Ireland is the only country in the world which allows such concessions in its state exams, according to a confidential report, revealed in the Irish Independent

The report claims "dramatic" increases in the numbers seeking exemptions:

• Junior Cert - up from 976 in 2001 to 4,552 this year;
• Leaving Cert - up from 264 in 2001 to 2,136 this year.

Candidates who are granted a waiver are not marked for spelling or grammar and their grade is determined on the balance of their work done in the subject. Their certificates are annotated to explain the accommodation.

Many of those who get a waiver also avail of reading assistance or a scribe and get their own separate exam "centre". The report shows that this year there were more than 7,000 separate centres, mostly catering for just one student. This compared with 4,500 regular centres for the remainder of exam candidates in the current year.

The final report from the Advisory Group on Reasonable Accommodations, chaired by Prof Aine Hyland, says that over the past few years the number seeking assistance on grounds of physical or sensory disabilities has dropped.

The number using a tape recorder because of a physical/sensory disability fell from over 70 in 2004 to 25 this year. Only 30 candidates sought and were granted enlarged papers this year while only one used a Braille version of an exam paper.

However, the advisory group received a number of submissions claiming that the special educational needs of some candidates granted waivers on grammar and spelling were not always apparent.

It was also suggested that such a waiver was inconsistent with the national emphasis on literacy, since grammar and spelling are core elements of language and literacy. It was further argued that a spelling and grammar waiver in a language subject is "educationally unsound".

The report says that serious consideration should be given by the State Examinations Commission to the withdrawal of the spelling and grammar waiver. The views of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment should be sought on this particular issue as a matter of urgency.

On receipt of these views the commission should give immediate attention to reviewing its current practice.

There is a perception that the waiver confers an unfair advantage and that it may contravene the principles on which the Scheme of Reasonable Accommodation is based, the report says. (Source: Irish Independent)