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

You do know what an invigilator does, don't you? It's literally someone employed to come and sit in the exam room to ensure no-one cheats. Why on earth would they know whether the candidates need extra time or not?

And not all AOs use that service, some do their own inspections instead

I didn’t say they all used it. I was commenting on the fact you said JCQ wouldn’t pick it up when they might.

Extra time should equally be provided at work for this sort of test. If your company is not making reasonable adjustments it is liable to find itself paying out on some expensive disability discrimination claims, unless it can show that time is absolutely central to every aspect of the job the candidates are applying for.

Why did he have extra time though with a typing speed that fast? Sorry if I’ve misunderstood but surely he would qualify for the right to use a laptop in exams.

On the other hand, I worked in a school where a GCSE student was functionally illiterate and had to have someone read him all the exam questions and write down his answers for him. So if an employer sees that said child achieved a 5 in GCSE English language, that's not really representative of his ability.

And that is why you wouldn't get that sort of accommodation for English language.

The PP said that pupils with extra time were all in small rooms which is totally unnecessary.

I've read people who work at universities say that there is no process for deciding who needs reasonable adjustments at their establishment and they just give them to anyone who asks. Clearly they need to implement proper procedures.

Pupils who ask for a separate room at my school certainly wouldn't just be given one.

This is one of the most ignorant things I’ve read on here.

@catbathat As a child, did you ever have to sit day after day of exams and dictate all your answers (whether they are Maths equations or English essays) to another person (who is most likely a stranger with no knowledge of your speaking style or speed), speaking out loud for hours at a time without the usual process of your ideas flowing from your brain into your pen?

And you suggest that using a scribe saves time (and is therefore imply some kind of advantage) rather than a reasonable adjustment which allows the child who cannot write with a pen to get their knowledge on the paper in an exam situation?

I guess you are lucky that you have no experience of this and how awful it is to try and support your child through it - when they would love to be “normal” and sit their exams with everyone else.

My child had some friends spouting this kind of attitude - likely from their parents.

As PP have said, the process one has to go through to get these measures in place at a school are extremely difficult - it was assessed and not given freely to anyone who asks. Plus, my child was massively failed by the school many times when the agreed adjustments weren’t even in place on exam days. Leaving a child in an exam situation having to stand up for what they should have had set up for them.

Definitely not time saving or any kind of advantage!

@noblegiraffe if the AO is under JCQ then you have to apply to JCQ for any Access Arrangements and they do a spot check to make sure you have the data protection forms and evidence in their annual inspection (although in that inspection they can't read the evidence to make sure it is appropriate). JCQ also do separate inspections of the Access Arrangements where they go through all the evidence, so they have a process that should pick up schools who aren't doing it properly. Your school has given you correct info.

I can't speak for all other boards as I only use 1 non JCQ board but they have a similar process as well.

There is a huge misunderstanding of how AA work and how they are awarded and I'm glad Ofqual have admitted this mistake, although I don't expect people to 'believe' in SEN or AA anymore than they ever did 🤷‍♀️

But isn't reading and processing the question part of what's being assessed? If it was just (3+4)/2 I could fly through those questions

People with injuries so they can't write I think it's fine to have extra time, but I was always rushing to answer all questions (so some were missed or misunderstood) and my hands were killing me by the end of the exam. I didn't consider asking for extra time because I thought that's part of the test, if you can get it all done in the time given.

Ha ha

In what world does dictating, having them write it down and you having to wait for them to catch up. Then carrying on... take less time than someone just writing it down?

Honestly, try it yourself!

Listen to a podcast/radio/anything....maybe a Shakespeare sonnet just say something if 200 ish words...and transcribe it... See if you have to pause the podcast.. time yourself.
Then write a quick paragraph about what you did this morning in 200 words.

See what takes longer... I'll bet you the transcript takes longer...

No, your knowledge is being tested.

If some students weren't given the access arrangements they wouldn't complete the exam and might only complete 80% and get a 4, with all answers correct. But had they had the time to attempt all questions, they might get the 9 they actually deserve.

It's not about giving advantages, it's about them having a level playing field.

You wouldn't expect the person with poor vision to read a book without their glasses. But they should be able to read the book like a "normal" person can with arrangements that allow them to access the book. Same for the next person who is blind, should we deny them access to audio books?

Er, no.

You are quite wrong.

If it was just knowledge then why have wordy questions for maths at all? Just ask them as equations.

If I'd had extra time I would have got a better result too, that's common.

If you had extra time and would have got better results then you should have had extra time.

What? My DC has hypermobility and has to type exams - well everything, actually - it does not mean he gets some sort of advantage or that he's less intelligent. He also gets 25% extra time.

People seem to think that all kids are disadvantaged by not having extra time, because 'anyone would do better in the exam if they had more time to complete it.'

But they finish the exam in the allocated time. Extra time isn't going to do anything for them except give them longer to have a nap in the exam hall.

Some schools manage it that way. Those typing are usually in a room together.

They don't have wordy questions in maths exams as a whole.

You wouldn't have done any better with extra time, it wouldn't have magically increased your knowledge.

You probably would have spent the extra time twiddling your thumbs, or worse go back and doubt your answers and make them worse/incorrect. So you may have done worse.

Exams are timed and set with plenty of time for a "normal" person to complete them.

If that's the case then they should just get rid of the time limits entirely.

I don't have any disabilities but part of the test is what you can do in that time limit. That's why teachers told us to leave questions we didn't know until the end, if we had time. We had to prioritise so we'd pass.

The exams should either be time pressured for everyone or no-one.

About to write exactly the same. One of my DC has extra time due to slow processing and dyslexia. Perhaps if I give an example of where this helps. In a non-calculator maths exam he will need to use timestables. He tried for years to learn these using every method we could find. But he is still unable to recall all times tables successfully. So in an exam for every question requiring timestables he will need to recreate the timestable from scratch. That takes time. In real life he would use a calculator. He is a great employee and his workplace is lucky to have him.

So do explain exactly why an invigilator would know better than the exam board or the child's teachers whether a child needs extra time or not.

No, reading is not being assessed during a maths exam.

But in practice, the vast majority of people with disabilities requiring extra time are going to self select away from roles which would be made harder by their disabilities. There are relatively few dyslexic lawyers and relatively few maths teachers with dyscalculia. I can only speak for our family, but writing long documents where huge amounts can turn on the placement of a comma, or the selection of the correct homophone, would be a form of torture for DH and DD. They would prefer to stick pins in their eyes than do that sort of job.

As for the suggestion that exam results should in some way be branded with a big scarlet cross of shame for those using extra time so that employers can see it …. Jesus wept. Anyone with two brain cells to rub together can see that our current exam system isn’t testing individuals’ aptitude for success in the workplace. If students sitting GCSEs were allowed to use all the tools they’d be able to use in the workplace- spellcheck, dictation tools, etc - then perhaps that might be a more accurate assessment of how long it would take them to produce a report or a piece of technical advice when employed in later years. As things stand, they are being tested on skills which for many of them will not necessarily cause major difficulties once they have made it through the education system. It’s like asking everyone to sit their exams wearing deep sea diving suits. Those with respiratory problems might need extra adaptations but frankly, as they’re never going to need to wear said deep sea diving suits once they start work, who cares?!

Yes they do. The PP gave an example that I replied to.

How can you say what I would have done? I remember having to rush through questions and then if I had time I'd go back through to reread everything and sometimes add things or realise I'd misread the question entirely. That wouldn't have happened if I'd not been rushing.