Dr. Niall Muldoon has published a report which shows that a horrifying low number of students who have learning disabilities are provided with appropriate assistance to remain competitive in testing. Even standardized tests fail to provide the aid that students have the right to use while they participate in tests.
About 1,000 Leaving Cert students are having disastrous exam results because they’re denied this:
New report shows many students not given aides needed to succeed.
Examples of the aide that should be provided are things like readers, grammar waivers, spelling waivers, laptop computers, extra time, and narrators. Without aides like these students who depend on help to succeed get left behind all too frequently. Much research supports the findings of Dr Niall Muldoon’s report which begs the question: Where is the help?
According to latest figures, about 1,000 Leaving Cert students are refused assistance such as a reader or a scribe to help them to overcome their disability in an exam setting. The comparable figure at Junior Cert level is five. It increases stress levels for Leaving Cert candidates to be refused a support that they received for the Junior Cert – and often the battle goes on to the eve of the exams.
Laura Lurns · Learning Success expert
Key takeaways
- Dyscalculia is making itself prominent in high profile areas.
- Special needs students are underrepresented in political circles.
- Ombudsman Dr Niall Muldoon published a report detailing these findings.
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