Dyslexia in the classroom: a practical guide for teachers
In almost every class there is a student who understands the lesson but loses marks because of reading, spelling or handwriting. They are not asking for an easier test: they are asking to be assessed on what they know. This guide is for teachers in the United States and teachers in the United Kingdom: what the rules expect from you, how to put a support plan into practice, how to prepare accessible lessons and tests, and what to do about maps, extra time and marking.
Rules differ between countries, between US states and between the four UK nations. The guide explains the general framework; sources are at the end.
In short: what the rules expect from you
| United States | United Kingdom (England) | |
|---|---|---|
| Main law | IDEA (special education) and Section 504 / ADA (accommodations) | Children and Families Act 2014 and the SEND Code of Practice (2015) |
| The plan | IEP or 504 plan | SEN support plan at school; EHC plan for greater needs |
| Who leads it | IEP team or 504 coordinator | The SENCo, with class teachers |
| Your role | Member of the IEP team; you implement the accommodations | You are responsible for the progress of every pupil in your class |
| Before diagnosis | RTI / MTSS: early, tiered support | Graduated approach: assess, plan, do, review |
| Exams | State tests follow the IEP or 504 plan | JCQ access arrangements, based on the “normal way of working” |
First of all: what you are dealing with
Dyslexia makes accurate and fluent reading and spelling harder; it is the most common of the specific learning differences (in the UK, SpLDs; in US law, specific learning disability). Others are dysgraphia (handwriting), dyscalculia (numbers) and, often alongside them, attention difficulties (ADHD).
Two points to keep in mind: dyslexia has nothing to do with intelligence, and it does not go away. The goal of support is not to make the difficulty disappear, but to stop it from hiding what the student actually knows.
In the United States
IDEA, IEPs and your place on the team
Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), dyslexia falls under the category “specific learning disability”. A student found eligible receives an Individualized Education Program (IEP), with goals, services and accommodations.
The IEP team must include at least one general education teacher of the student if the student is, or may be, in general education classes. That is often you. Bring concrete examples: work samples, test results, what helps and what does not.
Once the IEP is signed, its accommodations are not optional: every teacher who works with the student must know them and apply them. Ask for a copy, or at least a summary of the accommodations that concern your subject.
504 plans
Students who do not need specially designed instruction but do need accommodations to access lessons can have a 504 plan, under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the ADA. Reading and learning are recognised as major life activities. As with an IEP, the teacher’s job is to apply it in every lesson and every test, not only in “big” exams.
RTI, MTSS and structured literacy
Many schools use Response to Intervention (RTI) or a wider Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS): all students are screened, those who struggle receive more targeted, more intensive teaching, and progress is monitored. IDEA allows a school to use a student’s response to intervention as part of identifying a learning disability.
One limit to remember: RTI must not be used to delay or deny an evaluation. If a parent asks for one, or you suspect a disability, the request goes forward even while the intervention continues.
For reading, the approach recommended by the International Dyslexia Association is structured literacy: explicit, systematic teaching of phonology, sound–letter correspondence, syllables, morphology, syntax and meaning.
State tests
Accommodations for statewide and district assessments must be written in the IEP (or the 504 plan), and they should match what the student uses in class during the year. A tool introduced for the first time on test day helps very little.
In the United Kingdom
The system below is England’s. Scotland (Additional Support for Learning), Wales (Additional Learning Needs, with Individual Development Plans) and Northern Ireland have their own laws and codes, but the role of the class teacher is similar.
“Every teacher is a teacher of SEND”
The SEND Code of Practice is clear: teachers are responsible and accountable for the progress of all pupils in their class, including those with special educational needs, even when they also receive help from teaching assistants or specialist staff. High-quality teaching, adapted to the pupil, is the first step in responding to SEN. This is why the phrase “every teacher is a teacher of SEND” is so often used.
The SENCo and the graduated approach
Every school has a SENCo (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator), who coordinates support and advises colleagues. When a pupil is identified as needing SEN support, the school follows the graduated approach, a cycle of four steps:
| Step | What the class teacher does |
|---|---|
| Assess | Shares observations, work and assessment data with the SENCo |
| Plan | Agrees with the SENCo, pupil and parents what support will be given and what outcomes are expected |
| Do | Delivers the support in everyday lessons, and links it to any interventions outside the classroom |
| Review | Reports on progress, usually each term, and helps decide what to change |
A pupil does not need a formal diagnosis to receive SEN support.
SEN support or EHC plan
Most dyslexic pupils are well supported at SEN support. When needs are greater and progress is still very limited, the school or the parents can ask the local authority for an Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment, which can lead to a legally binding EHC plan. Your records from the graduated approach are part of the evidence.
Exams: access arrangements and the “normal way of working”
For GCSEs and A levels, adjustments are called access arrangements and follow the rules of the JCQ (Joint Council for Qualifications): extra time, a reader or computer reader, a scribe or speech-to-text, a word processor, rest breaks, a separate room.
The key principle is that an arrangement must reflect the candidate’s normal way of working. The school must hold evidence that the pupil has a genuine need and that the arrangement is used in class, in internal tests and in mock exams. In practice, you produce much of that evidence. If extra time or a word processor is never used in your lessons, the school may not be able to apply for it.
In class: small choices that help everyone
Many things that help a student with dyslexia make the lesson clearer for the whole class:
- Instructions written and spoken, one at a time, in short sentences.
