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

Then why not only ask maths questions as equations?

People who have extra time are still under time pressure. It's simply the case that they are not subject to extra pressure unfairly because they have difficulties which mean they cannot work quickly. It is calculated that they have the same amount of time in proportion to their working speed.

Discrimination at it's finest...

You attitude is truly disgusting.

my daughter has dyslexia. It takes her twice as long to read the fucking question as other kids. Therefore she will need extra time just so she can be able to do the same thing as other kids.

go and educate yourself. Or watch Jamie Oliver’s recent documentary on it.

I hope to god my child never comes across someone like you in the school or the workplace.

Two out of four DC have been granted extra time in exams. For legitimate reasons after a comprehensive assessment from occupational therapy services. It wasn't for shits and giggles.

She is, and she does. But she was adamantly opposed to getting anything that might be seen as a paid-for or unjust advantage.

She could and probably should have applied for extra time even without a diagnosis, but again, she felt that might be unfairly gaming the system.

I admire her integrity. I just wish the NHS had taken less than her entire degree to complete the process (she was referred in her first year). No prizes to anyone guessing what diagnos(e)s finally arrived...

Autism is automatically extra time, Dyslexia is not.

Because there is, as you yourself pointed out, also a processing element in working out how to apply mathematical rules to a given scenario, and there is also an element of teaching children that maths applies in real life. Take the example given above - "Johnny has three apples and Sara has four oranges" when the question is how much fruit there is: a dyslexic person may take ages to decipher that and still misread something vital to the question. So they have someone to read the question out to them. They still have to work out what the question is and what mathematical process they have to apply to it, and then do it. The reader is not going to read that question out as "what is three plus four?"

One has dysgraphia and hypermobility in his fingers. The other has hypermobility and static tight grip of a pencil whilst writing where he uses his whole upper body and limb strength which makes writing very laborious for him. He has been recommended ICT for large pieces of text and also extra time for assessment and exam conditions.

Certain posters are totally clueless and need to keep an open mind. It's a great thing more awareness is around when it comes to additional needs. It's finally being taken seriously. This is a win for my family and others out there.

The level of prejudice from some posters on this thread is disappointing and some have displayed viewpoints that should long ago have been consigned to history.

But then again one does still hear shocking views on maternity leave. I despair.

As another poster said, I’d like to see the stats on how extra time boosts (or not) the grades, to see the impact on those who don’t have extra time.

The system is very strict. Each student, unless they have a diagnosis of autism, needs a standardised score of 84 or below in two or more psychometric tests and evidence that extra time is their normal way of working in every subject applied for. JCQ inspectors arrive unannounced and ask to see samples of the evidence. The qualification for exam access arrangements assessment is stringent and took me a year to complete.

OK so if you ignore the "reading and" part that I said, do we agree that processing information is part of what's being assessed?

I do think at a point, some children are getting advantages because their parents could be bothered trying to get them extra time/allowances, over the kids with uninterested parents who just have to muddle through. I'm not against everyone having extra time or support, but I did notice lots of the people who got it were those with very involved/caring parents.

JCQ walk into schools and ask for evidence that schools are complying with JCQ regulations around examinations access arrangements.

I'd imagine those that think people shouldn't be granted extra time the same people that think disability benefits shouldn't exist. 'Get back to work but I'll put as many obstacles in your way as possible'. It is almost as if they feel threatened so need these obstacles to keep themselves 'superior'.

Why is it controversial that processing is being assessed? For a dyslexic person, that isn't the issue, and having a reader doesn't help with processing. For someone who has a learning difficulty in relation to processing, the appropriate adjustment may be more time to process, but that is entirely fair as you are assessing processing ability rather than speed.

I'm afraid it's just a fact that having very involved parents are likely to confer a natural advantage in all sorts of ways except, perhaps, in helping their children to develop independence and resilience. Taking away concessions of children with learning difficulties is not going to counter that inbuilt advantage.

