Pupils in independent schools much more likely to get extra time in exams

[Sadik]

Don't know if others have seen this - article here.

What I don't think is at all obvious is whether it's independent schools working the system, or state schools failing to get extra time for those who need it?

I should say - she has done the standard assessment that the SENCO carries out - and she may get extra time as a result, we've not heard. But the problem is her issues are rather complex and probably linked to the fact that she most likely has an ASD (don't even ask about waiting lists for assessment there . . . was initially flagged when she was 9 and we are still working our way through the system). We have talked with dd about going to an independent Ed Psych but she's really not keen, and I'm reluctant to push it while she's happy and doing well generally.

If she doesn't want it pursuing that's different. Sorry for being harsh. You have to pick your battles.

Unfortunately I think you need terrier-like parents with money to have the best odds getting help for DC. If you have determined parents with deep pockets you have more chance of getting the help a child needs. If you don't have the cash to bypass the system I can only imagine the frustration of having to fight to get your child help that should be freely given.

I have invigilated in two schools locally (Cambridgeshire)(one state and one independent) and there seemed (to me) to be a similar percentage receiving extra time in both. Neither were nowhere near 1 in 5 - more like 1 in 10.

However, there seemed a slightly higher percentage using a laptop in the independent sector.

This is true- at my DD's independent school, over 75% of kids got extra time in their GCSE's. Many deliberately missed lots of questions on class tests/mocks so that they could have the necessary tests to qualify for extra time- and everyone that took the test somehow qualified for the extra time. Seems a bit fishy to me.

Sadik the only thing I would say is having marked thousands of scripts, that some students don't actually benefit from having a computer/having extra time. Some do, as I have seen both their handwritten and typed work, but many who type are not good at typing, still have significant grammatical problems or meandering sentences and produce a small amount of work in the same time. Now it's a bit of a correlation/causation issue as these are students with specific learning difficulties or processing issues, however, I'm convinced that many of them do worse on computers than when they handwrite, even with their handwriting issues (unless they have dysgraphia). Slow processors will process really slowly unless touch typists.

Just a though. I'm seeking a diagnosis for my dd whose obvious SpLD has been ignored throughout her state primary career, but I am nervous to get the right type of intervention, I don't think having extra time (some students lose concentration if given longer) or being on a computer (which requires fast typing and doesn't change ability to punctuate, write well, make a strong argument) is a huge advantage for as many students as they think.

questioner123 - how could you possibly know that the children in your dd's school are deliberately missing questions and that everyone who takes the test qualifys?
And how do you know the % of children who get extra time?

My DD was friends with these children, who suddenly after many months of not struggling for time, they can only complete half the paper, and then ask for extra time for upcoming exams. The year was not a big year, and my DD said that roughly 75% were placed separately in the exam hall due to them having extra time. Obviously I don't know for definite!

Your dd sounds very observant.

All I know is that in class & exams DS was hanging in blank sheets of paper in subjects like English although he was able to answer questions verbally in class.

Since being allowed a laptop he actually produces coherent answers.

It makes a massive difference for those who need it. However the problem is if you have a child who is borderline as I would say my son is - he touch types to perfection and very well indeed (as indeed did I even at 15 but I had no learning issues so I had to stick with pen even though for me typing as so very much better and faster) and writing is harder but he's doing fine and he hasn't felt he should press the issue in the sixth form as he is working around it.

Also it depends on the private school. A very academic one is less likely to have a lot of children with learning difficulties as they probably would nto have passed the 11+ exam in the first place (same with state grammars) whereas private schools which take a broader spread might well have a lot. Millfield for example (boarding school not great exam results but takes a comprehensive intake so it's what you would expect) is probably more ilkely than Eton or St paul's to take a child with these kinds of things.

