Head of Education, Julia Clouter shares her insight into how an award-winning reading aid, the ExamReader can be used to level the playing field for those who struggle to decode exam questions.

Students who are taking exams this year may not have experienced a relaxing Christmas break. Many will have been cramming and practicing exam questions. The worry of how to achieve the best they can in the examinations will have casted a shadow over the holiday period. Will all the worry and work produce the results? Will the doors to the next challenge open or stay closed?

For learners who struggle with literacy, particularly with decoding and processing examination questions, there is an added challenge that comes with sitting exams. Despite diligent cramming to remember course content and producing model answers, there is a hurdle that is often overlooked, but can be overcome with assistive technology.

Decoding questions takes time when literacy difficulties like slow reading or slower speeds of processing are experienced by the student. There is a spectrum of dyslexia that can have an impact and it ranges from mild to very severe. For anyone on this spectrum, additional support that can be secured for examinations is a very welcome gift. The good news is that there is no need for diagnostic work to have taken place for these individuals. The equality offered by an ExamReader can be taken up by any student. The only criterion is that there has been time to practice and embed using this tool as a normal way of working prior to the examination.

The ExamReader is an assistive technology tool available to anyone. At one end of the spectrum, it alleviates the need for a human reader to go into the exam with the student. At the other, it provides the security of knowing that a word or sentence has been read correctly. Reading questions under time pressure can be very stressful and often result in errors of decoding and understanding what is required. Working memory is adversely affected by stress and examinations are a hot bed of stress.

By presenting the student with tools that foster independence, while reading back the examination question, we are supporting the literacy difficulty and increasing wellbeing and self-esteem. Both of these are critical through the duration of the exam. Working memory is scaffolded by the ExamReader’s function of providing text that is highlighted while simultaneously giving audio feedback. Listening while reading promotes comprehension and confidence. The ExamReader support technique can be achieved discreetly though headphones; it is the quiet companion that any learner would value.

There is still time for an ExamReader to be deployed to support students who have literacy difficulties and give them the decoding advantage that will make a difference to their final grade. If you would like to find out more contact geraldine@scanningpens.com.