- Digital materials with real text: a PDF made from a scan is an image, and text-to-speech cannot read it. Export documents from Word or Google Docs, or share the original file.
- Slides and materials in advance, so the student can listen to them beforehand or follow them with text-to-speech.
- A legible layout: sans-serif font, at least 12–14 points, generous line spacing, left-aligned, no long passages in capitals or italics. See fonts for dyslexia.
- An outline at the start of the lesson and a summary at the end.
- No surprise reading aloud in front of the class: for a student with dyslexia it is a public test, not an exercise.
- No fast dictation and no copying from the board: hand-outs, files or a photo of the board instead.
- Allow the lesson to be recorded, if the plan provides for it, for personal study only.
The full list of tools is in the guide assistive tools for dyslexia.
In tests: what matters
| Measure | How to put it into practice |
|---|---|
| Extra time | The amount written in the plan (often 25% or 50%). Alternatively, if the plan allows, fewer questions with the same objectives |
| Questions read aloud | By the teacher, or with text-to-speech and headphones |
| Tests announced in advance | Dates known early, avoiding several tests on the same day |
| Test maps and formula sheets | Prepared by the student, checked by the teacher, available during the test, if the plan allows |
| Oral instead of written | When writing stops the student from showing what they know |
| Accessible test paper | Large font, white space, one question per line, one instruction per sentence |
| Structured questions | Multiple choice, true/false, gap fill: less writing for the same content |
| Technology | Word processor with spell checker, calculator, text-to-speech, speech-to-text |
A tip: write one test for everyone, then adapt it (layout, fewer questions, questions read aloud). The student does not feel set apart.
“But isn’t the map cheating?”
It is the most common question, and an understandable one. A test map compensates for the difficulty of retrieving from memory words, dates, formulas and sequences; it does not replace studying. Where the plan allows it, a good test map should:
- be made by the student, not downloaded or made by someone else;
- contain key words, formulas and diagrams, not whole sentences;
- be checked by the teacher before the test (many sign or initial it);
- fit on one sheet.
If the map already contains the answers, the problem is usually the test: questions that ask students to reason, connect and explain cannot be answered with key words alone. The guide concept maps for dyslexia explains how to make one.
Marking content, not form
- Spelling mistakes should not lower the mark when the task assesses content (history, science, a reading comprehension). If a task assesses spelling itself, say so in advance.
- Handwriting is not the point: if it is hard to read, let the student type, or read back what they wrote.
- In foreign languages, give more weight to listening and speaking where possible, and be consistent with the plan for written work.
- In oral questions, give time to answer, accept short correct answers, and do not penalise trouble recalling names and dates when the concept is clear.
- Give feedback in two parts: one on content, one (if needed) on form, so the student sees what they actually got right.
The “Tools I use” sheet
More and more students bring their teachers a one-page list of the tools they use: text-to-speech, lesson recording, a test map, extra time. It is a good starting point, especially for a substitute or a new teacher.
Frequently asked questions
How much extra time should I give? The amount written in the IEP, 504 plan or support plan. For JCQ exams in England, the usual arrangement is 25%, but the school decides on the basis of evidence.
Isn’t it unfair on the other students? No: accommodations do not give an advantage, they remove a disadvantage. A classmate without dyslexia does not go faster with text-to-speech. Explaining this to the class, if the student agrees, helps avoid comments.
What if a student struggles but has no diagnosis? In the US, tell your school’s team: the student may need RTI/MTSS support and, if a disability is suspected, an evaluation. In England, talk to the SENCo: SEN support does not require a diagnosis.
The student does not want to use the tools in front of classmates. It is common, especially with teenagers. Make the tools normal: digital materials for everyone, headphones allowed for all in listening tasks, outlines offered to the whole class. And ask the student, privately, what would make them more comfortable.
The most common mistakes
- Not reading the plan, or reading it only before exams.
- Accommodations applied by some teachers and not others.
- Marking spelling in a history essay.
- Refusing a test map as “cheating” without having seen it first.
- No record of the normal way of working (UK): without it, exam access arrangements may be refused.
- Scanned PDF hand-outs, which text-to-speech cannot read.
For the family’s side of the process, see the dyslexia guide for parents.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): 34 CFR §300.8(c)(10) (specific learning disability), §300.307–311 (identification, including response to intervention), §300.320(a)(6) (accommodations in state and district assessments), §300.321 (IEP team, general education teacher). sites.ed.gov/idea
- U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, Protecting Students with Disabilities (Section 504). ed.gov
- International Dyslexia Association, Structured Literacy. dyslexiaida.org
- Department for Education, SEND Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years (2015): chapter 6 (schools, high-quality teaching, the SENCo, the graduated approach), chapter 9 (EHC needs assessments and plans). gov.uk
- JCQ, Adjustments for candidates with disabilities and learning difficulties: Access Arrangements and Reasonable Adjustments (updated every year). jcq.org.uk
- British Dyslexia Association, information for educators. bdadyslexia.org.uk
- This guide explains the general rules and does not replace the school’s policies, the student’s plan or professional advice. Rules vary between US states and between the four UK nations.
Verba Manent puts every assistive tool in one place
The tools in order: in class, after the lecture, for the test, for your teacher.
The lecturer's real voice with the words lighting up.
An A4 sheet with key words and formulas, with name and class.
The sheet for your school plan or university.