To put this in some kind of perspective, I teach in a state school. Each year group has 400 students. 400!! My DH's private school has fewer than 100. At the heart of this is the issue of stretched resources and staffing.
I have been told an Ed Psych reprt isn't adequate : the school still needs to monitor and gather evidence, which is very time consuming. I have watched my own school's overstretched SEN department crumble under the pressure. sadly, the more pushy, for want of a better word, and aware the parent is , the more (eventually) gets done. The current year 10 has 20 students with EHCPs : you won't see that in a private school (unless a very particular kind). These students take up much time and energy, perhaps to the cost of others. As teachers, we see this reflected in lack of in class support for many who need it. Perhaps some posters aren't aware that education cuts have hit SEN departments the hardest : so said another recently released report.
I read the article. It was carefully written. But underlying it is an implication that independent schools, and their parents, are working a system. I have noticed at my school that the more articulate (and often affluent) the parent is, or the more connected they are to the school (and therefore have a psetering hotline) such as staff children, the more likely they are to get to the end of the long journey to gain exam concessions.
At my son's school I raised once my concern over his shape and space issues (not necessarily to gain exam concessions). I gave up after four emails in the face of bureaucracy and a heavy implication that my son's needs were very minor compared with what his state school was dealing with daily.

And... as a PP said, EC don't always actually benefit children! Lots of ours are clamouring for extra time, as they see their friends getting it, and their parents also clamour. They often use the extra time to write more and more not very high quality stuff.
Many many students write worse on a laptop than by hand. They forget to use capital letters as a basic starting point. Two of my sixth form have just abandoned their laptop concessions.

These students take up much time and energy, perhaps to the cost of others. As teachers, we see this reflected in lack of in class support for many who need it ... heavy implication that my son's needs were very minor compared with what his state school was dealing with daily..

Typical State school response, trying to guilt you about there being others who are worse off than you. My DS is twice exceptional: very bright but very hindered. This came out as B grades at GCSE and the school wasn't bothered because it was above the magic C grade. Once he got his assessment in sixth form he then started getting A and A*. He wouldn't have got into his naice University if I had left it to the school.

It has been nowhere near one in five at the selective schools DC attended though we have heard rumour of it being high elsewhere. And this is despite both schools being know for their SEN support.

I agree with PP. It can be a good news story. DD have very very slow processing speeds. Extra time makes a big difference and she usually uses all of it. She would not have got the University course she did, and which she is bright enough to cope with, without it. To some extent exams are speed tests. Excluding those who are bright but slow would be a big waste of potential.

NeedMoreSleep - I very much agree that English examinations have a strong speed component. French DC are used to having much more time in exams (though they also are required to think more).

IDK I note with interest you edited out my comments about a lot of this being down to inadequate funding of SEN and overstretched staff, choosing to state school bash instead. Yes, I wasn't happy with the response to my son's needs. However, I do recognise they are lesser needs than others'. Ofsted did hammer his school somewhat and I think the SEN dept is becoming better organised but against very hard funding odds.

What is hard for an outstanding state school like mine is that many parents are choosing it over their local school , especially parents of SEN / EHCP students. Obviously the EHCP children bring their own funding but it still means most resources and expertise are often channelled into those children. This may well be perfectly fair but it should disabuse some of the notion that SEN / low ability students are losing out to A/B borderline students. This is certainly not true at my school. I do, however, think it is those high ability borderline students who are getting exam concessions at private schools.

Is it?? Why?

Not in my school....

To clarify I meant most of the LS funding and resources, not most of the funding and resources in the school...

For example, we only have enough TAs to specifically support children with EHCPs. Any child on SA or SA+ will be neglected, on the whole.

Yes, that's what I am saying... there is no funding for the other children. This is how a school with a budget which has just seen £80000 in cuts survives.

Yes, that school is managing for your children, happily. Who does the differentiating? Teachers or TAs, out of interest?

Every school is different - and some schools in some areas are far harder hit by budget cuts than others, or might have very different priorities.

Anyway, all a bit off topic. I only used my example to show how hard pressed LS departments in schools are and how, therefore, exam concessions might go to the bottom of a huge plié, where independent schools may perhaps have more time, and fewer children to deal with. Certainly fewer children with any very challenging needs.