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

Out of how many in the year group? There’s 300 in ours! Even smaller schools don’t generally only have twenty year 11s!

We should be grateful an invigilator comes on this public thread to tell us the scale of this worrying trend. Otherwise, as parents, we’d not know about it. Puts into context what our kids have to do who don’t have a certificate for extra time….

The criteria is anything but vague. Have you ever done an RA application or looked at the JCQ rules?

I have to assume you are taking the piss here

I have always been told by my school that we apply to JCQ for access arrangements such as extra time and have to present them with the evidence that the child would be disadvantaged without it. No evidence, no approval for access arrangements.

Is it not JCQ?

Yes they do. Apart from the fact that verbalising finalised answers through a third party is a different skill, it takes longer than the 'standard' time for a scribe to listen and note down your final answer accurately, especially in subjects expecting a lot of writing.

Scribes need to read answers back to clarify they have a final version the candidate is happy with and that involves taking amendments from the candidates as they go. It's a long and involved process.

My DH is significantly dyslexic and in the 90s exam boards put down on your certificate whether you had alternative assessment arrangements or not. He was advised not to use any adaptations as employers would view it negatively and had to struggle through his exams unsupported knowing that his work on the few sheets of paper in front of him did not fully reflect what he really could do in a subject.

Being given extra time is also no guarantee that you used it. For some candidates (depending on their support needs) it can provide reassurance that allows them to perform at their best within the standard time.

*Edited to add: It appears the original quote was edited while I was writing my answer.

Finish the exam in the time given. Which they generally do.

I’ve looked at the rules. It doesn’t stand up to particularly robust scrutiny. That’s not to say it isn’t genuine but it also isn’t impossible not to abuse. There isn’t necessarily a way around that, but as others have said, given that the number of diagnosis students have is increasing at a rapid rate it is at least worthy of a discussion and not being instantly shut down with a snappy statement (I don’t mean you, I mean generally.)

@noblegiraffe
you said the school would allow it, when it isn't up to the school to decide to allow/not allow.
You then said JCQ would pick up a school when that's incorrect too. JCQ monitor AOs so they review and monitor the AO and their application of the guidelines. JCQ wouldn't identify individual schools who are mis-using RAs. The AOs may do but they would then report to DfE/Ofqual.

I was very ignorant of how exams work, but DD and DS have said it is common to have 2 , very occassionally, 3 different exams in the sane room, with some from each needing extra time so there could be up to 6 finish times....which could potentially be disruptive , or confusing.
But I completely understand and support students needing extra time for various reasons- a friend's son needed extra time because he had broken his wrist a few months previously. DDs friend has extra time due to ADHD.
As OP says, though, there will be a finite number of rooms that could be used, and each would need more invigilators.

No, I didn’t, unless we cross posted. I don’t think I’ve even mentioned JCQ. Sorry if you’re not replying to me!

You seem blissfully unaware that school is a construct designed to suit most people most of the time. Exams are a very flawed basis to measure ability that in no way reflects the real world. It is simply a single method of measuring ability and it is very unrealistic in terms of how it measures.

in real life no one has to memorise 220 formula or 8 quotes from a text.

This method suits some people but not necessarily the best people. Just people whose brains and physical abilities suit the exam structure. Best selling authors have been dyslexic and failed school exams as have world class scientists. Should people like this fail to progress to the next level of education because the exam process is not designed for them even though they are far more brilliant?

You can do poorly in a maths exam not because you can’t do the most complex mathematics but because you are slower to read the question. It is not an English comprehension exam but your dyslexia will mean you are slower to read even though you might be the most brilliant mathematician in the school.

In the real world that brilliant mathematician will not be fucking up because they can’t spell. They will be creating complex algorithms NASA. Or they won’t because random people with zero understanding of how things work think the mathematician should have been curtailed at GCSE because they couldn’t read fast enough. Or couldn’t write fast enough because they had dyspraxia

Think you misunderstood my meaning but never mind.

Sorry I was replying to @noblegiraffe

The exams are set perfectly well for your child, don't worry.

They have been doing this a LONG TIME,

I only misunderstood your meaning by what you wrote but never mind

They wouldn't need it. GCSE exams are not designed to be a speed test. The time allowed for the exam is sufficient for a child without SEN to answer all the questions to the best of their ability. Once you have written down what you know, there is very little to be gained from an extra 22 minutes tagged on the end of a 90 minute exam. If an employer needs the results of a speed test they should set one separately, not rely on GCSE grades. I have been given speed-based mathematics tests numerous times during recruitment processes throughout my career because my A grades in GCSE maths and A-level maths and further maths were only evidence of my overall maths ability, not my speed.

It’s not about ‘boosting’ grades. My DD would probably have ‘failed’ her Maths SAT without the extra time , with it she was able to achieve the expected standard, which is what the class teachers know she is capable of during normal lessons. But she processes information more slowly than others. Exams are a v blunt instrument for testing ability.

if your child can achieve a 5 or above in standard exam timings then that’s great for them. For many children getting extra time it’s literally helping to get them over the finish line to get a 4 or 5. Without it many would struggle to pass their maths or English GCSEs. That’s the point of it. It’s not there to help them get a 7, 8 or 9 when your kid can only manage a 6.

My feelings are somewhat mixed. I would have said that adjustments are fine, because in the real world we all tend to adjust our lives to suit us. Some of us look for jobs in a quiet environment, others aren't bothered by noise and look for a job where they can be physically active. So we make our own adjustments.

Then a poster on here described taking employers to tribunal for failing reasonable adjustments. She was so very unreasonable, with no apparent matching of job to aptitude, that it made me reassess!

I have reduced my hours and gone for a low paid low stress job because of my health needs. It would be unreasonable to expect an employer to give me half the work and stress others manage. So I adjust myself.

Exams may be a crude measure of ability but they aren’t a new concept and I didn’t invent them, so I’m not sure why you’ve replied to me as if I invented the current system! And I’m not arguing no one should be granted extra time; I’m questioning if given that the number of students with special needs is rapidly increasing, extra time in examinations is something that also needs an overhaul.

I don't think it should come up with their grade but I don't think it would be unreasonable to put it on the certificate. I knew someone applying for pupillage (to train as a barrister) who had extra time for the written portion of the interview. I think it's fair to take it into consideration if it's for a job that requires billing clients for your time, and how you factor that in.

And it is a struggle, I have an autistic (waiting for ADHD assessment) family member who is in a similar kind of job and has a lot of anxiety about managing his billable time.

Apologies

What??? Eugenics?? Have you been smoking sonething?
My suggestion was all candidates can use the 25% extra time if they wish.

But the school has to provide evidence that the child needs it otherwise they will be disadvantaged. You are suggesting that children who need it should go without it because....?

No (and yes.)

If extra time starts to become the norm in a way - if so many students have been diagnosed with SEND that extra time is no longer exceptional circumstances then I do think it’s something we need to consider.

I am sure for some subjects extra time wouldn’t make a difference but it does in mine so I do have a dog in this race.