Assistive Technology in Exam Assessment: School-Based Experience Research | 辅助技术用于考试评估的学校经验研究

📚 Assistive Technology in Exam Assessment: School-Based Experience Research | 辅助技术用于考试评估的学校经验研究

Assistive technology (AT) in examination assessment sits at the intersection of inclusion policy, psychometrics and everyday school logistics. This article synthesises what school-based experience research has found about how AT is requested, trialled, approved, delivered and evaluated during high-stakes examinations, and it shows how students can use this evidence in extended essays, coursework and A-level examination answers.

考试评估中的辅助技术处在融合教育政策、心理测量学与学校日常后勤的交汇点上。本文综合校本经验研究所揭示的结论，说明辅助技术在高考、会考等高利害考试中如何被申请、试用、审批、实施与评估，并展示学生如何在论文写作、课程作业与 A-level 答题中运用这些证据。

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1. Why This Topic Deserves Research Attention | 为什么这一主题值得研究

Assessment is the point at which inclusion promises are tested most harshly. A student may use a laptop, speech-to-text software or a reader throughout their school career, yet find that the same tool is restricted, unfamiliar or unusable on the day of a formal examination. School-based experience research asks a simple but powerful question: what actually happens inside schools when assistive technology meets assessment regulation?

评估是融合教育承诺受到最严峻检验的环节。一名学生可能在整个求学过程中使用笔记本电脑、语音转文字软件或朗读员，却发现在正式考试当天，同样的工具被限制、不熟悉或无法使用。校本经验研究提出了一个简单却有力的问题：当辅助技术遇上评估规章时，学校内部究竟发生了什么？

The value of school-level evidence is that it captures the gap between policy text and classroom reality. National regulations usually describe entitlements in abstract terms, while schools must translate them into timetables, trained staff, charged devices and reliable internet. Research conducted inside schools documents that translation process, including its failures.

校本证据的价值在于它能捕捉政策文本与课堂现实之间的落差。国家层面的规章通常以抽象措辞描述权利，而学校必须把它们转化为课表、受训人员、充满电的设备与稳定的网络。在学校内部开展的研究记录了这一转化过程，包括其中的失败。

For A-level students studying Education, Psychology or Sociology, this topic is unusually productive because it combines quantitative evidence (attainment data, effect sizes) with qualitative evidence (interviews, observation), allowing genuine methodological discussion rather than description alone.

对于学习 A-level 教育、心理或社会学的学生而言，这一主题极具价值，因为它同时结合了量化证据（成绩数据、效应量）与质性证据（访谈、观察），从而可以展开真正的方法论讨论，而不只是描述。

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2. Defining Assistive Technology in Assessment | 界定评估情境中的辅助技术

Assistive technology is any item, piece of equipment, software or product system that increases, maintains or improves the functional capabilities of a learner with a disability or additional need. In assessment, the definition narrows to tools that alter how a candidate accesses a question, processes it or records an answer, without altering what is being measured.

辅助技术是指任何能够增加、维持或改善残障或有额外需求学习者功能能力的物品、设备、软件或产品系统。在评估情境中，该定义收窄为：改变考生获取题目、加工题目或记录答案方式的工具，但不改变所测量的内容。

A distinction is essential: assistive technology is not the same as an access arrangement. Access arrangements are the formal permissions granted by an awarding body (extra time, a scribe, a separate room). Assistive technology is the physical or digital means through which some of those arrangements are delivered. A word processor granted as an arrangement becomes AT in practice when it includes spell-check disabled, predictive text barred and screen-reader compatibility confirmed.

有一个区分至关重要：辅助技术并不等同于考试便利安排。便利安排是颁证机构正式批准的许可（如延长作答时间、使用代笔者、单独考场）；辅助技术则是实现其中某些安排的物理或数字手段。当考试机构批准使用文字处理机时，若同时要求关闭拼写检查、禁用预测输入并确认朗读软件兼容性，它在实践中就成为了一项辅助技术。

Two further terms recur in the literature. Low-tech AT includes coloured overlays, enlarged print, sloped writing boards and tactile rulers. High-tech AT includes screen readers, speech recognition, word prediction, refreshable braille displays and computer-based examination platforms. School experience research consistently finds that low-tech solutions are implemented more reliably than high-tech ones, chiefly because they require less infrastructure.

