Inclusive Assessment: Exams

What is the competency being assessed and why is this method appropriate? 
To make assessment inclusive you need to start with the intended learning outcome: what skill or competency is being assessed?  
Besides the knowledge learning outcomes, is the essay or long written answer exam assessing for example students’ ability to analyse information from sources (either from memory or that are provided in the exam), to write persuasively, to structure their answer in a particular format?  
Reflection on this helps ensure that the assessment method is appropriate and avoids overloading students with tasks that measure skills that are not relevant to intended learning outcomes, such as memory recall, familiarity with academic conventions, or their ability to write for an extended period of time. You should also consider how the module or programme being assessed equips students with the skills and tools to complete the assessment.

Barriers for specific student groups:  

Examples of difficulties students can face with essay and long written answer exams:

• Time management and prioritising. If the exam includes multiple questions, students may struggle to organise their time and have difficulty deciding when to finish working on one question and move on to the next. This can lead to spending more time and energy on some questions in the exam and rushing or missing out others.  
• Planning and structure. Many students struggle to plan and structure their writing, moving from ideas to a coherent written answer. Students will need to use some of their time to plan their answer before they begin to write, which can add further pressure to their time management during an exam.
• Reading and processing new information. If new information is provided in the exam that students need to understand and use in their written answers this can be challenging for students with certain Specific Learning Differences, and students who are non-native speakers of English, who may need more time to process what they are reading. Reliance on assistive technologies (e.g. text-to-speech) may introduce additional time pressure. 
• Spelling, punctuation and grammar. Weak spelling, punctuation or grammar may mask strong subject knowledge and disadvantage students with Specific Learning Differences. Students may be used to using spelling and grammar checking tools that are built into word processing software, and may struggle if these are not available to use under exam conditions (either because the exam is handwritten or because of the functionality available in the software if the exam is digital). 
• Topic selection. Making question choices can overwhelm students (particularly those who are neurodivergent, or who have certain mental health conditions), and take time away from working on their answers in the exam. Misunderstanding instructions about the number of questions they should answer can lead to answering too few questions and losing the opportunity gain marks, or to answering too many questions and spending too little time on each one. 
• Extended writing. Students with physical disabilities such as chronic pain, fatigue or mobility issues may struggle with extended writing during an exam (this may vary depending on the specific disability the student has, and whether the exam is handwritten or digital). Reliance on assistive technologies (e.g. speech-to-text) may introduce additional time pressure. 
• Memory recall. Students with some Specific Learning Differences or mental health conditions can experience difficulties with working memory and recall. This may impact their performance if the exam requires them to remember and recall knowledge without access to notes or prompts. 

A good design will make the assessment inclusive by default. When designing an essay or long written answer exam ensure that the assessment measures the intended learning outcomes, and that these are communicated, and students supported. Clear instructions, scaffolded support and flexibility create an environment where all students are assessed fairly and can succeed.

To make essay and long written answer exams more inclusive, you can consider the following when designing your assessment:

• Scaffold exam preparation. Dedicate teaching time to introduce the exam format and provide guidance on how to prepare for and approach the exam. This is particularly important for students at the start of their programme, or in preparation for sitting their first University level essay or long written answer exam. 
• Provide guidance about time management. You could do this during teaching time, and provide the guidance in written form in Canvas. If the exam includes multiple questions, recommend approximately how much time to spend on each question. If the exam question(s) require students to read new material and/or plan the structure of their answer before they begin writing, give guidance on how much time to spend reading, planning and writing for each question. 
• Write clear instructions. This is particularly important where students have a choice of which question(s) to answer. Explain in simple language how many questions to answer in each section of the exam, and provide this information to students in advance of the exam to help them prepare.
• Provide opportunities to practice. You could give students access to mock or past exam papers in the format of their exam, or set a formative assessment task using the same format. Give the opportunity to experience the type of questions and the format that students will use to answer the exam. 
• Access to spelling and grammar checking tools. If the exam is digital allow access to spelling and grammar checking tools, unless the exam is designed to assess a specific intended learning outcome on spelling, punctuation and grammar. If the exam is handwritten students with Student Support Plans (SSPs) who have certain disabilities may have alternative arrangements that allow them to type their answers and access these tools, and they may also have access to other assistive technologies (e.g. speech-to-text). 
• Transparent marking. Provide detailed rubrics that make clear how marks for written exam questions will be awarded, and outline what good looks like. Use accessible language, avoid jargon, and where possible provide opportunities for students to apply the rubric to example answers to support their understanding of the exam requirements. 
• Time adjustments. Students with certain disabilities may have additional time and/or rest breaks for exams set out in their Student Support Plan (SSP). See guidance about this in the Timed in person exam resource. 

