Do you get extra marks when you have special exam provisions?

Absolutely not. It's a very common misunderstanding but there is no such thing as 'bonus marks' for special provisions in the NSW Higher School Certificate or School Certificate.

If you don't get extra marks, what's the point?

It's pretty simple: the only people who get special provisions are those who really need them. Special provisions are practical arrangements for students who wouldn't otherwise have a fair go at an exam paper.

Examples include large print or Braille for the exam questions, or a coloured paper for the exam and writing booklets. You may be diabetic and need to take food and insulin to the exam room. You may have a cast on your arm and need a bigger table to write on, or you may need a special chair to sit down for long periods. You may have physical pain or a learning difficulty that means you need short breaks during the exam, when you don't write anything for a few minutes without losing exam time. You might have a condition that means someone else writes your answers as you dictate them. In very rare cases it means using a computer.

So who gets special exam provisions?

Students who would otherwise not have a fair go at showing in an exam what they have learned at school.

Do special exam provisions give you an advantage?

No. Special exam provisions are designed to minimise disadvantage, not create an advantage. The difference might not sound like much, but it is a very important principle.

For example, in 2008 the Board refused more than half of the students who applied to use a computer in HSC exams because their conditions meant the use of a computer might give them an unfair advantage. Instead, those students were generally offered either regular short rest breaks for pain when writing, or the option of dictating their answers to a writer (usually a Year 11 student) under separate supervision.

These decisions acknowledge that the HSC remains a timed, handwritten test of knowledge, skill and understanding. If writing on a computer raises a student's speed unfairly, the request will be refused and a more

If I get a medical certificate will I get special provisions?

Not automatically. Proof of a medical condition is only one part of the process, and you probably don't need loads of advice from medical specialists, either.

What the Board looks for is evidence that the condition actually stops you from showing what you know in an exam and how special provisions may assist.

The evidence must include comments from your teachers and the principal that confirm that the provision requested will actually address the problem you would otherwise have in reading and/or responding to the exam paper. This is the only evidence that is common to every application.

Then, depending on your condition, the evidence can also include:

• supporting documents from one or more health professionals
• samples of classwork and exam papers illustrating your difficulty (eg, illegible handwriting)
• results of additional tests you have completed at the Board's request (eg, audiogram, vision test, Neale analysis, Woodcock test or spelling test).

Won't students just deliberately go too slow in the Board's writing test so they can get the special exam provisions?

No. The Board has had plenty of experience in spotting fakers and builds in various checks and balances to the test process.

It is important to note that the Board does not reveal its benchmarks for the minimum handwriting speed and other criteria for special exam provisions. The Board's right to keep the benchmarks secret to avoid abuse of the system has been settled in the Supreme Court.

Sometimes when I'm nervous my palms get a bit damp. Am I eligible for special exam provisions?

Probably not. However, you might be eligible if you have a rare condition called palmar hyperhidrosis, which is a physiological condition caused by an overactive sympathetic nervous system. It is believed to affect about 1% of the population and is not a simple matter of damp palms due to nerves. Rather, there is so much perspiration on the page it makes writing impossible. If you have this condition you might be given permission to take a handtowel into the exam, and short rest breaks to use it. In even more extreme cases, you might be granted the use of a writer to take your dictation.

My handwriting is really messy. Can I get special provisions?

Generally, no. Markers are used to reading a wide range of handwriting styles. There are a small number of cases where students have difficulty with their fine motor skills, such as dysgraphia, which makes their handwriting illegible. The usual provision for this condition is the granting of a writer, typically a Year 11 student. As with all special provisions, the Board would need to see strong evidence of the condition and may ask for additional writing samples.

Can I get special provisions because I am a slow reader?

All students are expected to read HSC questions carefully. If you have a condition that makes it difficult to read and understand questions, such as dyslexia where words sometimes appear to jumble on the page, you would be expected to sit a standardised test to assess whether you fall outside the usual range. Students with a significant vision difficulty may also be granted a provision. With sufficient evidence, these students would most likely be given a reader, who is generally a Year 11 student, or a vision aid.

Do I have a better chance of getting special exam provisions if I go to a private school?

No. Every application is treated on its individual merits and the Board doesn't consider which school you attend, only whether you have a condition that stops you from having a fair go at the exam paper.

The Board has undertaken a thorough analysis of the pattern of applications and approvals from all schools, and received independent audit reports of the 2008 program. As a result, the Board is confident that its policies and procedures are rigorously applied.

What does it mean if my application is 'partially approved'?

The Board considers every application on its merits and every year some are either declined or only partially approved. The Board may decide that your application for a computer, for instance, will actually give you an unfair advantage and instead offer you regular rest breaks to relieve an arm condition, or the use of a writer to take your dictation under separate supervision.

This is partial approval: you may only receive part of what you requested, or you may be offered provisions that are not what you requested. A table shows how often this occurred in 2008.

A 2008 analysis shows that in some schools a large number of the applications to the Board are only partially approved or are declined.

The Board will be making contact with the principals of those schools to check their understanding of the program and the suitability of the provisions given to students with disabilities leading up to the exams.

What's the difference between 'special exam provisions' and 'special consideration'?

The term 'special consideration' sometimes is used in universities to cover arrangements including supplementary examinations, extended assessment deadlines, make-up tasks and averaging of marks.

The Board of Studies does not offer 'special consideration' in its examination programs.

The Board's special examination provisions are practical arrangements for students who wouldn't otherwise have a fair go at an exam paper.

Is it true that most people applying for special exam provisions get three extra hours writing time as well as a computer?

No. On rare occasions, a student with profound disabilities may be given up to two extra hours to write or rest as they require. There have been cases where students have only had the use of one finger or a head pointer to type and have not been able to speak clearly enough to dictate to a writer. Obviously this makes writing very slow and tiring. Without special provisions, including extra time and a computer, such students would not be able to sit for the exams at all.

Computers are granted to students to write their exams under very stringent conditions. In fact, more than half of requests to use a computer were declined in 2008. In most cases the students were offered rest breaks or a writer to take their dictation under separate supervision.