APPENDIX ONE

Questionnaire:
How can we overcome the barriers for 'at risk' students when it comes to assessment?
1. In your classroom, how many students would you describe as 'at risk'?
I have three students who I class as at risk.
2. What classes them as 'at risk'?
My first student has been diagnosed as having dyslexia. The second student was an elective mute
when she entered school. She has undiagnosed learning difficulties. The third student has negative
self-esteem and diagnosed learning difficulties. His mother also has health issues which causes a
disruptive home life.
3. What barriers do they have in regards to their learning?
The first student with dyslexia has a low reading age and has difficulty decoding words. His lack of
literacy causes him to have difficulty in most subject areas. He also has low self-worth and has
referred to himself as dumb.
The second student started school as an elective mute. She is now more confident speaking in front
of the class, however remains very quietly spoken. Her reading age is low (grade one) and she has
difficulty recognising sounds, possibly due to her late development of speech and not hearing the
sounds. This has impacted on her spelling and ability to construct sentences, again due to not often
expressing her thoughts.
4. How do you cater for these students?
Student 1- He is on a separate reading program designed to raise his reading age. I give him
simplified instructions and explicitly explain tasks. For writing, he is orally conferenced and his
sentences are written on a whiteboard which he copies. He is provided with additional time to
complete tasks. He works in small groups with myself or a Teacher Aide to reinforce concepts and
provide use of manipulatives in mathematics. He also wears tinted orange glasses to assist with
reading text.
Student 2- She is placed in small groups and with Teacher Aides. She is also on a reading program,
provided with extra time to complete tasks and sits at the front. Her writing is often scribed,
especially when components are copied from the board.
Student 3- He is on an additional reading program. His writing stamina is low so his work is often
scribed. He is supported by a Teacher Aide when available and sits front on to the board.
5. Do you use the same assessment for them as the whole class, or do you alter it to suit their
needs? How?
I use the same assessment however it is differentiated in several ways. They are provided with
additional time and a Teacher Aide sits with them and reads the instructions for each question. If it
is a Science task, they are able to present information in different ways eg. Orally or using a
diagram. For written assessment, components are scribed.
For Student 1- Assessment is printed using large text.

This is a list of my adjustments for each student:

Written passages read out
loud
Peer tutors
Extra time
Shorten tasks
Scribe- Writing, Maths Sums,
copying from board
Adjusted spelling list
Concrete materials
Simplified instructions
Preferential seating
Additional reading program
TA Support
Oral conferencing when
writing
Trial orange sheets- glasses

Additional Reading Program

Peer tutors
Extra time
Shorten tasks
Board work (writing, maths
sums), writing scribed
Concrete materials
Simplified instructions
Preferential seating
TA Support
Wears Glasses
Oral conferencing when
writing

Additional Reading Program

Peer tutors
Extra time
Shorten tasks
Board work (writing, maths
sums), writing scribed
Concrete materials
Simplified instructions
Preferential seating
TA Support
Wears Glasses
Oral conferencing when
writing