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

It is in the school's nterests for as many kids as possible to have extra time.

It is discriminatory. If someone with ADHD, DSD etc applied for a job. It would be a reasonable adjustment under the Equality Act to give them longer time for tasks, or give them acess to a quiet room to not get unregulated. Again, if someone needed flexible working because of their disability it's a reasonable adjustment. Some people get questions written and sent to them before a meeting and a day in advance for job interviews if they have processing disorders etc. Then they're more prepared for the interview and then they won't get too flustered in the interview. Again a reasonable adjustment for a job interview. It would illegal to even ask someone whether or not they got extra time in an exam. The opinion that time is money doesn't allow you to discriminate against people who need more time.

The glasses analogy is silly.

A better analogy would be baseline testing everyone at running to select for the olympics and then giving the slower people a head start. It would kind of be fair, everyone would have more of a chance at winning - but if all the selection committee know is the order the come in in they might get the wrong idea about who would be best to be selected.

You clearly don't understand why people have access arrangements.

@OhCrumbsWhereNow put it really well, they said...

It's about levelling the playing field.

It would be like asking all students who wear glasses to leave them in their bags outside the room because they get an 'advantage'. Nope, they just get to see in line with non-glasses wearing peers.

It is not just about extra time - again you demonstrate that you don't understand what access arrangements are about...

Thelively, is it unreasonable for an employer to want to employ the best person for the job? Access to a quiet room - not many jobs where this would be reasonable i
f it means stopping whatever task they are doing.

In my DDs case she needed to be in a small room.
she gets overwhelmed in the large exam hall. Providing a smaller room for her to take her exams means she can concentrate on the exam instead of her ASD anxiety sending her into a meltdown.

But that's a requirement from her ASD, not from needing extra time.

Plenty of kids who get extra time can cope with the exam hall.

This is the stupidest analogy yet.

If your child doesn't need extra time I don't know what the problem is really.

Our teen just sat GCSEs and I asked him if he would have benefitted from extra time (he doesn't need it was just a part of a general "how was the exam" chat) - "god no" was the general answer, and this included Eng Lit!

He said he would second guess his answers, probably go back and change stuff detrimentally. If you get the full 25% in Eng Lit it's over 3 hours in an exam, that would not help at all. Apart from the English exams where he was writing until almost the end, he didn't take any other essay subjects, but finished in time, with time to check over the paper, he was happy to be done and out in the time allocated.

It's not an advantage if your child doesn't need it.

So why people think it is. If you have secondary school children sitting exams, talk to them, they will probably tell you the amount of time in an exam is fine, if you don't know something, thinking about it for an extra 25% of time isn't going to make you suddenly know it.

If you break it down and work it out between all the questions it works out at seconds per question extra, it's not a lot.

It's not an advantage if you have an able child, so if you do have a child who doesn't need extra time there really isn't any need to feel it is unfair if some do for valid reasons.

It's also possible that the best person for the job can also have ADHD, ASD, dyslexia, a processing disorder. Having those disorders doesn't mean they can't be the best for the job.

They could still work in the quiet room, just somewhere with less people. Others might need tasks to be written down and not just delivered verbally. These don't mean they cannot be very well qualified at the job but just that they need some adjustments to ensure they can work to the best of their ability.

If an employer either refuses to give accommodations (quiet room is a very acceptable one, again some might need longer time for tasks etc) then they are liable for a claim of disability discrimination. If they also then do not finish th process of hiring someone (they had given the job or gone to next interview stage) when finding out about said need for reasonable adjustments or disability - they are again making themselves liable to a claim.

Plenty of office jobs would provide a quiet working environment as they would let workers wear headphones. When I worked in software lots of engineers did just that.

If employers want the 'best person for the job' then they need to interview for that, by working out what skills they need and then enquiring / testing for them.

Knowing whether someone has had extra time for their GCSEs / A levels / Uni exams doesn't tell you how good they would be at customer service, or attention to detail, or innovative thinking..

It would be possibly foolish for someone with slow processing to go for a job where quick fire rapid decisions are made (eg A&E doctor), but the majority of jobs aren't so intense that a slightly longer reaction isn't OK.