文献中还有两个反复出现的术语。低技术辅助工具包括彩色滤光片、放大字体、倾斜书写板与触觉直尺；高技术辅助工具包括屏幕朗读软件、语音识别、词语预测、可刷新盲文显示器与机考平台。校本经验研究一致发现，低技术方案的落实比高技术方案更可靠，主要原因是其对基础设施的依赖更少。

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3. The Policy Landscape Schools Must Navigate | 学校必须应对的政策图景

Schools rarely operate a single rulebook. In England and Wales, JCQ regulations govern access arrangements and require evidence of normal way of working, typically gathered over the two years before the examination series. In the United States, the IDEA and Section 504 framework, together with ADA requirements, place AT provision inside the Individualised Education Program, while the Every Student Succeeds Act shapes assessment participation decisions.

学校很少只遵循一套规则。在英格兰和威尔士，JCQ 规章规范考试便利安排，并要求提供”一贯的学习方式”证据，通常需在考试季前两年内收集。在美国，IDEA 与 504 条款框架连同 ADA 要求，将辅助技术纳入个别化教育计划，而《每个学生成功法案》则影响考试参与方式的决定。

In mainland China, the Regulations on the Education of Persons with Disabilities and successive national examination accommodation circulars have progressively extended permission for extended time, separate rooms, braille papers and large-print papers, with implementation varying considerably between provinces and between the gaokao and school-level assessments.

在中国内地，《残疾人教育条例》及历次国家考试便利通知逐步扩大了延长考试时间、单独考场、盲文试卷与大字卷的许可范围，但各省之间、以及高考与校内考试之间的落实情况差异显著。

Three structural tensions appear repeatedly in school-based studies. First, evidence demands are retrospective, requiring documentation that busy schools often failed to create. Second, approval timelines are shorter than the time needed to train a student in a new tool. Third, responsibility is fragmented between SENCo, examinations officer, IT technician and subject teacher, so no single person owns the outcome.

校本研究中反复出现三种结构性张力。第一，证据要求具有追溯性，而忙碌的学校往往未能及时留存相关记录。第二，审批时间短于训练学生熟练使用新工具所需的时间。第三，责任在特教协调员、考务主任、信息技术员与学科教师之间分散，导致没有人对最终结果负全责。

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4. A Taxonomy of Tools Used in Examinations | 考试中使用的辅助技术分类

Before designing any school-based study, researchers need a workable taxonomy. The table below organises the tools most frequently reported in school experience research, together with the practical risk each one carries during a formal examination.

在设计任何校本研究之前，研究者需要一个可操作的分类框架。下表整理了校本经验研究中最常报告的工具，以及每一种在正式考试中所携带的实际风险。

Category | 类别	Examples | 示例	Typical Risk in Exams | 考试中的典型风险
Reading access | 阅读支持	Screen reader, coloured overlay, large print, reader | 屏幕朗读、彩色滤光片、大字卷、朗读员	Voice quality, unfamiliarity, time loss | 语音音质、不熟悉、耗时
Writing access | 书写支持	Word processor, scribe, speech recognition, stylus | 文字处理机、代笔者、语音识别、手写笔	Dictation accuracy, software lockdown | 听写准确度、软件锁定
Sensory substitution | 感官替代	Refreshable braille display, tactile diagrams | 可刷新盲文显示器、触觉图	Hardware failure, diagram fidelity | 硬件故障、图表还原度
Cognitive/organisation | 认知与组织	Timer, rest breaks, task planner, distraction-reduced room | 计时器、休息间歇、任务规划器、降噪考场	Supervision ambiguity, inconsistent application | 监考歧义、执行不一致

The taxonomy matters because effects are not interchangeable. Research consistently reports larger benefits for reading-access tools in subjects with heavy text load, and smaller or negligible benefits for writing-access tools when candidates are unfamiliar with the device.