Under the rules, which I know inside out, he was entitled to both.

I do think at a point, some children are getting advantages because their parents could be bothered trying to get them extra time/allowances, over the kids with uninterested parents who just have to muddle through.

I'd be careful not to label as "uninterested" the parents who are baffled or thwarted by the system and unable to negotiate the barriers placed between them and help for their child.

You said an Invigilator only sat and watched for cheats!

They are of course aware of who has extra time/has a separate room/a scribe etc etc.

From my point of view there comes a tipping point when the extra accommodations accommodate too many. It got to a point where there were far more in a “separate room” than in the main hall! Also kids who had to have a corner seat etc or a cupboard. One girl I remember had masses of extra time plus 20-min breaks for a condition: she spent the first part of the exam doing nothing and then did the exam in the extra time. If the exam was in the afternoon everyone was well cheesed off as this delayed all the admin. In this school it was the school pushing for extra time to try to heave a few over the line.

In sixth form dd came home rather upset upon discovering that 15 of her class of 20 had extra time for English A Level. In this school it was the parents doing the pushing.

In the spirit of full disclosure ds had extra time and a laptop as he can’t use his hands very well. Don’t worry - he is not demanding to be a surgeon!

Some people need to remember that conditions like autism, dyslexia etc are better understood now hence why more are diagnosed rather than be considered "slow" or "just not clever".

I mentioned my DH upthread about getting a few extra arrangements at work due to his dyslexia. He was diagnosed after DD as it was her difficulties that made him realise why he had always struggled with certain things. He was considered "bright but lazy" as an explanation for why he failed his English GCSE.

One girl I remember had masses of extra time plus 20-min breaks for a condition: she spent the first part of the exam doing nothing and then did the exam in the extra time.

I could imagine DS doing that. It was part of the reason he had the extra time in the first place -- to give him a shot at being functional for a good enough chunk of the exam to come up with coherent answers.

I'm sure that's part of it, but there's plenty of parents who are just aren't that interested or involved in their children's school work.

My mom was supposed to sign my planner every week to check how I was doing, for the first few years she signed off every week at the beginning of the year, by yr10 I just forged it. No way would I have been able to get her to have me assessed if I needed extra support.

I wish I’d had extra time! I remember the paralytic horror of turning over the paper, eyes failing to focus, palms pouring with sweat 😫

One girl (shhhh) I gave my own extra time to was one who was suddenly stricken with an upset stomach and had to dash to the loo several times as she had got very worked up about doing well.

Sigh... DD would very happily swap her extra time to not be severely dyslexic.

She did a mix of GCSEs and BTEC - anything with course work (often done at school semi-invigilated) she scored 98-100% on.

In class she works at an 8... because she can have a laptop with spell check and editing software, in exams she loses that software and her marks crash. She's top set for English and considered gifted at creative writing... but loses nearly 20% of the marks in English Language before she's even entered the exam room.

If you employed her, you would never know how big her problems are because she can use tech to fix them. But she'll have to work twice as hard as anyone else to read everything.

Luckily she's going into a sector where it's dyslexic heavy and nobody will care if she can spell, but if she didn't have that option I would be extremely worried about whether she would be discriminated against.

I do a lot of ghost writing as part of my job, and a lot of household names are profoundly dyslexic. They just employ other people to check everything, or re-draft or scribe everything.

@HappilyUrbanTrimmer very well said. Please can posters such @catbathat& @sleepingonapineneedle remember that people should be judged on their own merits. eg My Dd took a Cybersecurity HND. Top possible grade (extra time for Dyslexia). 3 years later & AI is available. She knows all of this years cohort. ALL but 1 are using AI to write the Python for the graded work. My Dyslexic Ds is also Autistic & would never cheat. Plus she has a skill set those 'standard kids' don't have. I know which I'd rather employ! 'Extra time' has become a political & financial football. Of course we can all have our own opinions but it would be helpful if the body in charge collected accurate stats.