Does Quest offer text to speech and colour overlays?
Where text to speech currently stands, and how to use colour overlays for candidates who need them.
Text to speech
There are two options available for applicants who require the assessment to be read aloud.
A member of staff can act as a 1:1 Reader to read aloud the assessment to the student. It is recommended that students working with a 1:1 Reader do so in a private room so as to not disrupt other students. Readers may only read out what is written on the screen and may not explain any technical language. Readers should not read aloud the English comprehension text, or Creative Comprehension sources.
Alternatively, the student can use headphones and have the questions read aloud to them on Quest using text-to-speech. If a student requires text-to-speech to be enabled for their assessment this must be arranged in advance with Quest. Please contact the team at support@questassessments.com.
Students with this feature enabled will see an audio icon next to questions. Selecting this icon will read the text aloud to them. When selecting an answer option, this will also be read aloud. The invigilator should ensure that any student using this feature has access to headphones to listen to the audio.
Extra Time
Extra Time can be configured by navigating to the 'Applicant' page on Quest, and selecting 'edit' on the applicant who requires extra time. Include the extra time as a number under the field for Extra Time. For example, '25' in this box will allocate 25% extra time on all assessments this candidate completes.
Extra Time can be configured up to the point the candidate starts an assessment. If an assessment is already in progress, Extra Time can not be granted to the subject an applicant is currently sitting.
Colour overlays
All modern devices offer colour overlay settings in the accessibility settings of the device. If you are unsure how to access this, please contact a member of the Quest team, or your own IT team, for support.
If the device does not have colour overlay available, there are free browser plug-ins that apply a colour overlay across the whole screen, including the candidate's test. As a low-tech alternative, you can also buy physical colour screens that sit over the monitor. Whichever route you take, it is worth confirming the most suitable setting with your SENDCo or the family.