RACE for dyslexic students must be prioritised for State Exams in 2025 – Lombard

Students with dyslexia due to begin their Leaving and Junior Cert examinations next year must be allowed to be on a level playing field with their peers, a Fine Gael Senator has said.

Senator Tim Lombard and General Election candidate for Cork South West said that on average, 10% of the population are dyslexic, so over 13,000 of students sitting state exams in June 2025 will be dyslexic.

Senator Lombard said: “We saw the best of RTE last week with a brilliant programme called ‘Lost for Words’, which featured children, teens and adults who are dyslexic, each describing how they learn in a different way.

“We all strive for equal opportunity in education and all students need to be supported in reaching their potential. For students with dyslexia, this means making changes to the Reasonable Accommodations at Certificate Examinations (RACE) scheme to grant additional time in State Examinations and introducing mandatory modules dedicated to the identification and support of dyslexia as part of all teacher training undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

“Slower reading, spelling and writing speeds are some of the challenges experienced by dyslexic students, often accompanied by difficulty with memory and processing speed. Therefore, these students are disadvantaged in timed exams and unable to demonstrate their full subject knowledge in the limited time allowed.

“Year on year, it’s extremely frustrating for students, parents, teachers who repeatedly call for these changes, to no avail. Dyslexia Ireland has run a significant campaign, including a petition signed by over 30,000 people, highlighting why the lack of additional time as an accommodation here is unfair and out of line with the UK and other European countries. It’s also out of step with third level institutions here who do offer additional time to dyslexic students.

“While I acknowledge that the State Examination Commission will consider a review of additional time as part of an overall review of the Reasonable Accommodations in State Examinations (RACE) scheme, the timeline for this review is expected to be a minimum of two to three years. This is extremely disappointing and no use to students sitting next year’s state exams.

“The Minister for Education must ensure that the review of the RACE scheme; including the consideration of additional time, is prioritised and takes place before the State Examinations in 2025. October is dyslexia awareness month and I’ll be working with Dyslexia Ireland over the coming weeks to increase awareness and keep these priorities on the political agenda.”