该分类之所以重要，是因为不同工具的效果不可互换。研究一致报告，在文字负荷大的科目中，阅读支持类工具收益更大；而当考生对设备不熟悉时，书写支持类工具的收益较小甚至可忽略。

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5. Research Designs for Capturing School Experience | 捕捉学校经验的研究设计

School-based experience research typically uses mixed methods, because no single design can answer questions about both outcomes and mechanisms. The choice of design determines what claims a student can legitimately make in an essay.

校本经验研究通常采用混合方法，因为没有任何单一设计能同时回答”结果”与”机制”两类问题。设计的选择决定了学生在论文中能够合理地提出什么主张。

Design | 设计	What It Reveals | 能揭示什么	Main Limitation | 主要局限
Cross-sectional survey | 横断面调查	Prevalence, attitudes, perceived barriers | 普及率、态度、感知障碍	Cannot establish causation | 无法确立因果
Semi-structured interviews | 半结构化访谈	Meaning, decision reasoning, emotional impact | 意义、决策推理、情感影响	Small n, researcher bias | 样本小、研究者偏见
Longitudinal case study | 纵向个案研究	Implementation over time, institutional learning | 长期实施、机构学习	Weak generalisability | 概括性弱
Quasi-experiment | 准实验	Attainment difference with/without AT | 使用与不使用辅助技术的成绩差异	Selection bias, no randomisation | 选择偏差、无随机分配
Document analysis | 文件分析	Gap between policy and recorded practice | 政策与记录实践之间的落差	Records may be incomplete | 记录可能不完整

Where quantitative comparison is used, effect size is more informative than statistical significance alone. The standard formula for Cohen’s d is shown below.

在使用量化比较时，效应量比单纯的统计显著性更具信息价值。Cohen’s d 的标准公式如下。

d = (M₁ − M₂) ÷ SDpooled

For qualitative coding, inter-rater reliability should be reported, most commonly using Cohen’s kappa, where Pₒ is observed agreement and Pₑ is agreement expected by chance.

对于质性编码，应报告评分者间信度，最常用的是 Cohen’s kappa，其中 Pₒ 为观察一致性，Pₑ 为随机期望一致性。

κ = (Pₒ − Pₑ) ÷ (1 − Pₑ)

A further quantitative index used when comparing internal consistency of an AT attitude scale is Cronbach’s alpha, where k is the number of items, sᵢ² the variance of each item and sₜ² the variance of total scores.

在比较辅助技术态度量表的内部一致性时，另一个常用指标是 Cronbach’s alpha，其中 k 为题目数，sᵢ² 为各题方差，sₜ² 为总分方差。

α = (k ÷ (k − 1)) × (1 − Σsᵢ² ÷ sₜ²)

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6. Student Voice: What Learners Actually Report | 学生声音：学习者实际报告了什么

Across school-based studies, students describe four recurring experiences. The first is the familiarity gap: a tool used comfortably in class becomes a source of anxiety in a formal examination hall, particularly when invigilators are unfamiliar with it.

在各项校本研究中，学生描述了四种反复出现的体验。第一是熟悉度落差：在课堂上使用自如的工具，到了正式考场反而成为焦虑来源，尤其是当监考人员对该工具不熟悉时。

The second is stigma management. Several studies report that some students decline word processors or separate rooms because they fear being visibly marked out as different, a decision that later reduces their measured attainment. This is a genuine finding, not a hypothesis, and it complicates any simple claim that more AT is always better.

第二是污名管理。多项研究指出，部分学生因害怕被明显标记为”不同”而拒绝使用文字处理机或单独考场，这一决定后来降低了他们的实测成绩。这是一个真实的研究发现，而非假设，它使得”辅助技术越多越好”的简单主张变得复杂。

The third is the disclosure paradox: students who use AT most effectively tend to be those who have been involved in choosing it. Where tools are imposed by adults without consultation, take-up falls and abandonment rises.

第三是披露悖论：最有效使用辅助技术的，往往是那些参与了工具选择的学生。当工具由成人未经协商就强加时，使用率下降，弃用率上升。

The fourth is examination-day breakdown. Reports of dead batteries, missing headphones, failed logins and blocked software updates are common in school case studies, and their impact is disproportionate because they consume the time that was supposed to be the accommodation itself.