If an exam is not essential to assess the intended learning outcomes, a written coursework assessment may be a suitable alternative.  
If an essay or long written answer exam is essential to assess the Intended Learning Outcomes, you may wish to consider the following approaches to reduce the barriers for specific student groups: 

• Open book exam. Allow students to bring a limited amount of notes (for example 1 or 2 sides of A4 paper) into a timed in person essay or long written answer exam, or allow them access to a textbook. 
• Releasing exam question(s) and/or materials in advance. Making the question(s) available 24 or 48 hours before the exam allows students to read and understand the question(s), and to plan the structure of their answer(s), which will enable them to focus their time on writing their answers during the exam. If there is a choice of questions to answer this also allows students time to consider their choice, and to ask the  module team for clarification if they do not understand how many questions they should answer. Making information that students will need to read and understand in order to answer the exam question(s) available in advance gives them time to do this at their own pace, again enabling them to spend more time writing their answers during the exam. 
• 24 hour take home exam. A take home exam that students can work on at their own pace during a 24 hour period can help address some of the barriers for specific student groups. Be aware that this assessment type can create barriers for other groups of students however, please see the guidance on 24-hour take-home exams. 

What is the competency being assessed and why is this method appropriate?

To make assessment inclusive you need to start with the intended learning outcome: what skill or competency is being assessed?  
Besides the knowledge learning outcomes, is the Multiple Choice or Single Best Answer exam assessing for example students’ ability to for example identify relevant details in a scenario or case study, apply formulae, or evaluate the likelihood of different outcomes? 
Reflection on this helps ensure that the assessment method is appropriate and avoids overloading students with tasks that measure skills that are not relevant to intended learning outcomes, such as memory recall, or their ability to answer large numbers of questions under time pressure. You should also consider how the module or programme being assessed equips students with the skills and tools to complete the assessment. 
 
Barriers for specific student groups:  

Examples of difficulties students can face with Multiple Choice and Single Best Answer exams: 

• Memory recall. Students with some Specific Learning Differences or mental health conditions can experience difficulties with working memory and recall. This may impact their performance if the exam requires them to remember and recall knowledge without access to notes or prompts.  
• Reading and processing new information. If new information is provided in the exam that students need to understand and use in their answers this can be challenging for students with certain Specific Learning Differences, and students who are non-native speakers of English, who may need more time to process what they are reading. Reliance on assistive technologies (e.g. text-to-speech) may introduce additional time pressure. 
• Answering large numbers of questions. Many students will find it challenging to answer a large number of MCQ or other exam questions under tight time constraints. This especially impacts Stage 1 students who may not have experienced this type of assessment in their prior educational experience. Time pressure can add to students’ anxiety and result in difficulties managing their time during the exam. This can lead to spending too much time and energy on some questions in the exam and rushing or missing out others.   
• Understanding complex instructions. Reading and interpreting instructions about for example how to use materials provided in an exam, how to answer an unfamiliar question type, or where there is a choice of questions how many to answer, can all be challenging. This can have a particular impact on neurodivergent students, students with anxiety, and non-native speakers.  
• Dealing with ambiguity. Students who are neurodivergent may struggle with ambiguously-worded questions, answer options, and/or instructions. For example: answer options presented in a confusing order, distractors that overlap (such as 10-20 and 20-30), or questions that instruct the student to imagine a scenario (for example ‘imagine that you are designing...’). Challenges with ambiguity can result in a student answering incorrectly or skipping a question, despite knowing the topic the question is intended to assess.
• Difficulty processing negative statements. Many students will struggle with question steps or answer options that include negative statements, such as ‘which of the following is incorrect?’ Attempting to understand negative statements increases cognitive load and can overwhelm students (particularly those who are neurodivergent, or who have certain mental health conditions).  
• Negative marking and risk aversion. Some MCQs and other automatically marked questions have negative marking penalties, which deduct marks for incorrect answers. This approach is intended to discourage students from guessing the answer to a question, but research shows that it tends to negatively impact female students (see for example Kelly and Dennick (2009), Kacprzyk et. al (2019)). It is likely that negative marking will also impact other risk-averse students, who will opt to leave a question unanswered if they are not completely certain of the answer, and therefore miss out on marks. 
• Using assistive technology for ‘hot spot’ questions. If the exam is digital, depending on the software used to set the questions assistive technology and keyboard navigation may not be supported for ‘hot spot’ type questions. This means that students who need to use certain assistive technologies may not be able to answer this question type. 
   

