Researchers at the University of Tsukuba have shown that current accommodations for blind examinees for exams such as those related to admissions are inadequate, particularly for exams that require reading complex tables. Specifically, providing a time extension of 1.5 times the standard duration for answering exam questions with complex tables presented in Braille is insufficient to accurately assess the abilities of test takers who are blind. Given these findings, the researchers emphasize the urgent need to reevaluate testing methods to ensure fair assessment of the skills of these examinees.
Students often take high-stakes exams that have significant weight in determining their future. One of those exams, the Common College Entrance Test, currently allows examinees who use braille an extended exam time of 1.5 times the standard duration. However, with the recent increase in complex questions and questions involving charts and diagrams in such tests, there is a need to review whether current accommodations remain appropriate.
The researchers assessed the validity of the current time span for exam questions containing complex tables by measuring the time needed to read the text and complex tables. The results showed that 70% of examinees completed the braille text reading task in 1.5 times the standard duration and 100% completed it in twice the duration. However, none of the test takers finished the braille table reading task in 1.5 or even twice the extended time. Furthermore, the table reading task revealed considerable individual differences in reading speed, with no correlation observed between this task and reading Braille texts. This suggests that people who read braille sentences quickly may not necessarily be able to read braille tables at the same rate.
These findings demonstrate that the current time extension for examinees using Braille is insufficient when test questions include complex tables. This leads to consideration of how to properly assess the abilities of such examinees and raises the broader question of how to assess the abilities of each individual regardless of their disability status. This research indicates the need to reconsider the current examination framework itself.
This work was supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (grant number 20H00822).