第四是考试当天的故障。电量耗尽、耳机缺失、登录失败与软件更新被阻断等报告在学校个案研究中十分常见，其影响被放大，因为它们消耗的正是本应作为便利安排的时间。

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7. Staff Perspectives: SENCos, Teachers and Invigilators | 教职工视角：特教协调员、教师与监考员

Staff accounts are usually more pragmatic than policy documents suggest. SENCos describe an evidence burden that competes with direct support work, especially where evidence must demonstrate a student’s normal way of working over a prolonged period.

教职工的叙述通常比政策文件所显示的更为务实。特教协调员描述的是一种与直接支持工作相互竞争的举证负担，尤其是在需要证明学生长期”一贯学习方式”的情况下。

Subject teachers report uncertainty about what is permitted. Studies frequently find that teachers hold inaccurate beliefs about whether predictive text, grammar checkers or an on-screen calculator are allowed, and these beliefs shape what students practise in class.

学科教师报告对许可范围存在不确定。研究常发现，教师对预测输入、语法检查或屏幕计算器是否被允许持有不准确的看法，而这些看法又塑造了学生在课堂上练习的内容。

Invigilators occupy a distinctive position. They must enforce regulations precisely while remaining sensitive to a candidate in difficulty, and many school-based studies identify inadequate training on assistive technology as a major source of inconsistency. A related and under-researched issue is the reasonable adjustment process for the staff members who must operate and oversee the technology themselves.

监考员处于一个特殊位置：他们既要精确执行规章，又须体察处于困境中的考生，而许多校本研究指出，辅助技术培训不足是不一致性的主要来源。一个与之相关且研究不足的问题是，那些必须操作与监督技术的教职工自身的合理调整过程。

Senior leaders, by contrast, tend to frame AT in terms of institutional risk: the risk of a malpractice allegation, a special consideration application or a challenge to results. This framing explains why some schools over-document and under-train.

相较之下，学校高层往往从机构风险的角度界定辅助技术：被指控违规操作的风险、特殊情况申请的风险，或成绩受到质疑的风险。这一框架解释了为何有些学校”过度记录、培训不足”。

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8. Logistics, Training and Cost | 后勤、培训与成本

School experience research repeatedly shows that implementation quality, not tool sophistication, predicts success. Three logistical variables dominate: device readiness, staff competence and rehearsal time.

校本经验研究反复表明，预测成功的是实施质量，而非工具的高级程度。三个后勤变量占主导地位：设备就绪度、人员胜任力与演练时间。

Device readiness covers charging, spare hardware, offline capability and approval of software versions long before the examination series. Schools that maintain a tested examination-day checklist report markedly fewer incidents than those relying on informal preparation.

设备就绪度包括充电、备用硬件、离线可用性，以及在考试季之前很早就完成软件版本审批。那些维持一份经过检验的”考试日清单”的学校，报告的事故数量明显少于依赖非正式准备的学校。

Staff competence is best built through simulation rather than briefing. Effective training runs a mock examination using the actual AT, with the actual invigilators, on the actual platform, and then debriefs the failures.

人员胜任力最好通过模拟而非简报来建立。有效培训会使用真实的辅助技术、真实的监考人员、真实的平台进行一次模拟考试，然后对失败之处进行复盘。

Cost is a genuine constraint but rarely the binding one. Schools more often cite staff time, timetable space and the difficulty of coordinating between IT, examinations and SEN departments. Where a single named AT coordinator exists, implementation quality improves substantially across every study reviewed.

成本是真实的限制因素，但很少成为决定性约束。学校更常提到的是人员时间、课表空间，以及协调信息技术、考务与特教部门之间的困难。在设立了单一具名的辅助技术协调员的学校，各项研究中的实施质量都显著改善。

A useful way to quantify the cost-effectiveness of a school’s provision is to compare the additional attainment associated with the AT against the total resource cost, giving a simple cost-effectiveness ratio.