• Scaffold exam preparation. Dedicate teaching time to introduce the exam format and provide guidance on how to prepare for and approach the exam. Consider recording the guidance and making it available in Canvas, so that students can rewatch it when they are preparing for the exam. This is particularly important for students at the start of their programme, or in preparation for sitting their first Multiple Choice or Single Best Answer exam. 
• Provide opportunities to practice. You could give students access to mock or past exam papers in the format of their exam, or set a formative assessment task using the same format. Give the opportunity to experience the type of questions that will be in the exam, as well as the printed or digital exam format that will be used in the exam, and to practice under timed conditions. 
• Write clear instructions. This is particularly important where students have a choice of which question(s) to answer. Explain in simple language how many questions to answer in each section of the exam, and provide this information to students in advance of the exam to help them prepare. 
• Follow effective practice in writing good multiple choice questions and answer options. Focus on writing clear, unambiguous questions in plain English. Write in short sentences. Avoid negative statements and vague or ambiguous words like ‘usually’, ‘typically’, or ‘may be’. Avoid overlapping answer options. Ask a colleague to review the question wording to check the clarity. Bath University has some useful guidance on How to write effective multiple choice questions. 
• Consider whether to randomise answer options. If a list of options has a logical order, such as stages in a sequence, to avoid placing unnecessary additional cognitive load on students do not randomise the answer options. 
• Use a logical exam structure. If the exam includes different types of questions (for example some Multiple Choice questions where students must choose one answer option, and some Multiple Answer questions where students can choose two or more answer options), group all of the same question type together to avoid causing confusion. 
• Leave out irrelevant information. Check if everything in the question stem and answer options is essential to the question. If not, it will put unnecessary additional cognitive load on students, so remove it. 
• Avoid negative marking. Where possible, remove negative marking penalties entirely. Negative marking is widely used in Multiple Answer questions to discourage students from selecting all available answer questions. In this situation, good practice is to set the minimum possible overall mark to be zero.

Multiple Choice, Single Best Answer and other automatically marked assessment questions are an effective and efficient way to test a broad base of students’ knowledge and application of their learning. Alternatives are not generally recommended for these assessment types, because it is possible to ensure that they are inclusive if the guidance provided is followed.

Possible adjustments that can be made to this assessment type include:  

• Open book exam. Allow students to bring a limited amount of notes (for example 1 or 2 sides of A4 paper) into a timed in person Multiple Choice or Single Best Answer exam, or allow them access to a textbook. 
• Releasing exam materials in advance. If the exam introduces new material, for example a case study or scenario, that students will use in answering the questions, make this available to students 24 or 48 hours before the exam. Making materials available in advance gives students time to read and understand them at their own pace, again enabling them to spend more time answering the questions during the exam. 

Viewing a module’s exam questions to enhance student engagement. Dr John Hedley, Senior Lecturer, School of Engineering.  

For this module a large question bank is developed using Numbas software, where each question incorporates multiple variables so that answers must be calculated each time a student answers the question. Students are given the opportunity to practice taking all possible questions in the bank in the form of formative take home assessments. The summative exam is comprised of selected questions from the bank, meaning that students have had chance to practice all questions that could come up in the summative exam. 

If you have an example of inclusive MCQs/SBA exams, we invite you to contact LTDS or submit your case study using this form.

• How to write effective multiple choice questions (University of Bath Learning and Teaching Hub)
• Kacprzyk, J., Parsons, M., Maguire, P.B. & Stewart, G.S. (2019). Examining gender effects in different types of undergraduate science assessment. Irish educational studies, 38(4), 467–480. https://doi-org.libproxy.ncl.ac.uk/10.1080/03323315.2019.1645721  
• Kelly, S. & Dennick, R. (2009). Evidence of gender bias in True-False-Abstain medical examinations. BMC Medical Education, 9(1), 32. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6920-9-32  

What is the competence being assessed and why is this method appropriate?

Observations of Practice:  things to be aware of:

• In some cases, depending on the practice required, it may be impossible to make adjustments that will still appropriately assess the competency. Universal adjustments are recommended wherever possible.
• Consider if students can complete any formative practice in the same settings ahead of the assessment, if this is something that is already available or can be incorporated into teaching.

Barriers for specific student groups:

Examples of difficulties students can face with Observations of Practice:

• Where practice may take place in a venue with various students at the same time, this can be challenging for students with sensory sensitivities, as background noise or conversations from nearby stations may cause distraction and loss of concentration.
• Lighting and noise levels are difficult to fully control but have a significant impact on candidate performance. Where possible, minimise environmental distractions.
• The pressure of time-limited exams can worsen disability-related difficulties that students may otherwise manage effectively in clinical placements. For example, students who perform well in practice settings may struggle in exams purely due to the high-stakes context (where failure can lead to resits or withdrawal).

OSCE is “An assessment tool based on the principles of objectivity and standardisation, in which the candidates move through a series of time-limited stations in a circuit for the purposes of assessment of professional performance in a simulated environment. At each station candidates are assessed and marked against standardised scoring rubrics by trained assessors” (Khan et al., 2013). 

A Modified Objective Structured Long Examination Review, or MOSLER, comprises of several assessments made by multiple examiners, who observe the interaction between students and patients (“clinical encounters”). MOSLER was created to bring together the strengths of traditional long case examinations, which assess complex higher-order thinking, with the consistency and reliability offered by OSCEs (Mullan et al., 2024).

What is the competence being assessed and why is this method appropriate? 

Oral examinations offer a valuable method of inclusive assessment by allowing students to demonstrate their knowledge through articulation of understanding, responding to questions, and engaging in dialogue with examiners. This format also serves as a robust skills assessment, testing communication, critical thinking, and spontaneity; competencies that are often essential in professional environments. Furthermore, the integrity of in-person oral exams ensures that the assessment cannot be completed by generative AI, thereby safeguarding academic authenticity.

