We are working very hard behind
the scenes with a range of experts as well as publishers to establish what is
possible if professional standards are to be upheld and if reliable and safe
assessments can be made. We have been asked if during the current COVID-19 crisis, online assessment could offer a viable alternative to replace face-to-face diagnostic sessions. Public health guidance and measures in the wake of the coronavirus epidemic have increasingly stressed the importance of ‘social distancing' to slow down the rate of infection. SASC is aware that assessors work extremely hard to provide a high-quality assessment service to children and adults. SASC has been listening to assessors' questions and concerns and understands the desire to explore alternative ways of working under the current circumstances. We hope that this statement explains why, regrettably, there is not, at present, a viable online alternative that maintains the quality and consistency of diagnostic assessment practice. Please read the full SASC position paper following this link. The paper can also be found on our Downloads page. Test publishers, at this very time, are considering what they will
and will not allow and how that might affect the SpLD assessment across the
board and at every level from schools, to HE and in the workplace. We are in
conversation with publishers and will provide an update as soon as we can
provide further clear and useful information to assessors.
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