量化学校辅助技术供给成本效益的一个有效方法，是将与该辅助技术相关的额外成绩提升与总资源成本相比较，得出一个简单的成本效益比。

CER = ΔAttainment ÷ Total Resource Cost

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9. Validity, Fairness and Comparability | 效度、公平与可比性

The central psychometric question is whether an assistive technology preserves construct validity. An accommodation is legitimate if it removes a barrier caused by disability while leaving the construct being measured intact. It becomes illegitimate if it provides an advantage unrelated to the barrier.

核心的心理测量问题是：辅助技术是否维护了构念效度。如果一项便利安排消除了由残障造成的障碍，同时使所测量的构念保持完整，那么它是正当的；如果它带来了与障碍无关的优势，则失去正当性。

Three positions appear in the literature. The interaction hypothesis holds that accommodations work only for students with the relevant need, producing an interaction between group and condition. The compensatory hypothesis claims accommodations improve performance by compensating for skill deficits. The substitution hypothesis warns that aids may simply replace the target skill rather than support it.

文献中出现三种立场。交互假设认为便利安排只对有相关需求的学生起作用，从而产生组别与条件之间的交互效应；补偿假设主张便利安排通过补偿技能缺陷来提升表现；替代假设则警告辅助工具可能只是替代了目标技能，而非支持它。

Fairness is not the same as sameness. Treating every candidate identically when their access needs differ can be procedurally equal but substantively unfair. This distinction is central to any discussion of reasonable adjustments and is a frequent examination question.

公平并不等同于相同。当考生的获取需求不同时，用完全相同的方式对待他们，可能在程序上平等，却在实质上不公平。这一区分是任何关于”合理调整”讨论的核心，也是常见考题。

Comparability across candidates is the awarding body’s concern. If AT changes response mode, marking must be validated for that mode. Where handwriting quality contributes to a marker’s impression, typed scripts may be marked differently unless markers are trained and rubrics are explicit.

考生之间的可比性是颁证机构的关切。如果辅助技术改变了作答方式，评分就必须针对该方式进行效度验证。当书写质量会影响阅卷人的印象时，打印稿可能得到不同的评分，除非阅卷人受过培训且评分标准明确。

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10. Case Study: A Three-Year Implementation Journey | 案例研究：三年实施历程

Consider a composite secondary school drawn from published school-based studies, enrolling 1,100 students with approximately 14 percent identified as having special educational needs, including four students using screen readers and eleven using word processors for written examinations.

设想一所综合中学，取自已发表的校本研究，共有 1100 名学生，其中约 14% 被认定为有特殊教育需求，包括四名在笔试中使用屏幕朗读软件、十一名使用文字处理机。

Year 1. The school granted AT reactively, responding to individual requests close to deadlines. Two students experienced device failure during mock examinations. Staff reported confusion about permitted software features. Attainment of AT users was below prediction, and the explanation offered was student ability rather than implementation failure.

第一年。学校以被动方式批准辅助技术，只在临近截止时回应个别申请。两名学生在模拟考试中遭遇设备故障。教职工报告对允许的软件功能存在困惑。辅助技术使用者的成绩低于预期，而校方给出的解释是学生能力问题，而非实施失败。

Year 2. A named AT coordinator was appointed. A digital register recorded which tools each student used in class, when, and with what adjustments. Mock examinations replicated examination conditions exactly, including software lockdown. Failure incidents fell substantially, and evidence for access arrangement applications became easier to compile.

第二年。学校任命了一名具名的辅助技术协调员。数字台账记录每名学生在课堂上使用哪些工具、何时使用、经过何种调整。模拟考试完全复现真实考试条件，包括软件锁定。故障事件大幅下降，便利安排申请的证据也更容易整理。

Year 3. Students were consulted about tool choice, and those who declined AT for stigma reasons were offered lower-visibility alternatives. Training extended to all invigilators. The school reported that the largest single gain came not from new technology but from rehearsing the existing technology under authentic conditions.

第三年。学校就工具选择征求学生意见，并为因污名顾虑而拒绝辅助技术的学生提供可见度更低的替代方案。培训扩展到全体监考人员。学校报告称，最大的单项收获并非来自新技术，而是来自在真实条件下演练既有技术。

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11. Designing Your Own School-Based Study | 设计你自己的校本研究

If you are planning a small-scale research project, the following sequence keeps the study ethical and feasible within a school term.