Oral exams: things to be aware of.

In considering the inclusivity of oral examinations, several important factors must be addressed to ensure fairness and accessibility. Some students may experience difficulties with processing speed, particularly when taking questions, which can impact their ability to respond effectively. The physical environment of the assessment may also pose challenges, especially for those with sensory sensitivities, or physical health conditions or disabilities. It is essential to clarify what is being assessed; whether recall is a required competency and whether students are permitted to use notes.

The style of the examiners and the atmosphere they create can significantly influence the experience. while the format is intended to resemble a collegial conversation, it can sometimes feel more like an interrogation. Transparency around the expected length of the oral exam is also crucial, as uncertainty can heighten anxiety.

Additionally, inconsistencies in examiner experience or adherence to procedure - such as asking students to self-assess their performance or posing questions unrelated to the thesis or subject, for example - can undermine the integrity and fairness of the assessment process.

Barriers for specific student groups: 

Examples of difficulties students can face with Oral Exams: 

• Anxiety – absence, verbalising ideas, panic attacks.  
• SpLD/ADHD - recall, working memory, time management, tangents, auditory processing to then respond (e.g. in Q&A formats).
• Autism – uncertainty re: audience, format, timeframe etc. Overwhelm – can cause situational mutism.  
• Autism/ADHD - sensory sensitivity/distraction reducing recall/triggering overwhelm.
• Autism – social communication/anxiety - barrier to e.g. asking for questions to be repeated.
• Speech impediments/stammer - coherency of vocal responses.  
• Autism/ADHD - information overload, rejection sensitivity can trigger shutdown responses. 

A good design will make the assessment inclusive by default. When designing an oral exam, ensure that the assessment measures the learning outcomes, and that these are communicated, and students supported. Clear instructions, scaffolded support and flexibility create an environment where all students are assessed fairly and can succeed. 

To make Oral Exams more inclusive, you can consider the following when designing your assessment: 

• Offer mock assessments: multiple opportunities, potentially with familiar staff (such as supervisors), but also with staff less familiar/hard markers so candidates can experience a more representative mock. 
• Clear guidance on format, environment, length of assessment, audience, as far in advance as possible. 
  Rest breaks: can be helpful to agree in advance how/when these are offered e.g. after three questions/points raised, every ten minutes, etc.  
• If appropriate, some or all questions written down and given in advance. 
• Meet with examiners before, see room and environment where it will take place. 
• Offer choice of format: in person is best for academic integrity, but online via Teams can be made to work, especially in open-book situations. 
• Additional time to respond and use of notes/prompts sheets to support this; particularly for students who are visually impaired being able to find the correct part in their materials can take longer as it can also for students with processing issues. 
• Use of a Viva Chair to ensure that the adjustments agreed and format of the viva is appropriate. 
• Physical chairs being appropriate for candidates. 
• Having an outline of how the viva will be conducted and indicative areas/topics for questions in advance. 
• Being able to agree the timing of the viva starting in line with the candidate’s requirements, for example, around medication, fatigue levels etc.  
• Appropriate environment: including easy access to toilet facilities, break out space, lighting/heating adjustments, seating and desk access (sit/stand options). 
• Having a supervisor or another appropriate person familiar to the candidate to sit in and take notes/be a supportive but non-participatory presence. 
• An awareness that a difficulty in recalling or pronouncing names, e.g. for relevant theorists, does not indicate a lack of knowledge relating to the content of that theory. 

You may wish to consider the following alternative assessment types: 

• If anxiety or environmental factors e.g. sensory sensitivity prevent in-person assessment, could an electronic format be considered e.g. Teams chat function for Q&A. 
• Depending on competency standards, submission of script/written response rather than oral delivery.   
• Use of text-to-speech technology to deliver verbal responses: could the student be offered 1-2 attempts to verbalise responses, then the option to switch to text-to-speech if the examiner is not able to understand them? This has been used in SML for an autistic student with a stammer. 

What is the competence being assessed and why is this method appropriate? 
The competence being assessed through in-person written exams is typically a student's ability to recall, apply, and critically engage with subject knowledge under time constraints without use of material. 
In-person written exams enable academic integrity, evaluating individual understanding without external assistance.

Timed in person written exam: things to be aware of:

Time pressure and duration:

• Time pressure can be a barrier for students with ADHD who struggle to maintain focus and attention.  
• This can also be a barrier for students with OCD/perfectionist traits who struggle to know when they have ‘done enough’ or when they have ‘perfected’ their answers and subsequently can become dysregulated as they run out of time and feel they have not achieved this.  
• Students with Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD) can struggle to process information at speed. For example, students with dyslexia may read and process written information much slower than students who do not have Dyslexia. These students may often misread/misinterpret what they have read (more likely due to time pressure) and therefore answer the wrong question. 
• Some students may struggle with concentration for long periods (for example, students with ADHD), as well as those who manage fatigue relating to physical disabilities. More generally, all students may experience fatigue with longer in-person examinations where they must concentrate for a prolonged period. 

