjustments
A reasonable adjustment is an arrangement that AAT or the assessment centre can put in place prior to an assessment to help students with a long-term disability such as dyslexia, or who are temporarily impaired, such as a student who has broken their arm, to do their best.
Special consideration
Special consideration is a process which takes into account the student’s circumstances in light of the result. This could include a temporary illness or injury, or some other event outside of the student’s control, at or shortly before the time of assessment, that has or is likely to have affected their ability to take it.
Students' responsibilities
It is the responsibility of the student to inform the assessment centre of any:
- existing reasonable adjustment requirements on enrolment to the course of study
- reasonable adjustment requirements before their assessment is scheduled
- personal circumstances that may affect, or have affected, their performance within the assessment (this must be notified before, during or immediately after the assessment)
They must provide the assessment centre with any relevant evidence to support their request.
Assessment centre responsibilities
It is the responsibility of the assessment centre to:
- have effective internal processes in place to establish any reasonable adjustment and/or special consideration requirements for students, including an access-to-assessments policy
- agree the type and level of reasonable adjustment required with students, ensuring they're comfortable with this, before any assessments take place
- submit the necessary form to AAT for approval prior to the assessment being scheduled (for reasonable adjustment) or immediately after the assessment has taken place (for special consideration).
AAT does not recommend an assessment takes place if the student is uncomfortable with the reasonable adjustment, or lack of, being applied.
Similarly, for special consideration requests made immediately before the assessment has started, it may be more appropriate for the assessment to be taken at a later date.
Applying extra time
In ATLAS Cloud, you can apply extra time up to 100% to support short-term conditions once the assessment has been unlocked. You must send a reasonable adjustments notification form to AAT, per sitting, before the assessment is scheduled, unless it's a last-minute requirement in which case you must submit it by the end of the next working day.
You can also use this method to apply additional time where disruption occurs, causing the student to lose time during their sitting. Where applied, an incident report must be submitted by the end of the next working day.
Extra time requirements for long-term conditions can be applied automatically through the application by AAT of an extra time "profile" to the student's account.
This is covered in sections 9.3.3 and 9.5.2 of the above guide and must always be supported by the submission of the relevant form.
Forms and timescales
Any forms submitted outside these timescales will not be considered.
Reasonable adjustment requests that the assessment centre can apply
These are detailed in section 9.3 of the PDF guidance document.
Complete the Reasonable adjustment notification form (PDF) prior to the assessment being scheduled, and return with all required supporting evidence.
AAT will acknowledge receipt by email within five business days and we may, if required, request further information before confirming the adjustment.
Next steps
Once AAT confirms a reasonable adjustment request or notification, the requested adjustment can be applied to the student’s scheduled assessment (for example, extra time) or to the sitting (for example, the use of a scribe) by AAT or the assessment centre.
For approved special consideration requests, the student’s assessment performance will be reviewed in light of available evidence, which may result in a small post-assessment adjustment to the assessment mark.
