SAC timeline

Find SAC processes by month

Some Special Assessment Conditions processes happen every month. Some processes begin and end in specific months.

Processes that happen every month

Monthly processes

Select the links below to go straight to information about each month on the page.

January	February	March	April
May	June	July	August
September	October	November	December

Every month

• Continue to submit applications and appeals. See the SAC Online Submission and Processes Guide.
• Continue to check the online SAC tool for notes or decisions, inform students and their parents of the outcome, note any changes to their entitlements and inform teachers.
• Appeals and Chief Executive Reviews must be made within 15 school days of notification and contain extra information.
• Submissions for the following year can be started and saved as drafts. Evidence can be saved there progressively throughout the year, ready for submission from 1 October.
• Check for SAC-entitled students transferred from another school and email the SAC team for them to be transferred onto your Submitted list.
• Check that assessment programmes align with a student’s specific needs. Discuss with the student, whānau or caregivers and staff, and adjust if not best for their well-being, for example, students with mental health issues.
• Trial the use of SAC with junior students. See the Cover Sheet document to record the outcome.

Find the Submission and Processes Guide and Cover Sheet

Email the SAC team

January

• Make sure you have a current Education Sector Logon (ESL) password. Consult the ESL Authoriser at your school if needed.
• Do a SAC needs analysis for students who had SAC entitlements in the previous year to decide whether to rollover, change or remove the SAC for the current year. Further information on rollovers can be found on the SAC information for schools page.
• Review information about newly enrolled students who may need learning support and SAC. See SAC forms and guides page for documents to help with this process.

SAC information for schools

SAC forms and guides

February and March

• Start the rollover process from 1 February. See the SAC Online Submission Guide for an explanation of the process.
• Screen Year 9 and 10 students for potential SAC applications.
• Identify and train appropriate assessment assistants for internal and external assessment. See the Assessment and exam assistants page for details.

Find SAC online tool guide [PDF, 1.9 MB]

Assessment and exam assistants page

April

The last day of term is the End of Term 1 Application First Deadline for new submissions and Rollovers or Changes.

New submissions made after this deadline will only be processed once a month until the End of Term 3 Final Learning Submission Deadline.

Sensory, Medical and Physical submissions may be accepted in Term 4 until the final exam day, although in many circumstances a Derived Grade may be more appropriate.

May and June

• Remind teachers to make complete entries into externally assessed standards including New Zealand Scholarship for all students entitled to SAC.
• Begin interviewing each SAC student about what they would like to use for each exam session and record the decision.

July

The link for attaching SAC entitlements for the November external examinations opens 1 July and closes at the end of Term 3.

• Consult the SAC Online Submission Guide to understand how to complete the attachment process. After attaching the SAC, print each student's page and have the students sign the allocations. Amend if requested.
• Consider SAC provisions for the Mathematics CAT, Languages CATs and Technology CATs. These Common Assessment Tasks are assessed by schools. These and the portfolio subjects do not appear in the system to attach SAC to as they do not have November exam sessions. However, SAC should be provided as needed and appropriate.

Find the SAC online tool guide [PDF, 1.9 MB]

August

• Compare your Submitted list of students with SAC entitlements with your list of students with SAC attached to their exams. Follow up with students not on both lists to check if you need to make more submissions.
• Check the August data file submission includes as many external exam entries for SAC applicants as possible, including New Zealand Scholarship.

September

Once all early September data files have been processed, the link for attaching SAC to exams closes for 7-10 days so that personalised papers can be prepared. Dates will be advised.

The link is then reopened until the end of Term 3.

• Check SAC attachment lists for the addition of more standards which may now make the addition or choice of Extra Time possible.
• Train Readers and Writers/Typists for school exams. See the Assessment and exam assistants page.
• Check if any changes to the SAC selection preferences of students for exams are needed and edit accordingly.
• Liaise with the Exam Centre Manager regarding exam preparation, including providing the names of Readers and Writers/Typists. 
• Provide SAC as appropriate for any Common Assessment tasks, for example, MCAT.

End of Term 3 is the Deadline for SAC submissions for Learning Disorders. Submissions for Sensory, Medical or Physical continue.

October

First Time submissions open for next year on 1 October.

Applications continue for Sensory, Medical or Physical (SMP), e.g. diabetes, anxiety. Before applying, consider why a Derived Grade is not appropriate, and have confirmation from the Exam Centre Manager (ECM) that it's appropriate to provide the requested entitlement.

Confirm all preparations for exams:

• liaise with the Exam Centre Manager
• confirm SAC attachments for exams with students. Hold a signed acknowledgement from students of their preferences
• check for any late entries for SAC students and update the SAC attachments as needed. Consult with the ECM about these changes.

November

Exams are underway.

Applications for the current year’s First Time Sensory, Medical, or Physical close on the last exam day.

Begin to gather the information needed for the Needs Analysis process:

• information from students, staff and parents
• feedback from Exam Assistants
• copy of the Exam Attendance Register.

December

• Consider Derived grades.
• Continue with Needs Analysis process.

Derived grades