Requirement to attend in-person: 

• Neurodivergent students such as students with ADHD can often struggle with sensory distractions such as movement, noise and other people in the room.  
• The same students can also struggle with sensory sensitivity, which can be triggered by factors such as light levels, volume, temperature, smells, textures or external/natural noise or stimuli. These students may need to sit in specific positions or areas of a room. 
• Students with anxiety or other mental health issues, such as past trauma or PTSD, may also feel unable to sit near other people, may have to sit near an exit, or away from windows. This can cause additional anxiety for these students when preparing for an in person exam.  

Memory recall: 

• Many students with disabilities may struggle with memory capacity and recall: they may possess the required knowledge but lack the ability to recall this without notes/prompts.  

Handwriting:

• Students with illegible handwriting often struggle with handwritten examinations and additional anxiety, where students lose marks as assessors cannot read their handwriting.  Some musculoskeletal conditions and dyspraxia can impact students' ability to handwrite over long periods of time. Physical pain and mental fatigue will slow writing speed.   

Thinking more widely about inclusion, this type of assessment may also be challenging for students from different academic backgrounds who are less familiar with this assessment type as well as students who have had time out from education or those whose education has been disrupted (for example, due to the pandemic) where they have not had the same amount of experience of this assessment type. 

Barriers for specific student groups:

• Students who struggle with anxiety can be triggered by the idea of a timed exam and the ‘one-shot’ nature of these. Students who struggle with this may have panic attacks and need to leave mid-exam.  
• Students with fluctuating conditions can struggle with exam periods as there may be multiple exams the student is unable to attend due to flare ups. The anxiety associated with revision preparations for in-person exams and knowing that revision may not be able to be applied on the day is a significant cognitive load. For example, consider an autistic student with a fluctuating physical health condition. The uncertainty of their physical health condition’s impact on their exam attendance can be extremely difficult for this student to manage.  
• International students may also find the exam-setting challenging in terms of differences in the exam environment/culture to their home country and also in terms of processing and generating information in timed conditions. 
• Some students may have more specific requirements of things they may need to do during an assessment in relation to health conditions. For example, students who have variations in their blood glucose levels and need to check their levels, and may need to have more food or drinks than typically allowed. This can be a barrier for students who may struggle to advocate for their needs. Students with conditions such as diabetes and epilepsy will need to ensure that they manage these medical conditions within an exam, whilst also focusing on completing their exam.
• The environmental conditions exacerbating medical conditions. For example, students with eczema experiencing flares ups due to heating levels in exam rooms, lighting conditions where natural or artificial lighting can be challenging, not having prior knowledge of where radiators are in the room to enable effective seating planning in advance, instead adding to the student’s admin burden by making them arrive early and ask for changes if needed. 
• Students with physical disabilities will be impacted by prolonged seating during in person exams with a longer duration.  
• Some students may be impacted by sensory matters, such as specific lighting or noise within in person exam which may increase anxiety leading up to or during an exam. These students may benefit from rest breaks to allow them to take a break from the exam venue.
• Where students feel frustrated by the above examples around the impact that taking assessments in person on their disability they may feel overwhelmed or struggle to regulate how they feel.
• Some modules will have more examinations hosted in an assessment period than others. Whilst the Exams Office will try to ensure exams are spread across the assessment period, for some students it may feel excessive and lead to exhaustion. Communicating information and details with students about written exams can help prepare them for the expectations within an assessment period.

A good design will make the assessment inclusive by default. When designing a written exam, ensure that the assessment measures the learning outcomes, and that these are communicated, and students supported. Clear instructions, scaffolded support and flexibility create an environment where all students are assessed fairly and can succeed.

To make written exams more inclusive, you can consider the following when designing your assessment:

