Fiona Crouch on minimising exam room stress.
Basrah, Iraq, 2008
I am serving as an army officer. Before my deployment, I completed a numeracy and literacy mentoring course. I am working with a soldier with dyslexia.
Gloucestershire, 2020
I am working as a teaching assistant at a small independent secondary school. All my students have some form of neurodiversity. The insights I gain into their sensory world will inspire my doctoral studies into neurodiversity and sensoriality. I invigilate in the school’s exams, and I scribe for SEN students. These skills coalesce in my mind, and I become aware of the ways in which my research has changed me as an education professional, and how I can positively impact the exam experience of SEN students, especially those who are neurodiverse.
Knowing the person in the room
Exams are stressful and intense experiences for all students. This is multiplied exponentially for many SEN students. Imagine the added pressure if the young person does not know the adult who is supporting them in an exam. At the very least, the two parties should meet before the exam. If they are entitled to a scribe, the student needs to feel comfortable in directing the invigilator to transcribe their response, read back answers, and make changes as required. It is unlikely that a young person would feel confident doing this to an adult they don’t know. It’s a professional relationship that takes time to flourish, for the young person to feel empowered.
The exam room should also be familiar. It can be challenging for schools to find suitable spaces for students who need separate exam space. Classrooms and offices are often repurposed. Does the student know and feel comfortable here? A few years ago, I was the allocated scribe for a student with complex needs who also had ADHD. We met in the assigned room, an unused office, and set to work on a GCSE paper. She found it difficult to concentrate. During a break she told me that she was struggling to focus on the paper because she hadn’t been in the exam room before. It was full of things she was curious about, and all she wanted to do was explore it. Once the paper was handed in, we set about rectifying this. She spent time exploring the shelves and every nook and cranny. Her next exam was a few days later, and she remained focused throughout the next paper.
All the young people I have supported in exams are neurodiverse. They’re often hyper- or hyposensitive in response to various stimuli. I know not to presume if a student wants to have the lights on or off, the window open or closed. I confirm their preferences before each exam begins. One student needed to pace around the room while dictating to me. The movement helped him to focus. Obsessive behaviour is also not uncommon, for example in organising their exam desk.
My students typically have a strong support network, both in and outside of school. The Individual Learning (SEN) department does a brilliant job supporting SEN students and liaising with experts, the student, and their parents or caregivers. Schools may employ people specifically for exams, often only public exams. This means that those people are only in school for a few months in each academic year. Invigilators need information and training to help them fulfil their role with professionalism and compassion. They must be aware of whom to approach and how to contact them when they need help. Our Exams Officer schedules pre-public exam training sessions for invigilators, which includes sharing relevant information about students who have specific exam access arrangements/needs.
Of course, the young person is the greatest expert of their own world and experiences. I always check in with them at the end of a paper to see if any lessons can be learned for future exams or students. Most importantly, do they feel that we work well together? Can anything be improved? Was the room’s sensory environment suitable? My goal is to ensure that the student has agency, particularly at a time of significant stress and pressure, to give them the best exam experience possible.