New edition of ‘Language of Examinations’ promotes accessibility by design
Building on more than 30 years of development and its origins in deaf education, the fourth edition of ‘Language of Examinations’ reflects significant advances in research, policy and professional practice. Its scope has also broadened beyond examination language alone, focusing on how linguistic barriers can affect learners throughout their educational journey, from classroom learning and teaching through to formal assessment and examinations.
A key theme of the new edition is "Accessibility by Design". Rather than relying solely on language modification after materials have been created, the guidance encourages educators, assessment designers and examination bodies to consider language accessibility from the outset. This includes classroom resources, instructions, tasks, assessments and examinations. The aim is to remove unnecessary language demands while maintaining academic standards and ensuring that learners can demonstrate their knowledge and understanding accurately.
The publication represents a significant collaboration across the education, speech and language, and special educational needs sectors. It is co-produced by organisations including BATOD, RCSLT, Speech and Language UK, PATOSS, the British Dyslexia Association, Afasic, Communicate-ed, nasen, Moor House School & College CIO and NAPLIC, with support from the National Deaf Children's Society.
The guidance is intended to support a wide range of learners who may experience language-related barriers, including deaf learners, pupils with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), speech, language and communication needs (SLCN), autism and specific learning difficulties (SpLD).
The launch webinar, which takes place on Monday 28th September 4-5:30pm, will bring together contributors and partner organisations to discuss the key changes in the new edition and explore how its principles can be applied in practice. Attendees will examine approaches to improving fairness and equity in assessment, learn how to identify linguistic barriers in educational materials and consider how accessible language can support more inclusive outcomes for all learners in the classroom.
The event is aimed at teachers of deaf children and young people, speech and language therapists, SENCOs, teaching assistants, specialist teachers, assessors and examination professionals. A British Sign Language interpreter and Zoom captions will be provided, and the session will be recorded.