如果你正在规划一项小规模研究项目，下面的流程可以确保研究在一个学期内既合乎伦理又切实可行。

• Define the research question precisely. | 精确定义研究问题。 A weak question asks ‘Is assistive technology effective?’ A stronger one asks ‘How does familiarity with a word processor affect the examination performance of Year 12 students with specific learning difficulties?’ 弱问题是”辅助技术有效吗？”；强问题是”对文字处理机的熟悉程度如何影响有特定学习困难的十二年级学生的考试成绩？”

• Secure ethical approval and consent. | 取得伦理审批与知情同意。 Parental consent is required for participants under 18, and student assent should be sought separately. Anonymise all data at the point of collection. 18 岁以下参与者需家长同意，并应单独征求学生本人同意。数据应在采集环节即完成匿名化。

• Choose complementary methods. | 选择互补的方法。 Pair a short attainment comparison with interviews, so that mechanisms can be explained rather than merely described. 将简短的成绩比较与访谈配对，使机制得以被解释，而非仅被描述。

• Report effect sizes and confidence intervals. | 报告效应量与置信区间。 Statistical significance alone tells the reader very little in a small sample. 在小样本中，单纯的统计显著性几乎不能说明问题。

• Address reflexivity. | 处理反身性。 If you are also a student or staff member in the setting, state explicitly how your position may have shaped responses. 如果你同时是该场域中的学生或教职工，应明确说明你的位置可能如何影响回答。

• Feed findings back to the school. | 将研究结果反馈给学校。 School-based research that produces no practical change raises an ethical question about the use of participants’ time. 不产生任何实际改变的校本研究，会引发关于占用参与者时间的伦理问题。

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12. Conclusions, Recommendations and Exam Links | 结论、建议与考点链接

The weight of school-based evidence supports five conclusions. Implementation quality matters more than technological sophistication; student consultation improves take-up; rehearsal under authentic conditions prevents most examination-day failures; a single named coordinator improves coordination; and stigma remains a significant, often overlooked barrier.

校本证据的整体倾向支持五项结论：实施质量比技术先进程度更重要；征求学生意见能提高使用率；在真实条件下演练能避免大多数考试日故障；单一具名的协调员能改善协同；污名仍是一大且常被忽视的障碍。

For schools, the practical recommendations are straightforward. Build the evidence trail continuously rather than retrospectively. Run at least two mock examinations with the exact technology and the exact restrictions. Train invigilators specifically on AT. Offer low-visibility alternatives. Review annually, because platforms and regulations both change.

对学校而言，实践建议相当直接：持续建立证据链，而非追溯补做；至少进行两次使用完全相同技术与限制条件的模拟考试；对监考人员进行专门的辅助技术培训；提供可见度更低的替代方案；每年复审，因为平台与规章都在变化。

For A-level examinations, the topic links to several assessment objectives. In Education and Sociology, it supports discussion of equality of opportunity, labelling theory and the hidden curriculum of assessment. In Psychology, it connects to validity, reliability, sampling and the ethics of research with vulnerable participants. In Mathematics and the sciences, the quantitative elements — effect size, kappa, cost-effectiveness ratios — provide genuine data-handling practice.

对 A-level 考试而言，这一主题与多个考核目标相连接。在教育学与社会学中，它支持对机会平等、标签理论与评估隐性课程的讨论；在心理学中，它关联效度、信度、抽样，以及以弱势群体为对象的研究伦理；在数学与科学中，效应量、kappa 系数、成本效益比等量化要素提供了真实的数据处理练习。

A final evaluative point is worth memorising. Assistive technology does not remove disadvantage; it relocates it. Where a school provides the tool but not the training, the rehearsal or the invigilation competence, the barrier simply moves from the student’s disability to the institution’s systems.

最后一点评价性观点值得记住：辅助技术并不会消除不利处境，而是将其转移。当学校提供了工具，却没有提供培训、演练或合格的监考能力时，障碍只是从学生的残障转移到了学校系统本身。

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Published by TutorHao | Education Studies Revision Series | aleveler.com

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