Special Assessment Conditions (SAC) provide extra support for otherwise capable students in addressing various barriers to achievement in assessments.
SAC helps students fairly demonstrate their knowledge, skills and understanding when being assessed, without providing an unfair advantage over other students.
All SAC provisions currently available to ākonga are applicable, as appropriate, for the assessment of the Literacy and Numeracy | Te Reo Matatini me te Pāngarau co-requisites.
The assessment of these co-requisites is intended to be as accessible as possible. All ākonga working at the appropriate level should be able to be assessed.
If a student has a SAC entitlement for other assessments, this must also be made available to them for the Literacy and Numeracy | Te Reo Matatini me te Pāngarau assessments
The student must not be disadvantaged.
A formal SAC application approved by NZQA is not required from a school, kura or tertiary organisation to provide this support for students for these co-requisites.
This is particularly appropriate for students in years 9 and 10, who may not previously have undertaken NCEA assessments.
Schools, kura and tertiary organisations determine the type and level of support that ākonga may require based on ākonga needs and the professional judgement of the teacher.
On this page
Use of Polly - text to speech
The Assessment Master text to speech application, Polly, is available for the Literacy - Writing and Numeracy assessments in English.
Details about the using this application have been emailed to schools and kura.
Polly isn't available for the Literacy - Reading assessment as explained by the Ministry of Education:
Ministry of Education - about Literacy and Numeracy assessment (external link)
A text-to-speech application in Te Reo Māori is not yet available but is under development.
Deciding whether to provide a Reader, Writer or Typist
The decision whether it is appropriate to provide the support of a Reader, Writer or Typist for a student being assessed in the Literacy and Numeracy | Te Reo Matatini me te Pāngarau co-requisites is made by the provider using their professional judgement and knowledge of individual student needs.
The intention of these co-requisites is to encourage maximum agency by ākonga. Providing more support than ākonga need is unfair to them, and could impact on the validity of their results.
If an Assessment Assistant is provided, it is essential that the school, kura or tertiary organisation trains the person concerned.
General instructions for Assessment Assistants are provided below and the following specific instructions are relevant to the assessment of the Literacy and Numeracy | Te Reo Matatini me te Pāngarau co-requisite standards.
Ākonga requiring Reader support
The preferred support for students requiring Reader assistance is assistive technology. This is provided through the use of the Polly text-to-speech tool that is included as part of the online assessment platform. The availability of further assistive technologies is being trialed.
The use of assistive technology most closely aligns with how students with reading difficulties may interact with text in their day-to-day lives in order to confirm meaning.
Students must have prior experience of using assistive technology before undertaking the assessment, and they must use headphones when undertaking the assessment activities.
If ākonga are not confident in the use of assistive technology, an option is to postpone the assessment to a later opportunity while ākonga becomes proficient. This means ākonga will be ready for the future assessment.
If assistive technology is not available nor appropriate, a suitably trained Reader can be provided. The Reader can read directly from the screen. If this is not possible, a PDF of the assessment will need to be accessed from NZQA by the provider and made available to the Reader.
In addition to the general instructions provided below, a Reader for the Literacy and Numeracy | Te Reo Matatini me te Pāngarau standards must ensure that they provide reading support commensurate to the identified need of the student.
This may mean only reading those words or phrases identified by the student as problematic for them rather than automatically reading all text. Akonga agency means that ākonga will provide direction to the Reader.
Wherever possible, ākonga should have had prior practice with the Reader who will support them in the assessment. This ensures the best outcome for all concerned.
Ākonga requiring Writer or Typist support
Wherever possible, students should complete the assessment themselves using the online assessment platform. Students who are not confident typists can be provided with ample time to complete the assessment.
If a student is unable to type responses in the online assessment platform themselves, then a suitably trained Typist or Writer can be provided. The preference is to provide a Typist who will type the ākonga’s spoken responses directly into the online assessment platform. In this circumstance, the ākonga will need to log in to the assessment (or be supported to do so) before the Typist can input answers.
The use of a Writer to handwrite on paper should only be used in exceptional circumstances. In this case, a PDF of the assessment will need to be accessed from NZQA by the school, kura or tertiary organisation and made available to the Writer. The final written assessment will be submitted to NZQA for marking. These processes must occur in accordance with published procedures.