• Scaffold exam preparation. Dedicate teaching time to introduce the exam type and provide guidance on how to prepare for and approach the exam. Consider recording the guidance and making it available in Canvas, so that students can re-watch it when they are preparing for the exam. 
• Consider the duration of your exam. Similar to the concept of a 24-hour exam, could all students be provided with more time than they need to complete the exam (e.g. if the exam should need 2 hours, give ALL students 3 hours). For those without any adjustments, the additional time is not an advantage and it would mean that a large chunk of students would not need additional extra time and rest breaks and could be treated inclusively. Alternatively, consider if there should be a ‘cut-off’ point in terms of the length of an exam (after extra time/rest breaks are added), meaning that an alternative assessment should be used instead? For example, if the standard duration is 2 hours but a student would require 4 hours, is this the best way of assessing the student? In terms of thinking about how long examinations should be, you should allow 50% more time than you would normally design for (based on students having engaged with teaching). This could be badged as an inclusive assessment with additional time already built in, and ideally, no more than 2 hours. You should consider splitting longer assessments into two portions, delivered on separate days. Note: This is with the caveat that built-in extra time does not compromise a competency standard (e.g. some professional course exams involve time-sensitive decision making).
• Allow the use of limited notes. For example, students could be allowed to bring 1x page of A4 to their exam with some notes to support them when completing their examination. 
• Consider what may aid students in their exams. Allow students to use sensory aids, such as noise-cancelling earplugs. 
• Encourage students to visit exam venues. You can encourage students to visit the room to see the exam set up before the exam to help alleviate anxiety around unfamiliarity of the space.  
• Encourage students to practice with use of demo exams. You could offer practice exams in class or encourage students to practice with exam questions in exam-style conditions (e.g. timing themselves and not accessing their notes).  
• Encourage students to advocate for the support they require. If a student expresses concerns ahead of an in person exam, for example, anxiety sitting near other people or feeling more comfortable sitting near an exit you can encourage them to mention this as part of Student Support Plan (SSP) assessments to see what adjustments can be made for the student. 
• Be available for queries. Ensure that a member of the Module Team is easily contactable during the exam date/time is useful to resolve any issues which may arise that require subject-specific knowledge. 
• Proofread and sense check exam questions. Ensure that you proofread examination papers and where possible have colleagues read the questions to allow you to make any amendments or clarifications to questions. This can reduce the need to provide amendments or clarifications during exams, which is not ideal given that exams are typically split over multiple venues and it is difficult to relay this information to students across venues. 
• Use clear language. Avoid the use of jargon/slang and ensure that exam instructions, questions and any use of the rubric are clear to your students and written in an inclusive and accessible way. 
• Consider how information is presented. If you are presenting information in a different forma,t and the impact on visually impaired students who may need to use a Screen reader. 
• Consider providing information sheets (where appropriate). For example, formula sheets that students previously needed to memorise could be provided where the competency standard being assessed is not memory recall. 
• Encourage students to check the Exams Office Guidance/Rules. Ahead of examinations, you can remind and encourage students to review the guidance to understand what is within the guidance, so they understand where they may need to ask for an adjustment.  

Student Support Plans (SSPs): Extra Time and Rest Breaks:

• At Newcastle, our Student Support Plans (SSPs) can allow us to support students who require additional time for exams and offer rest breaks. This means we can extend time limits for students who require additional processing time (extra time) or provide breaks for students experiencing fatigue (rest time). A rest break is designed to stop the clock for the purpose of physical rest, bathroom breaks and managing medication, to name a few examples. Extra time is normally allocated to mitigate slow cognitive processing. University may be the first time that students have 'rest breaks’ as an adjustment, so make sure they have advice on how to use these. 

You may wish to consider the following alternative assessment types:

• Open-book take-home exam 
• Coursework-style options
  • Oral/recorded presentation (1:2 student to assessor) with Q&A - students could answer questions on their coursework
  • Posters

Assessment flexibility: VC Award

Dr Stephanie Holton, Lecturer in Classics, received the Vice-Chancellor’s Award in 2022 for designing assessments that allowed students to choose their preferred format of assessment.

• Blog post
• ReCap recording from the 2022 L&T Conference

What is the competence being assessed, and why is this method appropriate?

Where in-person digital examinations have a locked-down component, this enables the assessment to be used as a closed-book assessment. This allows the assessment to assess the knowledge retained by the student.  

The timed aspect of an in-person exam (whether this is on paper or digital) allows you to test the student's ability to respond to questions within a set period, and, particularly for written answers, see what work they can produce in this time.

Where an in-person examination is open book, this allows you to test a student's ability to retain knowledge but also be able to engage with material and use this to support them in answering questions. In-person digital exams enable academic integrity, evaluating individual understanding without external assistance. 
 
Timed in-person digital exam: things to be aware of:

• Locked-down exams using a lockdown browser (e.g. Safe Exam Browser) do have some compatibility issues with certain assistive technologies. This means that students must be exempt from the lockdown browser in order to use their assistive technology in their exam. 
• There is variation in the digital familiarisation of our students. Some students are more familiar and confident at using digital tools for assessment than others. 
• Depending on the tool you are using, the accessibility tools available within the platform may vary per tool. You should consider whether students will be able to access unfamiliar assistive technology tools. 
• Students must know their University login details to access PC clusters on campus to access in person digital exams. This can be a barrier and additional anxiety for students, therefore you can encourage them to test logging into a campus PC ahead of their assessment and ensure they know their password to help alleviate these concerns. 
• The use of approved external resources or embedded media, such as external websites, language keyboards, PDF documents are great components of digital assessment. It is important to consider how these resources would be available if a student were unable to complete the exam digitally (e.g. if you are making a website available, a student would not be able to complete this if they could not sit the exam in it's digital format). In these instances, you would need to consider if the student would require an alternative assessment.

Barriers for specific student groups:

• Some students may experience additional anxiety around potential for technical issues occurring during their digital exam. This can be classed as an additional pressure for students. 
• Digital exams pose additional considerations for visually impaired students. Digital exams require a level of navigation on a PC device in order to access the assessment which can be more difficult for students who are visually impaired. 

