Exam Scribe Guidelines

Overview

Exam scribing services are defined as the physical act of writing or recording answers on behalf of students who are unable to do so. This service is a testing accommodation that must be pre-approved.

Scribe Qualifications

A student may not have a family member or guardian of the student act as his or her scribe.

  • The scribe shall be an employee of the college for purposes of the examination.
  • The scribe shall sign a test security affidavit acknowledging among other things that he or she will not interfere with the independent work of any student taking the examination which includes not coaching, altering, or interfering with the student's responses in any way.
  • On the date of testing and before the administration of the exam, the DRC testing coordinator or appropriate staff shall give the scribe no more than one hour to become familiar with the directions and format of the test. (This will help facilitate the scribe's ability to record the student's answers easily.)
  • To the extent possible, the scribe should have previous experience in transcribing information given by students during educational instruction and assessments.
  • The scribe must have the ability to produce legible text.

General Information

Before the examination, the scribe will review the DRC Scribe Guidelines and procedures with the student in preparation for the administration of the examination. The student using this accommodation or modification will be tested in a quiet room apart from other students to avoid interruption while testing. The guiding principle in scribing is only to assist the student in accessing the test and responding to it. The purpose of scribing is neither to penalize the student nor to enhance the student's constructed response.

The scribe shall not:

  • Correct what the student dictates.
  • Alert the student to mistakes during testing.
  • Prompt the student in any way that would result in a better response or essay.
  • Influence the student's response in any way.

Using a Scribe as an Accommodation

A scribe may be used as an accommodation when the following apply:

  • The student's Individualized Accommodation Plan (IAP) specifies the need for this accommodation for use during testing and/or for use during classroom instruction.
  • The scribe ensures that the work, including all spelling and language conventions, is the work of the student being tested.

Multiple-Choice Exams

The scribe should confirm the student's response before recording the student's answer on the score sheet. If the scribe cannot understand a student's pattern of speech, or it is barely audible, large cards, each indicating one of the response options, can be used. The student can then choose the card that indicates the student's desired response to the test item.

Constructed-Response Exams

The scribe shall determine the preferred mode of recording the student's response before the date of the test. At testing time, the student may then dictate the constructed-response using any one of the two listed methods:

  1. Into an audio recorder
  2. Directly to a scribe

A student with disabilities shall be given the opportunity to plan, draft, and revise the constructed response. The scribe's responsibility is to be both accurate and fair, neither diminishing the fluency of the student nor helping to improve or alter what the student asks to be recorded. The scribe may write an outline or other plan as directed by the student. The scribe shall write the words of the student exactly as dictated.

Scribing the Student's Constructed Response (Writing Task)

The student does not have to repeatedly specify spelling and language conventions once the student has demonstrated knowledge and skills in the use of these spelling and language conventions. The scribe may apply these conventions automatically. Examples:

  • Once a student has demonstrated the knowledge of indicating the beginnings of sentences with a capital letter, the student does not need to specify this throughout the remainder of the constructed response.
  • The student must spell every word in the constructed response the first time it is used. When a word is used on more than one occasion, the student does not need to spell it again.
  • Homonyms and often-confused words such as "to," "two," and "too," or "there," "their," and "they're," or "than" and "then" should be spelled by the student each time they are used.

Scribing the Student's Constructed Response (Mathematics)

The student does not have to repeatedly specify basic mathematics conventions once the student has demonstrated knowledge and skills in the use of basic mathematics conventions. The scribe may apply these conventions automatically.

Examples:

  • Once a student has demonstrated the knowledge of indicating the correct number alignments and set-up of the seven basic functions, the student does not need to specify this throughout the remainder of the constructed response.
  • The student must demonstrate or dictate out numbers greater than 999 in the constructed response the first time it is used. When the student has demonstrated the knowledge of this convention on more than one occasion, the student does not need to continue demonstration or dictating out the numbers.

To maintain the student's fluency of thought and to allow the student to demonstrate the requisite knowledge and skill in English-language arts and Mathematics conventions, the scribe shall adhere to one of the following processes.

Audio Recorder

Student dictates response into audio recorder (e.g., tape recorder, etc.)

  • The scribe allows the student to dictate the entire response without interruption.
  • The scribe does not prompt the student in any way that would result in a better response.
  • The scribe transcribes a draft of the student's recorded response exactly as dictated.
  • The student provides letter-by-letter spelling for each word in the draft of the written response according to the section labeled Scribing the Student's Constructed Response (Writing Task).
  • The scribe edits the draft of the response as dictated by the student.
  • The student views the draft and/or listens to the scribe as the scribe reads the draft of the written response.
  • The student indicates edits (e.g., paragraph structure, punctuation, capitalization, number alignment, etc.) to the scribe.
  • The scribe edits the final written response and transfers it verbatim onto the student's answer document.
  • The scribe returns the audiotape and all drafts and test materials to DRC proctor or testing coordinator.

Direct to Scribe

Student dictates response directly to scribe.

  • The scribe allows the student to dictate the entire response without interruption.
  • The scribe does not prompt the student in any way that would result in a better response.
  • The scribe transcribes a draft of the student's response exactly as dictated without including any conventions other than spelling.
  • The scribe reads the draft to the student without vocal inflection that would indicate punctuation or alert the student to possible mistakes. The student then provides letter-by-letter spelling for each word and specific number dictation and conventions in the response according to the section labeled Scribing the Student's Constructed Response.
  • The scribe edits the draft of the response as dictated by the student.
  • The student views the draft and/or listens to the scribe as the scribe reads the draft of the written response.
  • The student indicates additional edits (e.g., paragraph structure, punctuation, capitalization, etc.) to the scribe.
  • The scribe records the final written response and transfers it verbatim onto the student's answer document.
  • The scribe returns all drafts and test materials to the DRC proctor or testing coordinator.
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