Researchers in Japan have shown that the existing support for blind examinees during admissions-related exams is not sufficient, especially for tests that involve the interpretation of intricate tables.
At the University of Tsukuba, researchers have identified that the existing accommodations for blind examinees in exams, notably those associated with admissions, fall short. In particular, the extension of 1.5 times the usual exam duration for handling complex tables in braille is inadequate for effectively evaluating the capabilities of blind examinees. In light of these findings, the researchers call for an immediate reassessment of exam methods to ensure fair evaluations of these examinees’ skills.
Students often take high-stakes tests that significantly impact their futures. For instance, the Common Test for University Admissions currently provides braille users with a time allowance of 1.5 times the regular duration. However, due to the recent rise in the complexity of questions, particularly those with charts and diagrams, it is essential to evaluate if the current support measures are still sufficient.
The researchers examined the effectiveness of the time extension for questions involving complex tables by analyzing how long it took to read both the text and the tables. They found that 70% of the examinees completed the braille text reading task within the allotted 1.5 times the standard duration, and all finished within double the standard time. However, none were able to complete the braille table reading task within either the 1.5 times or the double time limit. Additionally, the results indicated significant variations in the reading speeds among individuals, with no links found between how quickly braille text was read and how fast braille tables were processed. This suggests that a person who reads braille sentences quickly may not be able to read braille tables at the same speed.
These results indicate that the current time extension for braille users is inadequate when exam questions involve complex tables. This raises important questions about how best to assess the capabilities of these examinees and also highlights the broader issue of evaluating individual skills across different abilities. This research underscores the need to rethink the existing examination framework.
This study received funding from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (grant number 20H00822).
