Help with Exam Access Arrangement

[Uptownfunkywat]

Hi
I am looking for some help. My daughter was assessed last year for extra time with her GCSEs due to concerns with her processing delays. I was sent the report by the school with a covering email saying she doesn’t qualify but they were referring her to SEMH.

Roll on to now, exams are well under way and I am having to send everything over to her new College. I had highlighted in the application that I believe there to be some processing issues so they have asked for all the paperwork I have. It has come to light that the report from the school (Dyslexia Portfolio) indicates that my daughter should have been awarded extra time. The school didn’t apply for it as they said she didn’t.

i also have an Auditory Processing Report as well.

Obviously it’s too late now but she works so hard and has really struggled. Is there anyone that has any experience of these reports that could indicate if they agree that they should have submitted it on her behalf?

My thought is I could potentially apply for special consideration based on Maladministration should she fail her exams - if she gets what she needs for her next step then we will not take it further - but I do have submit something now to pre-empt it ?

Any help/guidance much appreciated x

I just want to be clear - I do not want to throw the school under the bus. She has not finished her longer exams (English/geography etc) so I do believe that those extra minutes were needed IF she was entitled obviously

No, she would not qualify for special consideration for the centre's failure to process access arrangements, that is given by JCQ as an example of someone who would not qualify.

It's very strict that Extra Time has to be evidenced as her normal way of working before the exams - if she hasn't been getting ET in mocks or other assessments, they wouldn't be able to get it just for the exam.

However, it doesn't hurt the school to request SC. So you wouldn't be chucking them under any buses to do so.

Do you know this as fact? as I have been advised that if my child doesn’t reach the expected grades you can appeal to the exam board for maladministration of access arrangements as they failed to follow the JQCs guidelines ? X

This is the issue - she is working at much higher grades than her mocks ie working at a grade 7 but scored grade 3s - she wasn’t awarded extra time in her mocks as the assessment was done last Oct before her Nov mocks and it was determined she didn’t qualify for extra time. BUT she has a score of 2nd percentile for writing ?

https://www.jcq.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/JCQ-A-guide-to-the-special-consideration-process-24-25_FINAL_accessible.pdf

Page 10 section 2.3.17 under 'candidates will not be eligible for special consideration if performance in the assessment is affected by'

She'd only be eligible if the access arrangements had been approved and then she wasn't given them in the exam.

Ok, I have been sent this :-
Failure to comply with the regulations contained in this document has the potential to constitute malpractice which may impact on the candidate’s result(s). Examples of failure to comply include:
• failing to consider putting in place access arrangements (which may be a failure to comply with the duty to make reasonable adjustments)

I can’t find it in your doc but I have only slimmed it.

And the JCQs guidelines on what entitles you to Extra time :-

“The centre must process an application for 25% extra time if a candidate has:
• two or more below average standardised scores (i.e. 84 or less),
or
• a single very low standardised score (i.e. 69 or less) in speed of working.”

Im not doubting you all, just clarifying that the above is not the case ?

Does she meet those criteria?

I don't know about malpractice, I suspect that would be a separate process to special consideration.

yes, she scored 57 in speed of writing which is on the 2nd percentile so the lowest scorning

yes it is a different process for malpractice - which was why I needed some information on it

How does she work in her college? I'm am involved in this and the number one thing we have to explain is that the access arrangements are the student's "normal way of working". How had she been working in class and homework and how has that helped her? If the college can't evidence that they normally give her extra time to complete tests and assignments, because they don't and she isn't currently failing her courses, they will be hard pushed to find enough evidence to get the exam boards to even consider extra time.

In terms of mal-administration of exams, yes if they have evidence that she does normally need extra time and they have not then assess her properly, that would most likely count. If extra time is not her normal way of working, then there is no reason she should have been assessed.

”The centre must process an application for 25% extra time if a candidate has:
• two or more below average standardised scores (i.e. 84 or less),
or
• a single very low standardised score (i.e. 69 or less) in speed of working.”

Those are not the current rules. You can see the exam access arrangement guidance here.

For applications for 25% extra time under the learning difficulties with no EHCP criteria, you need 2 below average standardised scores of 84 or less related to different areas of speed of working or 1 below average standardised score of 84 or less and 1 low average standardised score of 85-89 related to different areas of speed of working.

In exceptional circumstances, as part of other evidence 2 standardised scores of 85-89 related to different areas of speed of working will be accepted. In rare circumstances as part of a wider picture of need, at leas5 3 standardised scores just in the average range of 90-94 will be accepted.

This is what I’m unclear about. They tested her to see if she qualified for extra time and said she didn’t score low enough to apply. So they must have had the necessary info to back it up if she had hit the requirements. Which she actually did but it was borderline. So appreciate it would have needed supporting evidence. She did then have CHAPS observations carried out by 2 teachers which scored her as finding listening and processing more difficult than her peers

i think to be honest ill most likely leave it as it’s not very clear cut and its subjective. I think the college she is moving on to feel there is enough evidence of need with the information I have provided them, so moving forward she will get some additional help as required - not necessarily extra time

thanks all x

These were her scores

So either the score of 86 did not relate to a different area of speed of working or the school did not think they could paint a picture of need/prove normal way of working for Part 1 of Form 8.

One was for writing speed and the other was processing speed.

the covering email said her scores didn’t qualify ?

She should have been offered a scribe or thing if she types faster

Typing

I think if she types faster you could request to college that she types in lessons, and then this would be her usual
Way of working and they could let her type in college exams

The school might have meant the scores didn’t qualify for extra time because they couldn’t be supported by a picture of need and normal way of working.

Right - so much to unpick here before we start shouting malpractice. Looking at the screen capture I believe it is GL dyslexia portfolio which is not an accepted assessment used for access arrangements. For your child to have extra time there needs to be evidence of need from teachers, evidence of use of extra time being used in mock papers backed up with teacher evidence of why extra time is needed and how it was used. Your child then needs to be assessed specifically for extra time by a level 7 qualified assessor. Have all of these things happened? An in house screening test might be used as partial evidence of need but the process above needs to have happened. Has it?