Disabled Candidates
Testing People with Disabilities
You may be concerned about using our tests with people who have disabilities and want to ensure that the testing process will allow them to demonstrate their full potential.
As people with disabilities are not a homogenous group, it will usually be necessary to make individual arrangements for each candidate. However the following information can be used as a general guide and, if you have any particular concerns, we are always available at TMO to provide advice.
What is disability?
The Disability Discrimination Act (1995) defines disability as a "physical or mental impairment which has substantial and long-term adverse effect on the ability to carry out normal day to day activities". The phrase "long-term" refers to impairment that has lasted at least 12 months, or is likely to last 12 months or is likely to recur.
The act makes it unlawful to discriminate against individual disabled people and this applies to recruitment, selection, opportunities for training, promotion and redundancies.
Making arrangements
When psychometric testing is used during the selection or guidance process, it should, as far as possible, be free of any condition that places a disabled person at a substantial disadvantage. Thus the employer must consider whether the disabled person could meet the job-related criteria by way of a 'reasonable adjustment' being made either to the testing procedure or to the job itself.
Initially you will need to communicate with the individual well in advance of the test session. The person themselves will be able to tell you what adjustments to the testing process they will need and what special assistance would be most appropriate for them. You should also make certain that the selected test venue will allow the individual physical access and the ability to operate independently. Depending on the extent of the disability, it may also be expedient to schedule a one-to-one test session.
Good practice dictates that all candidates should be able to complete some practice tests before the test session. This is even more the case for disabled people who will find the test situation less stressful if they are already familiar with the assessment tasks.
Making the adjustments
It is important to remember that people may have more than one type of disability or difficulty. As such, they may require a number of different adjustments to be made for them. However, here are some examples of the types of adjustments that you could make:
Visual impairment
Candidates may have various levels of visual impairment and possible adjustments could be:
- using large print test booklets - available from us at standard cost.
- providing a reader.
- allowing the candidate to speak the responses.
- providing a well lit venue.
- organising a pre- test visit to the test venue.
Learning disability
This refers to difficulties with receiving, processing, expressing or retrieving information. It may affect such things as spelling, grammar, number work, understanding instructions and spatial function. Possible adjustments could be:
- providing a reader.
- allowing the candidate to speak the responses.
- providing a separate test venue.
Hearing impairment
People can have varying levels of hearing loss. Depending on the extent of hearing loss, possible adjustments could be:
- if candidate lip reads, facing candidate and speaking clearly.
- producing all instructions in writing - these instructions are available from us.
- providing an administrator who can use sign language.
Physical disability
The impairment may involve the inability to move some parts of the body or to co-ordinate movement. Possible adjustments could include:
- providing a scribe.
- allowing the candidate to speak the responses or to use a tape recorder.
- providing additional breaks.
- using suitable furniture.
- providing adequate space.
Chronic medical conditions
Candidates with some medical conditions may experience fatigue, discomfort, pain or limited concentration. They may also be unable to sit during the period of the test. Possible adjustments could be:
- providing a scribe.
- allowing the candidate to speak the responses or to use a tape recorder.
- providing additional breaks.
- allowing individuals to move around.
Mental illness
Candidates with mental illness may have any of a range of problems which may affect concentration, or the ability to express themselves. These types of disabilities may also attenuate the candidate's performance under test conditions, especially if the individual is taking medication. Possible adjustments could include:
- providing additional rest breaks.
- having flexible timing, including split sessions.
- having a separate venue.
Whatever the disability, if at all possible, the test session should be administered under standard time constraints. However it may be appropriate to allow the person with disabilities more time to complete each test. In this case, you should ask candidates to mark the test papers when the normal time is up. You could then allow them to continue with the test until their motivation changes and they are ready to move onto the next test.
It should be borne in mind that the disadvantage of this approach is that it will increase test time quite considerably and therefore it may not be suitable for all candidates.
As people with disabilities are all different, it would be inappropriate to establish a special norm group for them.
Each candidate's needs should be considered on an individual basis; it may be possible for example, to use the same norm groups as for the general population as a whole, but at the same time allowing for a band of error of two [instead of one] SEMs around a score. On the other hand it may be more appropriate to use an ipsative rather than a normative approach when interpreting the disabled person's test results.
Final comments
These guidelines are intended to help you test people with disabilities and to try and ensure that they are not disadvantaged during a Morrisby test session.
We will be pleased to discuss with you at any time specific concerns that you may have.
