About SAC
Submissions for Special Assessment Conditions (SAC) are made by schools to NZQA on behalf of students. SAC support is available for both internal and external assessments (exams).
Some examples of SAC:
- special papers for vision-impaired students
- writers or readers for students with learning disorders, such as dyslexia
- rest breaks for students with diabetes
- separate accommodation for students with anxiety disorders.
NZQA's SAC rules
Our rules about the provision of Special Assessment Conditions are published annually.
Read the SAC Rules in Schedule 3 of the Assessment Rules for Schools, TEOs assessing against Achievement Standards, and Candidates 2023:
Go to Schedule 3: Candidate Special Assessment Conditions Processes
On this page
Who is eligible for SAC?
Students with a permanent or long-term sensory, physical, medical or learning difficulty that directly impacts on their access to fair assessment for national qualifications may be eligible for Special Assessment Conditions, or SAC.
SAC entitlements give students access to different types of support so they can complete internal and external assessments (exams).
Who to talk to at school about SAC
It is important that you raise any learning concerns that you may have for your child with the school as soon as possible. This is best done at enrolment.
Please provide the school with copies of any medical or other reports that might help your application.
People at school you can contact include:
- the school office
- your child’s Form Teacher
- the year level Dean
- the Head of Learning Support
- the Special Education Needs Coordinator
- the Learning Support Coordinator
- the school Guidance Counsellor
- the School Nurse.
Useful documents
Information to provide to your school
Student SAC Historical Record [DOCX, 14 KB]
Student SAC Historical Record (Te Reo Maori) [DOCX, 15 KB]
Student Application for entitlement to Special Assessment Conditions [DOC, 46 KB]
Student Application for entitlement to Special Assessment Conditions (Te Reo Maori) [DOC, 51 KB]
How to support your child
There are a number of ways to support your child.
Talk with your child about SAC options
Discuss with your child which SAC may be of most help to them in the external assessment (exams).
Students may choose to use different SACs for different exams. For example, they may use a computer for one exam and a writer for another.
Your child’s school will inform NZQA of your child’s choices.
Talk to the school about concerns or changes
Talk to the school about any concerns you have and keep them informed of any progress, medication changes or deterioration in behaviour or condition.
Encourage your child to talk to their teachers
Encourage your child to discuss their need for help with their subject teachers.
Work on exercises at home
Try specific activities, procedures or exercises at home that are recommended by the school, specialists or psychologists. For example, if your child has entitlement for a computer, try improving keyboard skills so they're more able to work independently.
Ask for different standard options for your child
A standard measures what a student knows and can do in a subject. Year 11 to Year 13 students complete standards to achieve the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA).
Be aware that your child might not be able to achieve some NCEA standards as the objectives of some standards need the student to do the activity. For example, a student may have to read and not listen to a reader or do something and not instruct someone else how to do it.
Some other standards have partial exclusions, for example, a writer may not be allowed to draw maps or graphs, or a reader may not be allowed to speak in a specific language if that skill is what is being assessed.
Check with your school for possible alternative standards your child might access for the course if this is the case.
Also, check when SAC is not allowed for some assessments:
Assessments where SAC provision is not appropriate or not allowed
If your child is in Years 9 or 10 the school will be building a profile of their difficulties and how they are managing. This profile helps build an informed application for SAC use for NCEA Level 1.
As part of this, your child may be asked to do some class assessments by themselves or with assistance to trial the use of SAC.
How SAC submissions are made
Schools make submissions to NZQA for SAC on behalf of students. There is no charge for this process. Students give the school signed approval before the school sends the submission to NZQA.
NZQA does not require independent reports from professionals to support a SAC submission in most cases. However, if already available, these are useful for the school to provide as evidence.
The school can gather information for evidence in a number of ways, including:
- the student’s history of learning support provided at school
- comments and observations from teachers, the student and their parents or caregivers
- medical or other reports provided by the student or their parents or caregivers
- test results done by the school, for example, reading and writing tests
- results of any trials of SAC.
NZQA assessors may approve, amend or decline all or any of the SACs requested for your child on the basis of the information provided.
Approval means students are entitled to use the SAC for internal and external assessment for that year.
Reasons for declining SAC
SAC may be declined because of any of the following:
- another approved SAC fulfils the need
- the information provided does not show the need
- the SAC requested would give an advantage to the applicant.
Schools may appeal declined SACs if more information can be provided to support reconsideration.
Continuing SAC each year
New submissions for SAC do not have to be made in subsequent years for approval by NZQA. SAC entitlements are approved for the full period that a student is at school while the need remains.
At the start of each new year, the school conducts a needs analysis to determine whether the current SAC entitlements remain appropriate. If they are, then the school rolls the SAC entitlements over so that they can be used by the student in the new year.
Your child can choose to decline the ongoing SAC entitlement. In this case, the school will not roll the entitlement over into the new year.
Changes to SAC entitlements
If a change to SAC entitlements is needed, this request is submitted to NZQA who will assess the new request and either approve or decline it. Declined applications can be reviewed.
If a student transfers schools, inform the new school at enrolment that the student has a SAC entitlement. The school will then ask NZQA to transfer the SAC entitlement to the new school’s SAC list. No new submission to NZQA is needed in this case.
Contact the SAC team
If you have a question or feedback, contact the SAC team at sac@nzqa.govt.nz