too many people having extra time

[IrmaFayLear]

I didn't quite know where to post this, so I've tried here...

Dd came home in some distress as it turns out that 15 out of 20 people in one of her A Level classes are having extra time for exams.

Dd is upset that it now seems that rather than levelling the playing field for people who genuinely need assistance, a minority are being penalised. Furthermore some of these extra-time people are in "competition" with dd in that they are highly ambitious A* people.

Dd said that one girl told her that "slow processing" is the new watchword and they paid for a private assessment. Dd said that this girl has no processing problems when it comes to quick-fire banter on social media and it's never been mentioned before.

If the exams are deemed too short, then surely give everyone 25% extra time? As it is with this particular subject, it's a case of some people being given 25% less time.

I had a quick google and a)there are masses of sites telling you how to get extra time and how to "fail" the tests and b) Ofqual has said that it is getting out of hand.

@Stopyourhavering64 your husbands experience is almost identical to my own. I was clinically diagnosed in March.

My ds has slow processing speed and a form of dyslexia and has extra time in exams. He spent his primary and early secondary years being told that he was lazy and didn’t listen. He could not remember instructions given to him by the teachers and could not listen to teacher and write at the same time for example. We paid a fortune to have him tested and was THE pushy parents at the school but was eventually listened to. He got only 8s and 9s in his GSCEs and is predicted A and A* in his A levels. So glad we fought for him. I feel like putting all the teachers being so dismissive of him in a room and educating them so they learn how to support these children!

Indeed. I don't really get what slow processing is other than not being as bright as the next person.

Slow processing has nothing to do with intellect, it just means that it takes longer to retrieve information from memory.

To get extra time a student will need to be assessed by either the school or an assessor that’s the school has a relationship with and meet strict criteria, there also needs to be evidence of need and normal way of working.

The school records with be inspected by the exam council annually and they would be very vigilant if a disproportionate number of students had exam access arrangements. If the school had breached regulations, they could lose their right to be an exam centre.

Agree that it is the way the exam system is, in that you need to provide a written answer every time. If my DC with slow processing was given the questions in a form of interview, where he could talk for 30 mins say on the particular aspect of an essay based subject such as Romeo and Juliet, Nazi Germany or RE he'd nail it. Get him to write that down under timed conditions , he will struggle, marked down because his handwriting is poor, he struggles with spelling, due to dyslexia and because he worries so much how to spell 'good' words, he is slower. Transpose this to a real life work situation. You speak far more to clients, you do presentations, and if writing a report, have time to rewrite, edit and spell check. None of these skills are demonstrated by an A* / 9 grade in an essay subject But in the way that our exams are, he just cannot aim for higher grades without extra time. And slower processing does not mean lower ability

My dd is having to undergo a private dyslexia test for her uni exams. They wouldn't accept her college s assessment that gave her extra time in A levels. At almost 300 pounds you can see why people at private schools are more likely to get one. She is bright, mainly got As at gcse ( without extra tine) but struggled to write down and plan properly. The extra time in A levels allowed her to do that. She too had low comprehension and processing speeds. Interestingly she was the only one who used all her extra time. There are a lot entitled to it that don't. I had my suspicions things werent quite right when she was unable to read aloud even a simple passage without stuttering but her " brightness" masked it. I think if you haven't got the ability then no amount of extra time will make a difference.

Having a high IQ doesn’t mean you are a great employee. It means you are more intelligent. That’s not the same thing.

Any student who finds they have too short a time for the exam has not been able to process the information and construct their best answer within the time given. Their processing has not been quick enough. As almost every student finds this, why not give every student more time. That takes away being able to give an answer within a certain time part of the exam.
Either the exams should make a time constraint part of the exam or not. However the present system of some being under a time constraint and some not is just unfair.

Just DD1 found that she was still struggling to finish even with the extra time. The people who qualify need the extra time to just put them under the same time pressure as the others.

TeenPlusTwenties Then why make a time constraint part of the exam at all?

Also, 25% extra for all candidates seems a little arbitrary; surely if it is to compensate for a whole range or processing speeds or writing difficulties, a range of extra times would be needed, rather than all requiring a blanket 25%?