You can also consult the ‘Timed In Person Written Exams’ area of this page for more general barriers around examinations taking place in person. 

A good design will make the assessment inclusive by default. When designing a digital exam, ensure that the assessment measures the learning outcomes, and that these are communicated, and students supported. Clear instructions, scaffolded support and flexibility create an environment where all students are assessed fairly and can succeed.

To make digital exams more inclusive, you can consider the following when designing your assessment:

• Scaffold exam preparation. Dedicate teaching time to introduce the exam type and provide guidance on how to prepare for and approach the exam. Consider recording the guidance and making it available in Canvas, so that students can rewatch it when they are preparing for the exam.  
• Consider the duration of your exam. Similar to the concept of a 24-hour exam, could all students be provided with more time than they need to complete the exam (e.g. if the exam needs 2 hours, give ALL students 3 hours)? For those without any adjustments, the additional time is not an advantage, and it would mean that a large chunk of students would not need additional extra time and rest breaks and could be treated inclusively. Alternatively, consider if there should be a ‘cut-off’ point in terms of the length of an exam (after extra time/rest breaks are added), meaning that an alternative assessment should be used instead? For example, if the standard duration is 2 hours but a student would require 4 hours, is this the best way of assessing the student? 
• Take time to understand the strengths and limitations of the digital tools. You can engage with synchronous and asynchronous training guidance on digital assessment tools (such as Inspera or Numbas for Digital Exams) for a greater understanding of the functionality of the assessment type you are using. This allows you to understand both the strengths and limitations of the tools and consider how your students will engage with them. You can access and book training on learning and teaching tools on Elements.
• Encourage students to practice with use of demo exams. You can include practice demo exams into teaching sessions or formative assessments to ensure student familiarity with system and tools available. It is strongly recommended that you encourage students to try demo exams ahead of their digital exams. This allows students to test and experience the functionality, and can reduce the potential anxiety around using a digital tool for assessment. For example, the Inspera and Numbas Digital Exams Teams create demo exams for students to use before their summative exams. 
• Consider the digital layout and presentation of your content. By paying attention to the accessibility of your formatting, text, colours, inversion and layout, you may help mitigate difficulties experienced without the use of assistive technology. For instance, larger images will support all students. You can also engage with the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to help you ensure that all learners are able to access and participate in meaningful, challenging learning opportunities. 
• Consider the question types you use in a digital exam. A benefit of using a digital exam is that you have a wider variety of question types available to you. Where possible, you should consider using a variety of different question types in your digital exams to cater to different learning styles and strengths. 
• Access to spelling and grammar checking tools. If possible, you should allow access to spelling and grammar checking tools, unless the exam is designed to assess a specific intended learning outcome on spelling, punctuation and grammar.  

At Newcastle, our Student Support Plans (SSPs) allow us to support students who require additional time for exams and offer rest breaks. This means we can extend time limits for students who require additional processing time.
 

You may wish to consider the following alternative assessment types: 

• An alternative, non-digital assessment, taken under exam conditions
• Presentation assessment 
• Oral exam 
• Viva 

It is possible for students to take a digital exam without lockdown to allow students to use their preferred assistive technology. In these instances, invigilation could be increased to factor in the non-locked down nature of the exam.

Using Inspera Digital Exams for a Language Module Assessment Strategy. 

Loiana Leal, Lecturer in Modern Languages, School of Modern Languages, used Inspera for digital assessment via digital examinations in a language module for formative and summative assessments. 

Viewing a module’s exam questions to enhance student engagement. Dr John Hedley, Senior Lecturer, School of Engineering 

Introduction to Instrumentation and Drive Systems (MEC3027) is a module where students undertake an assignment worth 60% and a computer-based exam worth 40%. The assignment is based on developing skills whereas the exam is based on a student’s background knowledge of the subject. 
All possible questions for the NUMBAS PC exam are released to the students during the teaching aspect of the module, a selection of which are then picked for the exam. The key point of this approach is that the students get to see, practice, and ask for advice on all the exam questions prior to taking the exam. 

What is the competence being assessed and why is this method appropriate?

Open-book examinations generally do not require information recall without memory aids, as students have access to resources.  
The emphasis is instead on the application of knowledge and information, rather than its retrieval, allowing you to test and focus on students’ ability to apply their learning, and this is less affected by differences in language acquisition, information processing or working memory.