As appropriate use of writing conventions forms part of the overall assessment, the Writer or Typist needs to take care to ensure that, as far as reasonably possible, the student’s understanding and use of these conventions is reflected in what is typed or written.
In addition to the general instructions provided below, a Writer or Typist for the Literacy and Numeracy | Te Reo Matatini me te Pāngarau co-requisites must ensure that:
- the student specifies those words that need to start with a capital letter such as at the start of a sentence
- the student specifies where punctuation (commas, full stops, etc.) are required, both within a sentence and at the end of a sentence
- the student specifies that a new paragraph must start and end
- the student spells significant words that have a direct impact on meaning
- the student is given the opportunity to read what has been written or typed and to request changes or corrections. The Writer or Typist may also read the text back to the student if this is requested by the student
Wherever possible, a ākonga should have had prior practice with the Writer or Typist who will be supporting them in the assessment. Of particular importance is for both parties to understand how the student will communicate the inclusion of writing conventions to the Writer or Typist. This ensures the best outcome for all concerned.
General instructions for Assessment Assistants (Readers, Writers and Typists)
The provision of Assessment Assistants to act as readers, writers or typists during assessments for students with the relevant SAC entitlements will be available.
The availability of these provisions may be amended in future years following review. As for all assessments for NCEA, the provider is responsible for the recruitment, training and deployment of Assessment Assistants.
Working as an Assessment Assistant
The aim of Readers, Writers and Typists is to help students overcome their learning difficulty during assessments.
You may be reading the activity brief or questions to the ākonga and their answers back to them, writing or typing for them, or reading and writing or typing for the ākonga.
The school, kura or tertiary organisation provides training for the assistants.
The requirements and conditions applying to a Writer apply equally to a Typist. If the student is undertaking an online assessment, they may use a Typist instead of a Writer. The computer must be set up in the same way as if the student was going to type for themselves.
Who can't act as an Assessment Assistant?
To avoid a possible conflict of interest and the perception of providing a possible advantage, an Assistant must not be:
- a teacher of the subject or the student
- a relative of the student
- a friend of the student
- another student at the school, kura or tertiary education organisation
- a tutor or kaiwhakaako of the student
- a close family friend
- anyone else with a reasonably close personal relationship to either the ākonga or their whanau.
The job of the Reader
As a reader you are the eyes of the ākonga.
- You will have a copy of the assessment or access to it.
- You will read the assessment to the ākonga clearly and at a speed they can follow.
- Make sure that they can easily hear what you are reading.
- They may ask you to re-read instructions or a passage.
- Do so clearly and wait for them to ask you to read again.
- You are not allowed to interpret the question or words for the student. To do so will invalidate their results.
- Please be patient if the student works slowly and avoid giving the student facial expressions or being hesitant if you see mistakes being made.
- Before they start typing, check that the student is at the right place in the assessment (e.g. correct question number).
- A reader is not allowed to type for a student unless they also have approval for a Writer or Typist.
- A reader is not allowed to encourage or prompt ākonga to work harder or faster in the assessment. To do so will invalidate their results.
The job of the Writer or Typist
You are the hands of the ākonga and it is your responsibility to write or type their answers.
- You will have a copy of the assessment or access to it.
- Make sure that you are writing or typing any answers in the right place in the assessment (e.g. correct question number).
- Make sure that the ākonga can easily see what you are writing or typing.
- Only write or type the words that the student speaks to you and in the order that they say them to you.
- You are not allowed to interpret or to make suggestions about what you think the student is trying to write. To do so will invalidate their results.
- You must not copy any sentences that the student has written. They must speak their words to you.
- The student may ask you to re-write, edit or amend an answer they have already given.
- Please be patient if the student works slowly and avoid giving the student facial expressions or being hesitant if you see or hear mistakes being made.
- A Writer or Typist is not allowed to encourage or prompt the student to work harder or faster in the assessment. To do so will invalidate their results.
More information
Contact the SAC team
If you have a question or feedback, contact the SAC team at sac@nzqa.govt.nz