4 days ago
'It would level the playing field to have more time': Dyslexic student calls for extra exam time
A budding young writer who is due to begin her Leaving Cert exams on Wednesday has called for a creative rethink of how dyslexic students like her are supported.
Alice R Perks, head girl at Midleton College, had her first book published just as she turned 18.
Her collection of poetry, entitled Thoughts From A Teenage Mind, is an anthology of her writing between the ages of 12 and 17.
Thousands of students across the country are due to begin their Leaving Cert exams this week as the State examinations get under way on Wednesday morning.
Alice hopes to study creative writing in Galway next year. 'I find I'm not very good at English, despite being a poet and despite writing all the time, because there are a lot of rules around structure. I prefer to write creatively.'
While she has a spelling and grammar waiver, as well as a reader, she is not entitled to additional time. Extra time is not available as standard for second-level dyslexic students in Ireland.
'I really like talking about my dyslexia because I think it's an important thing. I was always taught to never be ashamed of it but more like it's a part of who I am.'
However, she is 'not a fan' of the CAO process, particularly CAO points. 'When you are dyslexic, you are taught to hold yourself to your own standard. A lot of the time, it's different to others academically.'
The CAO takes away the idea of your own individual standard, she believes. Like many dyslexic students, she finds she often runs out of time during exams.
'In the sitting of Leaving Cert exams, information is processed differently and has to come out through a different route, and I just don't think a lot of the time, in a lot of the exams we're given the time to do so.
'I was always very interested in writing a novel, which is still my dream, but it was always so hard because school took up so much of my brain power. I could never keep up with the idea of doing two things at once, which I know a lot of dyslexic people struggle with.'
Dyslexia Ireland has been campaigning for the introduction of additional time as an exam accommodation for students with dyslexia and other learning difficulties. Picture: Mark Stedman/
She find this also applies in exams. 'I do subjects like history and those are heavy essay writing subjects, and that's just not something that can happen as easily as I've seen it working for my peers without dyslexia.
'But it can work,' she added.
"It just doesn't work within the parameters we've been given. There's a lot of things about the education system that don't fit into the idea that everyone learns differently."
For example, she takes higher-level maths "through a lot of hard work and determination".
'I do find myself running out of time often, because I work it out differently and I do it differently. I can do it, I've had to edit the way my brain does maths and it does take me longer, but I can do it.
'It would level the playing field to have more time because a lot of the time, we're not being given the chance to do it to the standard we are teaching ourselves to.
With comprehensions in English, I have to read them maybe three or four times to understand what's going on. Time constraints really do not allow dyslexic people to fully engage their minds and it takes us longer.
Dyslexia Ireland has been campaigning for the introduction of additional time as an exam accommodation for students with dyslexia and other learning difficulties. It has called on the State Examinations Commission to publish a detailed timeline for the ongoing review into its Reasonable Accommodations at Certificate Examinations.
Dyslexia Ireland said it was "deeply disappointed" to see the terms of reference for the review when it was published recently.
"There is no clear timeline or sense of urgency on this issue, and no voice for those most affected on the review's steering group," Dyslexia Ireland said.
"This review directly impacts learners with dyslexia and other learning difficulties who currently face serious challenges and anxiety in exams without access to the accommodation of extra time. Yet the voices and representatives of these young people are missing from the steering group."
A spokesman for the SEC said it is "absolutely acknowledged that there is increasing complexity in the special educational landscape and, by extension, the impact on candidates with special educational needs taking the certificate examinations".
"For the 2025 examinations, on a pilot basis, we are extending the provision of additional time to vision impaired candidates under the care of the visiting teacher service of the NCSE from 10 minutes per hour to 15 minutes per hour or part of an hour. This is a minimum of 25% additional time for this cohort of candidates."
There will be "extensive" consultation with as broad a range of stakeholders as possible, including young people with special educational needs, their families, and representative organisations, he added.
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