24-Hour Take-Home Exam: things to be aware of

• Whether students will have a suitable environment to work in, e.g. will they have access to the technology required and will it be a suitable quiet working space? 
• Consider the time zone implications for international students taking the exam. Take-home exams tend to start at either 9am or 2pm and you should consider the impact of the timing on students. Students with support workers such as scribes or readers can benefit from a 9am start/a morning release, as it would enable students to access support over a single day. 
• Students with employment, childcare or caring responsibilities may find take-home exams more difficult to complete whilst balancing these responsibilities at home. 
• Students can face anxiety around the potential technical issues for a take-home exam and the lack of in-person support they would have compared to an in-person exam. 
• A lack of familiarity with this type of assessment can increase assessment anxiety and lead to ‘over-work’. It is important to set clear guidance, including parameters on time that should be spent on the assessment within this period, full details of the assessment task as well as how to submit should be provided. 
• Consider the integrity of the assessment type and the ability for student's collusion or academic misconduct on the assessment and whether this increased temptation for Academic Misconduct.
• Consider whether there are contacts available for students during a take home period. For instance, is a member of the module team available for any clarification on content? For any IT support or troubleshooting, are students appropriately directed to NUIT or Central Exams Office where appropriate? 
• Ensure that there is no overlap with other assessments or teaching if your assessment is running outside of the standard main assessment periods. During main assessment periods, the exams office will consider this during their scheduling, but if you are arranging this in house, it is worth checking what other assessments may be happening.
• We are also aware through conversations at Staff Student Committees that students can work through the night to complete 24-hour exams putting themselves under undue stress. 
• There are instances where students will submit the wrong version of a document or will miss the submission time if technical issues or perfectionism are an issue. It could be useful to allow multiple submissions of work until the deadline so that students can easily re-submit up until the deadline if they need to.

Barriers for specific student groups: 

• Students with autism or ADHD may struggle with take-home assessments as opposed to in-person assessment as there is an increased likelihood of stress and overwhelm due to a longer time frame to procrastinate or aim for ‘perfection’. 
• For autistic students, a lack of clear guidance on how long to work on the assignment can be seen to work to excess, minimise sleep and other basic needs to fully focus on the assessment during the take-home period.  
• For students with ADHD, the ‘open-book’ aspect can be overwhelming with students experiencing information overload by trying to cover too much content.  
• Students with ADHD can also procrastinate due to the ‘24-hour’ aspect in that they may spend majority of 24 hours in high stress, showing little productivity and then have a ‘sprint finish’.  
• Some students require non-medical help in exams, such as those that require a scribe or reader. This is easier to manage in an in person examination than for a 24 hour take home as a scribe or reader would be arranged for a set period of time. For a 24-hour take-home exam the student would require additional arrangement for this to take place at a specific point in this period. 
• Students experiencing fatigue can face barriers around the appropriate rest time. For example, if the assessment ‘should’ take 2 hours, how long will it take a student to achieve two hours’ worth of work while managing fatigue? 

A good design will make the assessment inclusive by default. When designing a 24-hour take-home exam, ensure that the assessment measures the learning outcomes, and that these are communicated, and students supported. Clear instructions, scaffolded support and flexibility create an environment where all students are assessed fairly and can succeed.

To make 24-hour take-home exams more inclusive, you can consider the following when designing your assessment:

• Provide a clear assessment brief. Provide clear, concise instructions and guidelines on expectations of time to spend, level of detail, type of assessment, volume of work to produce, amount of resources (e.g. how many secondary sources to cite).  It is recommended that you avoid tasks that would take more than 3 hours to complete.  
• Provide clear instructions on what to do if there are extenuating circumstances. Clear information on what students should do if unable to complete assessment for reasons outside their control, such as a power cut or ill health.  
• Provide guidance on what to do if there are technical issues. Clear information on what students should do if there are technical issues preventing a submission. 
• Consider the timing of assessment release. Consider the day and time that you are releasing the assessment, avoiding weekends. Consideration should be made for religious observance and caring responsibilities where possible.  
• Share guidance on take take-home exam set-up. Share suggestions with your students around how to set up your home environment to support this exam format. For example, create a clear desk free from distractions, make housemates or family aware that you are sitting an exam, prepare a snack and some water, and create a plan for what to do during breaks. You can encourage students to ensure they do not submit at the last minute to allow for any technical issues. Students could also be reminded to ensure they carefully name their documents and to double check they are submitting the correct copy.  
• Consider if a timed aspect is necessary. You can also consider the relevance of a time limit on the task and if the skill will be equally assessed with a similar task under exam conditions. Consider a rationale for 24-hour take-home exam versus an in-person exam or coursework by asking yourself what is being assessed? This may be authentic in some disciplines such as journalism, legal, translation, but could the same tasks also be completed with a take home exam with a shorter duration than 24 hours or even a coursework assignment instead of an exam. You should consider the pros and cons of these options. 
• Signpost students to information about the assessment type. For example, you could signpost students to information on the Academic Skills Kit (ASK) website about this assessment type: Revising for Take-Home Exams | Academic Skills Kit | Newcastle University.

You may wish to consider the following alternative assessment types:

• Coursework assessment – the benefits of this allow students to have a scaffolded assessment, with informal feedback on structures, space for interaction and staged milestones. These can keep the flexibility of a take-home exam and timed-aspects too. 
• In-person assessment – the benefit of this is that the assessment is completed within a set time and all students have the same conditions. Students with specific needs can have these outlined in their Student Support Plans (SSPs) to support them.