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Original poster

To be believe that processing speed is a legitimate and even important skill to assess

29 replies

Iris2020 · 13/02/2026 13:51

I am aware that this is going to be controversial.

I am very confused at the current belief that processing speed should not impact results and slow processing should systematically be compensated for through adjustments.

In the workplace, for a fair number of roles, fast processing speed is the single greatest factor in determining how valuable employees are to their team.
In many others, the lack of processing speed has endless negative knock-on effects for both clients of the business and colleagues.

There are plenty of roles suited to slower processing too.

  • Why should a child with slow processing but advanced reasoning capabilities be set up to outscore a child with restricted reasoning capabilities but fast processing? Neither deserves it more.
  • So many factors can slow processing, why single out a few as worthy of extra time?

When I worked in financial services, some roles were just unsuited to slow processing. They warranted the ability to understand many ideas fast, concurrently, provide instant feedback, bounce into new directions and output material at pace.

The individuals who were good at this were far less creative and useful when asked to outline detailed meeting agendas in advance and not deviate from them, not to mention the slower pace wasn't in line with Imarket demands.

My husband works in trades and sometimes has to mentor apprentices. When he gets one who takes a long time to process instructions or understand examples, it literally adds 2 hours onto his day. He can't finish his work as fast and it is hard for him not to feel as the joy is being drained out of his job.

Fast processing is a skill valuable in certain / many roles. Why is it not acceptable to have a least a proportion of exams measuring students ability to perform autonomously in a restricted time frame? It's valuable information for employers.

I also believe that slower processing can actually be an asset in many areas that require rigorous methodology (like research)

I don't believe all exams should be time-critical but that some should, and others be free from time restrictions for all.

What do others think?

OP posts:
PocketSand · 13/02/2026 14:55

I’m not sure whether you are referring to exam access arrangements as your examples are drawn from the ‘workplace’.

Giving extra time to a child with average processing skills and average reasoning ability will have very little impact as they reach their limit within the time allowed without extra time. On the other hand DC with conditions that negatively impact processing speed can also have reasoning ability in the top 2% of the population and therefore significantly underperform in time limited exams if not allowed extra time.

Exam conditions are not replicated in the workplace.

In areas like financial services where actual mathematical ability is required, obviously the ideal would be above average processing speed combined with genius levels of reasoning if both speed and accuracy were required.

But is finishing fast and getting a significant number of answers wrong really an advantage compared to taking a little longer and producing good results first time round really an advantage to employers? I think a lot of employers value accuracy over speed and give clients realistic timeframes for producing work where speed of response is not the determining factor.

Maybe you can give us some examples where speed of response is crucial?

BangFlash · 13/02/2026 14:49

We recruit for some roles for processing speed - they're given too much information and not enough time and told to come up with a proposal. It's the nature of the role ( although I dont agree that the people in those roles should be making important decisions without fully understanding the facts, but there you go).

We also give some people (different role) the interview questions days before interview as a reasonable adjustment, I also feel this is ridiculous.

Slow processors with other great skills are valuable in certain roles, we shouldn't shoehorn them into the wrong place.

parietal · 13/02/2026 14:45

Your post is rather confusing to read and I think you are getting in a muddle trying to be too generous to people who are slow at processing things.

some jobs require fast processing and good reasoning. Some assessments like exams can pick them up, and giving extra time in exams just for “slow processing” would muddle this assessment.

some require good people skills or creativity. And these are barely assessed in exams at all.

so different assessments are needed for different jobs and employers shouldn’t rely on gcse grades but need to make their own judgements.

GreenCherries · 13/02/2026 14:39

Whilst ‘slow processing’ is not a disability in of itself, it is something that can be a barrier to accessing learning/assessment for many people with learning and other disabilities.

If you remove the words ‘slow processing speed’ and replace them with ‘disability’ your suggestion reads as discriminatory. So no, I don’t agree with you.

Generally speaking the world of employment already advantages ‘fast’ people. I’m not sure I’d want to see a situation whereby those with slower processing abilities are actively penalised via employers being provided with whatever assessed ‘evidence’ you are suggesting.

Besides, processing speed is just one area of ‘ability’, everyone has their own unique blend of strengths and skills to draw upon. I could have lightening processing speed yet struggle with other important skills. Perhaps the ‘slow’ apprentices your husband gets frustrated by might turn out to be fantastic and efficient with experience.

If fast processing skills are requisite for a particular role then it’s up to employers to recruit transparently on that basis and use a selection process that provides opportunities for applicants to demonstrate what they are looking for, if the need can be justified. Not sure what kind of job that would look like though!