Almost 10,000 people have signed a petition calling on the State Examinations Commission to introduce extra time for students with dyslexia in Junior Cycle and Leaving Cert exams.
The Dyslexia Association of Ireland launched the petition on the 8th of May and there has been a strong public response in support.
Currently, extra time is not available for dyslexic students in second-level examinations in Ireland.
Timed exams create many barriers for students with dyslexia.
Extra time would help to overcome the disadvantage caused by dyslexia and would help to level the playing field.
With the Leaving Cert beginning next month this is a topical issue and the petition response shows there is a strong need to be able to access this support for students with dyslexia and other learning difficulties.
Ireland is an outlier in not providing this extra time for students at second level.
Extra time in exams is available as standard for dyslexic students at third level in Ireland.
In many other countries, extra time is an established option for dyslexic students at both second level and in college.
In France, dyslexic students have access to 33% extra time, in Italy 30%, in the UK 25% for second-level exams.
Dyslexia affects approximately 1 in 10 people, so this is an issue which impacts tens of thousands of students each and every year in Ireland.
Rosie Bissett, CEO of the Dyslexia Association of Ireland, noted that “Extra time is universally recognised as a reasonable accommodation in timed exams and is available to second-level students with dyslexia across most of Europe, so why are young people with dyslexia in Ireland denied this accommodation? We are calling on the SEC to urgently review their Reasonable Accommodations policy to bring it in line with international best practice, and prioritise the needs of young people with dyslexia and other learning difficulties.”
If this is something that you or a loved one is affected by, you can sign the petition for change here.
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