Dyslexic students banned from using exam spell checkers

Dyslexic students are no longer allowed to use spell checkers during exams. The College for Tests and Exams (CvTE) implemented this measure in October last years, because from this year spelling counts in examination, RTL Nieuws reports. The implementation of this measure went by almost completely unnoticed. It was announced in the Staatscourant, but during a time when the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, was mainly focused on the mathematics examination. The CvTE feels the spell checker ban must apply to everyone, but for dyslexic children it may well be a major problem. Especially since they trained their entire school careers to take exams using a spell checker.If a dyslexic student insists on using a spell checker, the school must inform the Education Inspectorate and the students will get points deducted. The majority of the political parties in the Tweede Kamer reacted bewildered and indignant. "This is unfair and was never the Kamer's intention", Michel Rog (CDA) said to Dutch newspaper AD. The SP is "furious" that the CvTE changed the rules in the midst of an ongoing exam year. The D66 calls it a "very bad business". PvdA Loes Ypma wants clarity from Education State Secretary Sander Dekker and a debate on appropriate education. In a reaction the Ministry of Education stated that "exams must be equal for everyone". "The number of points that can be deducted for spelling is limited. Children with dyslexia can pass their exams well." a spokesperson said to the newspaper.