Having just been through GCSEs with my DS, I would say that he had plenty of time for the exams with the exception of English Language. He is borderline for a 4 and would probably have done better with a bit more time as he struggled to finish the paper. Given the difference between a 3 and a 4 will massively affect his college course next year, it was hard for him to see others (who are doing better than him overall) getting extra time. There is also the concern that if more and more children get extra time, will this move the grade boundaries making it harder for the children without extra time to get the magic 4. To be honest I don’t know what slow processing is and how that compares to my son who just seemed to be of very average ability (at best). I’m beginning to wonder if I’ve done him a disservice by not pushing for some kind of assessment to see why he struggles with academic subjects.

Exam boards are trying to get rid of too many pupils having extra time and concentrating on those pupils who really need some extra support.
They now recommend trialling rest breaks, which are more appropriate for most. If you take rest breaks, the time out gets added on at the end. Of course, the problem with this is some pupils abuse the system and disappear to the toilet several times during the exam. No one knows if they have notes on their body.
Exam boards now want clear evidence of need for support, not just pushy parents who suddenly say that their child gets severe migraines in year 11 and needs extra time. Most pupils with extra time do not use it anyway, so rest breaks seem a better option.

Anyone who has a dc with send or semh issues knows how difficult it is to get EA for exams.
But the right wing press loves to bleat on about "young people today".
So, no. I'm not surprised but the stats.

@GCSEnerves Here's an example

My DD has slow processing and poor working memory and dyslexia, and dyspraxia.

If I have to spell a word out for her I have to go M..........E............M............O...........R.............Y

To a usual speed person I would go M E M....O R Y

She has to read questions over more often and refer back to them more often to hold in her head what they are asking. She wanders off when writing as she forgets what she has written at the start of a sentence by the time she has got to the end.

She needs extra time as it takes her longer to process the questions. She did her exams in a smaller room to help with her anxiety. She did have to do one of her exams in the regular hall as there wasn’t anywhere else for her go. It was difficult for her to concentrate and massively disruptive when those who didn’t have extra time left the hall.

I actually can’t believe some of the comments on this thread. There are some really shocking opinions. Extra time and smaller rooms is all about creating a level playing field for all pupils. It’s not an advantage.

I’m also glad that I work for an employer who recognises that providing reasonable adjustments throughout the interview process and in the workplace ensures a robust and diverse workforce. Why anyone would want or need to know who had extra time in a GCSE exam is beyond me. I’m actually astounded that people even think they should have a right to know! What utter nonsense.

Maybe. I needed glasses but I didn't get them until yr9 too lol. I used to look at what my friends had copied from the board because I couldn't see it.

I have a thing where I struggle if someone says a number to get it straight in my head, or sometimes I'll say a number out loud and I mix up the numbers, even though in my head I'm fine, it's something between my brain and mouth/ears.

I never thought to try get adjustments because I thought that's just how I am and that's what's being tested. So I didn't really understand some of the other children getting extra time and thought it's just their parents being pushy, and I didn't have had parental support to do anything about it myself. I've done quite well with qualifications despite it though, especially with maths funnily enough.

I don't know why you are responding to me like this.

I was pointing out that a small room is a separate access arrangement to extra time. Kids whose only access arrangement is extra time don't need to be in a small room, they can be in the main hall with everyone else.

Kids who need a small room may or may not also need extra time. They are separate arrangements.

And I don't think small room needs to be applied for or evidenced.

So if extra time isn't an advantage, why not just give it to everyone who wants it? You can't have it both ways!

Because it would be a waste of time.

You don't seem to understand that giving kids more time to finish an exam they have already completed won't improve their grades.

Teento - Reasonable adjustments in the work place is very job dependent. I know lots of people in the medical world and lots of teachers. Not much in the way of reasonable adjustments possible! Other people I know tend to be in business or professional jobs, I don’t think I know anyone who has adjustments in their job. I know plenty of people with dyslexia/ ADHD but they just get on with their jobs.

This.
I was until recently teaching in a school where sharp elbowed parents absolutely were and are gaming the system.
Unfortunately they are also imbuing a victim mentality in their DC too.

What sad response - just because someone is from a middle class background doesn't mean they can't have a child that needs support in school. This is stereotypical of some people on mumsnets sadly and to see it from another teacher is depressing. I just glad the teachers I know are like this.

Yes. I know of parents who have taken their child for multiple screenings until they get the diagnosis they want, the concept that some children are less able and don’t have a particular SEN seems to have disappeared.