I do not doubt that some students genuinely need extra time, but am not gullible enough to believe when so many are claiming needing extra time, many are playing the system.

@JustRichmal it's done to level the playing field. Exams put people under pressure, and it's an attempt to make it fair for everyone.

As it has been said before the tests are thorough. How can you possibly assume people are playing the system? Too many people equate extra time with advantage. It's not- it is simply an attempt to give people a level playing field.

Is processing speed a spectrum on which a cut off line has been placed. So if a child falls just below it, they get the 25% extra, if just above it, they do not? Or is it something that a child either has or does not have? Do people either have normal processing speeds or slow processing speeds with nothing in between, or does the population have a range of processing speeds?

JustRichmal. I think you have your answer.

(It will be deleted but PP is a spammer offering cures for erectile dysfunction on a site for mums.)

If I had the answer, I would not have asked it. I suspect is a spectrum, but do not know for sure.

Sorry, a poor attempt of a joke.

My understanding is that there is a cut off. Somewhere at around the 10 or 12% mark (DD is quite a lot lower than that so we never paid attention) and I think you need a set disparity between one set of aptitudes and another. DD scores really highly on maths type skills, so the disparity is huge, and thus her inability to process quickly really holds her back on exams where she understands the concepts and knows the material. DD got 25% but I think some others get 10%, 50% or even 100%, perhaps including readers and scribes. (Non NT children often have problems additional to slow processing.)

It is a rough measure. She needs it far less in subjects like maths than in essay subjects, and is pretty well sunk in lengthy timed aptitude tests like SATs, 11+ VR/nonVR and UKCAT. Her classroom performance was consistently higher than her test performance. However getting the extra time, which happened in Yr 7, though she was first diagnosed in Yr 2, made a huge different to how well she did, so to her confidence and to teachers perceptions of her.

I find Bubbles posts ill-informed, indeed rude. I actually think DD will make a great employee, in the right job. She has been forced to get good at taking in information aurally, comprehending concepts quickly and retaining. In part because she was always too slow to copy effectively from the board. Plus being written off at various points in her schooling, mocked by teachers because she was so bad at reading aloud, and coping with getting low marks even though she knew her stuff, has helped her resilience. As a medic in a trauma situation, say, she is likely to carry the knowledge needed in her head, and react calmly.

If it is a spectrum, then every child should be tested for processing speed and the length they are allowed in exams scaled accordingly, otherwise the playing field is not being levelled, it is just having groundwork to redistribute the unevenness elsewhere.
Or better still, do not make exams which test how quickly a student can produce good answers. Let them all have extended time, as much as they need, within reason, and limit the number of word or length of answers.

Equality is not treating everyone the same. It's recognising that people need to be treated differently in order to have a fair system.
Why do people who don't need extra time resent others for it. One of mine got extra time, the other 2 didn't. That was totally fair and reasonable.

I do agree that the blanket 25% is a very rough "levelling" tool, where some might need 5% extra time and others 100%. As it is some people are citing their dcs' quite severe difficulties whilst others have mentioned ones that frankly seem quite quite within the normal experience for any exam candidate.

I do not argue that those who need extra time should get it, just that it should not be a sudden cut off, but a scale of extra time tailored to each students need for different exams, so everyone is treated equitably.

Either we want a set of exams which depends on a students speed at answering questions or we don't.

Should those with unusually quick processing speeds be given less time, so those in the middle are not disadvantaged?

Or even "...should not get it"

I was thinking about this watching Only Connect and University Challenge. I can answer quite a few questions (well, on OC, anyway!) but could do a lot better if they let me take my time and sift through my memory. In fact I'm sure a lot of the contestants know the answers but are not quick enough on the buzzer/cannot recall without being out of time. Can you imagine extra time being awarded in a quiz show?!

Irma Not in the buzzer shows. But in 'Who wants to be a millionaire' the contestants get as long as they want (and of course are shown the answers).

The figure is over 1 in 6 students who get 25% extra time. 17.8% in 2018. The vast majority who get extra time all get the same 25%. (There are a few, at 0.4% who get more than this)
Access Arrangements for GCSE, AS and A level 2017 to 2018 academic years

1 in 6 Sounds perfectly reasonable.19% of the working population are disabled under the Equality Act. A very similar proportion.