Extra time

shenno

Hi
Does anyone know how you are supposed to go about getting extra time in your LC through the dARE system. I was told in my old school that they would try and get it for me and they were going to get me to do a test showing it. I have now moved school so they do not know anything about it. I am not sure what I am supposed to do now.

EmmausCentre

Yes you can get extra time through the reasonable accommodations with the State Examinations Commission. The school needs to apply now for you, the sooner the better. Once you get this accommodation you will automatically qualify for same accommodation should you go on to college. I think it works out at 10 minutes extra per hour maximum. Definitely worth fighting for as it takes a bit of pressure off for the LC which is good. Once you have resource teacher who is prepared to put themselves out for you by applying for this you should be fine. Good Luck

MathsManiac

Have a look at this:
https://www.examinations.ie/schools/cs_view.php?q=c720ec48c74bbeb6cd2f82e63c5343336cf623ac

That's the student guide for 2017, but I'd say it probably won't be much different for 2018.

Note what it says about extra time (Page 37).
"Additional time. This is not an arrangement that is granted in its own right. It is only a consequence of other arrangements. If you are using a scribe or are visually impaired, you may be given a limited amount of extra time for the examination. You can also get such extra time if you qualify for the use of a scribe or other writing-related arrangement but for some reason are not able to use it and end up having to write anyway. Apart from these cases, extra time is not granted. Extra time is limited to 10 minutes per hour. Some Leaving Certificate examinations that are between 2 and 3 hours long have already been extended by 20 minutes as a special access arrangement, so for these examinations extra time is limited to a further 10 minutes."

You haven't said what the nature of your disability is, but whatever it is, you need to speak with a learning support teacher in the school. They will (or should) know about the different kinds of disability, how they interfere with your ability to communicate, and what the appropriate supports for both your learning and your examinations are. Since you're new to the school and therefore don't have a history of support work with you, you might want to suggest that they speak with the learning support teacher from your old school. In any case, assuming it's not a visual impairment you have, the teacher will need to carry out certain tests to check whether your disability is sufficiently severe to require the use of a writing accommodation.

(It's nothing to do with the DARE scheme, by the way. DARE is about access to college for people with disabilities. The scheme that the SEC runs to give people fair and equal access to the LC and JC exams is called the RACE scheme.)

shenno

I asked the resource teacher in my school and she said I could get rest breaks. I forgot to ask her do you get to read the paper while you have the rest break and you are just not allowed to write or does the whole paper get taken off you for the rest break does anyone know?

thanks

MathsManiac

That's different from extra time.

The same document that I linked to in my earlier post explains this arrangement clearly as well:

Supervised rest breaks. You can be granted rest breaks if you need them because of a medical condition. You are supervised during the rest periods and are not allowed to read or write. The time you are resting for is added on to the end of the examination, so that you are not losing time during the rest periods. The total amount of rest time cannot be more than 20 minutes per examination.