The Queensland Curriculum & Assessment Authority (QCAA) recognises that some students may have disability, impairment and/or medical conditions or experience other circumstances that may affect their ability to read, respond to and participate in assessment. Access arrangements and reasonable adjustments (AARA) are designed to assist these students.
Access arrangements are action/s taken by the school so that a student with an eligible impairment that may not be covered by the definition of disability can access assessment.
Reasonable adjustments are action/s taken by the school so that a student with an eligible impairment as a result of a disability and/or medical condition and experiencing other circumstances creating a barrier to the completion of assessment can be assessed.
Some common AARA include:
- alternative exam conditions, eg; extra time, rest breaks and/or separate venues
- alternative-format papers, eg; A4 to A3 enlargement, black-and-white materials
- assistive technology, e.g. screen reader and speech recognition application, magnification application
- a reader and/or scribe
- extensions to due dates
- the opportunity to undertake a comparable assessment for examinations missed due to short-term sickness or misadventure.
Who is eligible for an AARA?
Any student who meets the criteria below (and on the AARA Reasonable Adjustments Factsheet) could be eligible for an AARA.
Eligible
| NOT Eligible
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Short Term:
- llness e.g., flu, anxiety (anxiety - apply each term)
- Misadventure e.g., broken limb
- Unforeseen circumstances where the student has no control e.g., accident, death of a family member
Long Term:
- Cognitive e.g., ASD, ADHD, dyslexia
- Physical e.g., asthma, arthritis
- Sensory e.g., hearing impairment
- Social/emotional e.g., ADHD, (anxiety - apply each semester)
| - Unfamiliar with the English language.
- Teacher absence or other teacher-related difficulties.
- Matters that the student could have avoided, e.g., misreading
- an exam timetable, misreading instructions in examinations.
- Timetable clashes.
- Matters of the student’s or parent’s/carer’s own choosing, e.g.,
- family holidays, sporting events/commitments.
- Matters that the school could have avoided, e.g., incorrect enrolment in a subject.
- Any technical issues e.g., computer crash or not working, work not backed up to an external hard drive/One-Drive/cloud.
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How do students apply for an AARA?
Students in Year 11 and Year 12 who wish to apply for an AARA for an assessment must provide an application via completing the supporting documentation attached below. To apply for an AARA, contact the Senior School Deputy Principal immediately and provide the completed application to them. This will be lodged by the Deputy Principal with QCAA on behalf of the student.
Browns Plains SHS AARA Application:
School to complete:
Assessment extension (5 calendar days): - Draft: Submit Student AARA Application Form.
- Final: Submit Student AARA Application Form and GP provided medical certificate.
Absent for an exam: - Submit Student AARA Application Form and medical certificate that covers the day of the missed exam.
- AARA application is due before 5pm the day of the exam. The medical certificate is due no more than 3 calendar days after the exam.
- Year. 11/12 units 3&4 students complete comparable exam.
- Year. 12 External Exams – student completes the QCAA Illness and Misadventure AARA Application Form together with a GP provided medical certificate.
| Students without a current diagnosis: - Submit the Student and Medical Application Forms. Long term conditions must not be dated earlier than year 10.
- Approved AARAs recorded on One-School under support provisions.
- For units 3&4: Students will be advised if further documentation is required. HOD Senior School submits documentation to QCAA. Temporary conditions (anxiety) are only valid for 6 months.
Students with a current diagnosis: - As above. Access Advocates will work with families to determine the appropriate adjustments to apply for.
Further information can be found here on QCAA website External link. |
Further information can be found here .External l.