[senco-forum] JCQ and gel pens (was: Exam Access Arrangements)

Please do pursue this matter.

Aly wrote:

> Please do pursue this matter.

Don't worry, there is no way I'm going to let this matter drop. As to
how I pursue this further, well I don't want to take up an overly
adversarial stance ...at least not initially. Rather I'd prefer this
issue of gel pens to have the potential of becoming an exemplar of
good practice regarding how 'commonsense solutions' can be negotiated
that work for all interested parties regarding accommodations for SEN
and disability.

> You may want to include along the lines of  the
> following in your reply.

> "This is  not the case since the Disability
> Discrimination Act is in place to  allow candidates to access the
> examination without gaining an unfair  advantage."

> I hardly think gel pens are an unfair advantage, though by preventing those
> who need them for ease of writing, this is indeed discriminatory and placing
> them at a disadvantage.

Yes perhaps. But the key phrase that needs to be addressed first in
the JCQ's response is;

  "We are unsure what advantage you feel the use of a gel pen gives
  candidates.

...in other words they have now admitted in writing they have failed
to address the disability implications of their gel pens ruling. Yet
despite this admission still they chose to reaffirm their current
position. Clearly this omission is an unequivocal breach of their
obligations under the DDA (Disability Discrimination Act).

> "For example, if a candidate has problems using a pen they may apply
> to use a scribe to record their answers.

The nature of this response in regard to gel pens also has serious
implications for other SEN and disability exam accommodations, such as
the criteria they use to assess a candidate's need to have a scribe.
For if they are not in the habit of addressing the real needs of
disabled and SEN candidates then what guarantee do we have that any of
their accommodation criteria are fair and adequately satisfy the DDA?

> Having been a scribe I know this takes practice for the pupil and to
> dictate to someone unfamilair "cold" would again put them at a
> distinct disadvantage...

Now this point highlights the need to have the JCQ negotiate sensible
accommodations in regard to gel pens and publish these well in time
for the next exam season, which begins in January. So when I respond
to this ruling I shall make it clear that 'Time is now of the Essence'
as all centres will need to receive notification of any potential
update of the JCQ regulations by December 1st at the very latest. This
means the JCQ will need to come to a more sensible decision by
November 1st to allow the exam boards sufficient time to prepare a
mailing to all schools. If on the other hand the regulations are not
changed then centres must still be given sufficient time to submit
lists of candidates who wish to be allowed to use gel pens as an
individually negotiated disability concession, as is both standard
practice and a requirement of the DDA.

So what can you do to help? Start compiling a list of all your January
and summer SEN exam candidates who normally benefit from using a gel
pen. Then before the appropriate deadline submit these to the exam
boards with a request for these students to use gel pens as a special
accommodation ...and then sit back and see what the exam boards make
of this.

As for the reason given for banning 'gel pens', well this is erroneous
as fading or transparency of the ink when heated is not related to the
use of a 'gel' as the transport medium of the ink from pen to paper.
Rather this non-lightfastness is related to the quality of pigments
suspended within the gel.

Hence ball-point, felt (and fibre) tip and even conventional fountain
pens are just as likely to be affected by the action of heat when
papers are passed through a scanner. With this in mind perhaps the JCQ
should extend their position to its logical conclusion and also ban
the use of fountain, fibre, felt and ball point (Biro type) pens as
well, leaving pencils and crayons as the only approved writing
implements allowed for exam use.

...mind you they'd also have to ban pencil sharpeners as well because
peelings trapped between the sheets of exam answer papers can clog up
scanning equipment and also cause erroneous marks to appear on the
scanned image. Therefore students must bring with them to the exam
room sufficient quantities of pencils and crayons, so if the tip
blunts or breaks these can simply be replaced with a fresh
sharp-pointed writing implement.

David Bowles

PS: Have you noticed any writing penned with a dark blue or black gel
pen that become transparent when fed into a hot modern photocopier --
one that electronically scans the image before printing it out? I
haven't. Perhaps you can try this and let me know the result.

PPS: I suspect the real problem is that some gel pens used in exams
are filled with 'disappearing ink', probably lent to candidates by
naughty classmates who did this "...for a good laugh!". I remember
this used to be a problem with a certain novelty brand of ball-point
pens a few years ago, which caused banks considerable problems with
signatures on cheques and other documents that went blank a short
while after they'd been signed.

PPPS: The only other explanation is that it's become fashionable for
some gel pens sets to include some with ink that has a very light
colour (especially light yellow) that's very hard for copiers and
scanning equipment to pick out.