Today marks the start of exam season for over 140,000 Leaving and Junior Certificate students across Ireland. It's a time of immense pressure for students, parents, and teachers alike. Amidst the usual exam nerves, a new debate has emerged, sparking conversations in homes and classrooms nationwide: Should students with dyslexia receive extra points on their exams?

I've been following this discussion, and it really makes you think about how we assess knowledge and ability. It's not a simple question, and there are valid points on both sides.

The Current System: Reasonable Accommodations at Certificate Examinations (RACE)

The current system supporting students with special educational needs is called the Reasonable Accommodations at Certificate Examinations (RACE) scheme. This arrangement aims to level the playing field, helping students who might struggle to demonstrate what they know due to a physical, visual, hearing, or learning difficulty. Essentially, it's about ensuring an exam tests a student's understanding of the subject, not their specific challenges with the format.

Common accommodations under the RACE scheme include reading assistance, the use of scribes, or even voice-activated computers. Some students might even take their exams in a hospital setting if their health requires it. These provisions are meant to remove barriers, allowing students to communicate their knowledge effectively.

The State Examinations Commission (SEC) reviews the RACE scheme periodically. In fact, at the start of 2026, a pilot measure was introduced, granting an additional 10 minutes per exam to students receiving accommodations. This is a provisional step, and its effectiveness will be reviewed before the 2027 exams.

The Argument for Extra Points: A Mother's Perspective

This new 10-minute provision, however, hasn't been met with universal approval. One mother, Anita Reid Murphy, whose daughter Caoimhe is sitting the Leaving Cert this year, views the extra time as "frankly insulting." She opened up about her daughter's experience, explaining that Caoimhe, like many students with dyslexia, faces a double burden. Not only is she stressed about the content of the exams, but also about the sheer mechanics of getting her thoughts down on paper within the allotted time.

Murphy's argument is compelling. She believes that for students with dyslexia, the challenges extend beyond just needing a bit more time. Dyslexia can impact reading speed, writing fluency, and the ability to process complex instructions under pressure. An additional 10 minutes, in her view, doesn't adequately address these fundamental difficulties. She suggests that awarding extra points would be a more meaningful and equitable way to recognize the additional hurdles these students overcome.

It makes me wonder if we're truly understanding the full scope of what dyslexia entails during a high-stakes exam. Is it just about time, or is it about the cognitive load involved in decoding text, formulating answers, and then writing them out, all while competing against a clock?

The Counter-Argument: Maintaining Fairness and Preventing Unintended Consequences

On the other side of this debate, there are concerns about the potential implications of awarding extra points. The core principle of the Leaving Cert is to provide a standardized assessment for all students. Introducing extra points based on a learning difficulty could, some argue, complicate this principle.

One concern is how such a system would be implemented fairly. How many extra points would be considered appropriate? Would it apply across all subjects, or only certain ones? There's also the question of diagnosis and verification. While dyslexia is a recognized learning difficulty, ensuring consistent and fair application of extra points across a large student population would be a significant administrative challenge for the Department of Education.

Furthermore, some educators might argue that the purpose of accommodations is to ensure equal opportunity in the process of taking the exam, not to alter the outcome itself by awarding additional marks. The RACE scheme aims to remove barriers to performance, allowing students to achieve their true potential; it's not designed to give them an advantage. The argument here is that if a student is given appropriate accommodations, they should then be able to perform to their ability, and their raw score should reflect that.

What Does Dyslexia Mean for Exams?

To understand this debate fully, we need to remember what dyslexia is. It's not a measure of intelligence, but a specific learning difficulty that primarily affects reading, writing, and spelling. For a student with dyslexia, reading a question, processing the information, and then articulating an answer can take significantly longer and require more mental effort than for their peers. This isn't about a lack of understanding of the subject matter, but a difficulty in expressing that understanding in a conventional exam format.

Consider a student who knows the history curriculum inside out but struggles to read the exam paper quickly or to write out a detailed essay within the time limit. The current accommodations try to mitigate this, but the question remains: do they go far enough? The 10 extra minutes might feel like a drop in the ocean when facing hours of intense writing and reading.

The Broader Context: Equity in Education

This discussion about dyslexia and extra points is part of a larger conversation about equity in education. How do we ensure that every student, regardless of their individual challenges, has a fair shot at demonstrating their abilities and accessing their desired future? The Leaving Cert is a crucial gateway for many Irish students, influencing their college choices and career paths. The stakes are incredibly high.

The State Examinations Commission (SEC) has a delicate balance to strike. They need to ensure the integrity and fairness of the examination system while also providing adequate support for students with diverse needs. The current review of the RACE scheme and the pilot of extended time show that the SEC is actively engaging with these issues, which is a positive sign. You can find more information about the SEC's work on their official website (https://www.examinations.ie/). The Department of Education also provides resources and information on educational policies (https://www.education.ie/).

My Take

I find myself leaning towards the idea that we need to constantly re-evaluate how we support students with learning differences. While the idea of extra points might seem like a radical departure, it's worth exploring if the current accommodations truly address the core challenges. If a student's score is primarily hampered by the logistics of the exam format rather than their knowledge, then we're not truly assessing their capabilities.

Perhaps the discussion needs to move beyond just "extra time" versus "extra points" and delve deeper into alternative assessment methods or more comprehensive support mechanisms that begin long before exam day. For now, as thousands of Irish students sit their exams, the conversation around fair assessment for those with dyslexia will undoubtedly continue to evolve. It's a vital discussion, and one that impacts the future of many young people across Ireland.