Accessibility in exams for students with English as an additional language - Executive summary, introduction and access arrangements

Oct 20, 2026

This review summarises key findings on exam accessibility for students with English as an additional language (EAL) and outlines priorities for future exploration. It explains how accessibility depends chiefly on students’ English proficiency and the linguistic complexity used in assessments, while reviewing existing access arrangements and factors influencing attainment. It contextualises learner heterogeneity, including classification beyond proficiency, demographic differences, and exam participation conditions in England.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages11

Reading Time28 min

AccessFree to download

Executive summary

Introduction

Access arrangements

Accessibility in exams for students with English as an additional language Research and Innovation Lisa Backhouse | Terminology used in this document: abbreviations and definitions | | --- | | English as an additional language (EAL)
EAL describes a heterogenous group of students for whom English is in addition to another language (or languages) used at home or in their community. For some students, English is their dominant language and other languages are spoken elsewhere in their lives; for other students, school will be their first and main source of exposure to English.
Basic interpersonal communication skills
The linguistic skills used in everyday, social face-to-face interactions.
Cognitive academic language proficiency
Refers to the academic language, both written and verbal, that is used in educational settings.
First language English (FLE)
Modern foreign languages (MFL)
Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)
Special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) | Executive summary This review summarises the key findings around exam accessibility for students with English as an additional language (EAL) and identifies areas for future exploration. It is part of a series of literature reviews shaped by Ofqual’s consultation on designing and developing accessible assessments. Other reviews focus on students with learning difficulties, students with hearing impairment, students with visual impairment, students on the autism spectrum, and students with different cultural backgrounds. Learners with EAL are a heterogenous group of students for whom English is in addition to another language (or languages) used at home or in their community. There are two key factors affecting exam accessibility for learners with EAL: the first is a student’s level of English proficiency and the second is the complexity of the language used in assessments. This review explores these issues, looking at existing access arrangements as well as factors that can impact attainment. Introduction Approximately 17.5% of students (some 623,631) in all state-funded and independent secondary schools in England are recorded as learners with EAL (Department for Education [DfE], 2022 ; Leung et al. , 2021; National Association for Language Development in the Curriculum [NALDIC], 2012 ; The Bell Foundation, 2015) . This group of students speak more than 320 different languages, demonstrating the heterogeneity of learners categorised as using EAL (Leung et al. , 2021; Smith, 2022; Strand et al. , 2015) . In England, students are recorded as learners with EAL to reflect exposure to a language other than English at home or in their community (DfE, 2022) . It is important to note that classification as a learner with EAL is not itself an indication of a level of proficiency in English language (The Bell Foundation, 2015) . On the one hand, it encompasses students who are fluently bilingual in English and at least one other language; for example, second or third generation ethnic minority students who may be exposed to a language other than English as part of their cultural heritage but who use English as their everyday language. On the other hand, EAL categorisation includes migrants who have arrived in England, are new to English, and may have received varying levels of schooling in their country of origin and during periods of migration (Strand et al. , 2015) . There are several factors that contribute to the heterogeneity of learners with EAL. Numerous studies report on the intersectionality between socioeconomic background and language, finding that learners with EAL living in the least deprived areas of England are more likely to be assessed at a high level of English language proficiency (competent or fluent) compared to learners with EALin the most deprived areas of England (DfE, 2020) . There is also a north–south regional divide: 66% of learners with EAL living in the South East and 65% in London are asses

FAQs

What are the two main factors affecting exam accessibility for learners with EAL?

The review identifies English proficiency level and the complexity of the language used in assessments as the two key factors shaping exam accessibility.

Does being classified as a learner with EAL indicate a student’s English proficiency?

No. Classification as EAL reflects exposure to a language other than English at home or in the community and does not itself indicate proficiency in English.

What access arrangements do exam boards commonly use for learners with EAL?

Common arrangements include use of a bilingual translation dictionary and provision of extra time, with extra time dependent on student circumstances and their usual way of working.

Oct 20, 2026

Uploaded by Jordan Avery