Number of kids getting extra time in exams MASSIVELY overstated

[noblegiraffe]

Ofqual are withdrawing their statistics on how many children getting extra time and other accommodations in GCSEs and A-levels because they've admitted that they are completely wrong. It's something I know has been referenced quite a few times here so I thought it worth flagging.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/jul/17/ofqual-admits-massively-exaggerating-number-of-students-getting-exam-assistance?

"The new analysis suggests that the actual proportion of students receiving access arrangements – including 25% extra time in exams – is now broadly in line with the proportion of students with special educational needs in the school population."

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ofqual-withdraws-access-arrangements-statistics

My dd had the extra time in both gcse and A level exams. She had been involved in a serious accident six months before leaving school. She needed a scribe for GCSEs and then in college was still finding typing took longer than normal so had extra time for that. Nerve damage is a bitch.

thankfully fully back to normal now and didn’t need any extra help and is about to start her masters.

some of the comments on here are atrocious and those posters should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves. These children still have the knowledge to pass these exams, just need an extra amount of time to get it on paper. It is not giving them an advantage.

A lot of reasonable adjustments can be done for anyone with good reason. Things like wearing ear plugs or sitting in a smaller room. I do think that anyone who wants to use a laptop should be allowed to. It isn’t as if anyone has to hand write long documents at work. I imagine it is a funding issue though.

Yes, I know. But extra time as a reasonable adjustment on its own doesn't require an extra room.

If a school is needlessly putting every child who needs extra time into smaller rooms then it is needlessly reducing the number of rooms available to the rest of the school and needlessly increasing the cost of invigilation.

Also yes they are in a separate smaller room if extra time, as it would be disruptive to have some children leaving an exam , told to put their pencils down etc whilst others are still working.

Exams are such artificial environments.

What jobs are you expected to apply knowledge and recall facts within a limited timeframe without access to external resources or secondary opinions/checks/colleagues etc?

Harry needing 25% extra time for his History GCSE or any other essay based subject, doesn't mean he won't make an excellent architect. And Peter who his dyslexic and has English as a second language isn't going to be applying to be a reporter with hard deadlines and a need for good English.

Anyway, the point of this thread was that schools have been accused for years of gaming the system because of the large numbers of kids with access arrangements, and it turns out it was the statistics that were wrong.

I think (and I’m not wanting to sound as if I’m being critical of anyone on this thread) the problem is that the evidence is often a bit vague and woolly: ‘needs time to process things’ for example could apply to many of us at many moments. Some adjustments are really straightforward - visual impairment needing enlarged text; easy. Others are far more vague and can become a tick boxing exercise.

Don't be so ridiculous.

Nope. Sophie and Connor could apply to be allowed a scribe which probably actually saves them time.
Anyone else can take extra time, but their grade would indicate that fact.
It is absolutely not discriminatory to want to employ the person who can do the job well and quickly! Time is money!

Both my kids diagnosed dyslexic from mid primary school and neither has ever been in separate room for extra time, they just start earlier or finish later.

Both would happily give up extra time to not have the reading and SPAG challenges they have.

Thanks for clarifying that. I was worried this would turn into another disability bashing thread……

Yes and Phillipson got Ofqual to investigate the rate of RAs at independent schools based on nothing but this flawed data because she assumed they were buying an advantage.
We said she was wrong, she was wrong.
The rate of RAs at independent schools is exactly in line with state schools, precisely because they AREN'T buying an advantage. Wasted taxpayer money on a pointless but lengthy investigation.

Trust me. RAs are not box ticking and schools have to submit medical evidence to AOs. They can't just tick a box saying "needs more time" and it magically gets granted

I’m actually going to go ahead and say that getting your child a diagnosis has become the mainstream middle class pointy elbow ways of giving your child an advantage. Many pay for one privately and get one after the school says they don’t have it through their assessments. Or their work doesn’t indicate they have it so don’t assess. Then they effectively buy one. It’s advised on here, seen it numerous times. I think allowing extra time in these circumstances actively disadvantages children from poor backgrounds with similar levels who can’t afford it.
The system at present is not fair and it needs an overhaul.

It's not. My DD gets extra time in exams. It was done through tests and observations and the school had to be very thorough.

No, I know - I’m a teacher myself. It doesn’t mean that everybody who is granted extra time needs it though.

If they meet the criteria laid out by JCQ then the government think they need it.

Then you completely miss the entire point of extra time 🤦🏻‍♀️

exams are a very crude measure of ability. One that is very singular in how it measures.

it is ILLEGAL to discriminate against a disability. It’s the same as thinking someone who uses a computer to complete their exam should be ‘outed’ against those who use pen. That they used a computer in no way is relevant to their capability. Same with extra time. Or that they did the exam in a quiet room or that they had any of the other accommodations

Well then, if time is not relevant, why not allow all candidates extra time?

Yes, this is correct - however, it's not dependent on school, it's dependant on the JCQ decision, based on the application made to them, by the school (who apply for access arrangements based on an individual's 'normal way of working').

Oh are you the SENCO there then? And privy to all EHCPSs, EPs and all that?

I think that’s the point really!

I think it's hard to argue that the system hasn't got out of control.

My dd is currently awaiting an adhd diagnosis. She went to talk to the disability team at her uni about some specific challenges that she was experiencing... nothing to do with exams as the time pressure in exams actually helps her to function better than usual, and this is not an area of difficulty for her.

We were both surprised that she was offered extra time in the exams... without a diagnosis and without having raised any concerns about her ability to actually manage the exams within the standard time frame. While I can't fault the university for bending over backwards to help, it would have been much too easy for dd to get extra time that she didn't need if she had wanted to give herself an unfair advantage. She declined the offer, but others in a similar situation might well have accepted it.

If we're going to make it so easy for people to get extra time, perhaps we need to loosen up on the time pressured nature of exams for everyone in order to make things fair while still being inclusive.

If the school can't demonstrate that the pupil needs it and is disadvantaged without it, then the school shouldn't be allowing it. JCQ would pick this up.

Unfortunately DD absorbed that sort of reasoning and didn't apply for extra time at university, or take us up on our offer of paying for speedier assessment, preferring to wait for the NHS "real" diagnosis.

..which has duly arrived, just a few weeks too late to be of any help in her Finals. So at least one student out there was entitled to extra time that she didn't get, if that makes grumpy potential employers feel any better.