[hannahchan]

I have extra time.. not for dyslexia reasons.. and still find it too short.

Extra time.. isn't always useful but it allows you to check your work and write more sensibly.


However time was speeding fast today in my exam .

[Stray]

(Original post by Sean9001)
... would not work with the same efficacy in the work place...

I think you mean efficiency. Efficacy is quite unrelated to timings and speed. But we won't judge you.

[hannahchan]

(Original post by Starfish101)
I don't think it's unfair that people with dyslexia get extra time- if they actually have it. But I do think it's unfair that other disabilities are not accounted for by the exam boards. I have SAD which makes it almost impossible for me to perform well in oral exams as I just can't speak or think in situations such as those but I've found I've just had to get on with it because even though my SAD is quite severe even at school it's often just dismissed as 'shy' which is quite unfair. But I guess exams can't be made fair of everyone

why don't you get a note from a councillor or like a psychiatrist or something?

If you're too depressed to work I think you should be given extra time. It really isn't fair to put pressure on those with depression or anxiety or something..

[CescaBeth]

I get extra time in the exams but thats because i have a spinal injury and cant sit for that length of time without having time to stand up and walk around a bit, so i'm put in a smaller room with dyslexic/dsypractic/people with other issues to do my exams.
The people in the room having these conditions at different levels but we all get the same extra time. Sometime people finish early, others dont it depends on the exam but if you actually met some of these people and saw how they work you'd understand the need for the extra time. I mean some of them have to use a word processor to write as they cant write clearly enough for their work to be understood. And before people say this is cheating they have to enter codes to log onto them and there is no spell or grammer check on them.
If you truly need help your school should pick it up or if you talk to a teacher about it they have ways to help you, but even with extra time some people dont finish so saying its not fair to those who dont finish it, maybe they should practice to speed up/ stop wasting time looking at the clock or moaning about people with extra time.

[corpuscallosum]

I should mention that dyslexia has become somewhat an umbrella term for learning disabilities. Dyslexia refers to difficulty with words. Dyscalcula refers to difficulty with numbers. Dyspraxia refers to difficulty with coordination of the body.

[CSM1996]

I don't know if it's the same in England, but in Scotland for your English exam you get marked down for spelling, but if you're dyslexic you don't get marked down for your spelling or punctuation or anything... which I think is unfair.

[Starfish101]

(Original post by hannahchan)
why don't you get a note from a councillor or like a psychiatrist or something?

If you're too depressed to work I think you should be given extra time. It really isn't fair to put pressure on those with depression or anxiety or something..

Yeah I know, but I'm not depressed, when I don't have to speak it's actually quite funny... (I have a warped sense of humour). But I was just trying to point out that dyslexia shouldn't be the only disability which should be taken into special consideration

and by SAD I mean the anxiety disorder where you get anxiety in social situations and not the depression thing which I know nothnig about.

[Jessica-Fox]

So basically what your saying is that somebody who needs help reading and writing shouldn’t be able allowed extra time to be able to read the question properly, write the question out correctly and check it? Why don’t we just stop them from taking exams all together since their so stupid? While we’re at it we might as well take down ramps and tell people in wheelchairs to walk up the stairs ad stop being stubborn…

It’s called a disability and disables people either physically or mentally get extra help in many aspects in life and work places do make allowances for dyslexic people, personally I don’t see a problem. Exams are written with people who are not disabled in mind, and therefore once somebody with a disability wants to take the test exceptions are made. I think you should worry more about your own education and finishing your exam on time rather than trying to make others who aren’t as able as you suffer and struggle unnecessary.

[Stray]

(Original post by AnnaW93)
...and the dyslexia test my school offers is suitable for people a lot younger than her, so how can it accurately determine how severe her 'dyslexia' is?

What? SEN has to be assessed by an approved educational psychologist - usually a local authority one, but they can be accessed privately too.

The assessment takes between a half-day and a day. The school can only provide a preliminary assessment which would pre-screen people to be referred to the Ed Psych (and most schools do because Ed Psych time is in short supply).

My guess is that what she had wasn't a dyslexia test - it was just a reading / writing speed test.

Technically there are specialist teachers who can also provide an assessment purely of reading and writing speed, and if you fall below around 85% of the bottom of the curve, you can get extra time, but this would only happen if you also - through out your school career - had a history of teachers reporting that you weren't able to finish your work during class time and so on. It has to have been observed that your 'normal way of working' requires extra time.

If she's getting 25% extra time on the basis of a quick test carried out at school without a history of failing to finish tests and classwork in normal time then your school are doing it wrong... that's unfortunate.

Quoting from the regulations:

"Evidence must also include unfinished mock examinations or other timed assessments or an individual education plan or an individual learning plan or a compilation of observations or comments from teaching staff."

Again - I'm guessing that your friend hasn't told you the whole truth - perhaps it was actually teachers that requested that she take the test? Without their reporting of her problem she shouldn't have qualified for extra time unless she had a statement of special needs or a diagnosis from an educational psychologist.

[hannahchan]

(Original post by CescaBeth)
I get extra time in the exams but thats because i have a spinal injury and cant sit for that length of time without having time to stand up and walk around a bit, so i'm put in a smaller room with dyslexic/dsypractic/people with other issues to do my exams.
The people in the room having these conditions at different levels but we all get the same extra time. Sometime people finish early, others dont it depends on the exam but if you actually met some of these people and saw how they work you'd understand the need for the extra time. I mean some of them have to use a word processor to write as they cant write clearly enough for their work to be understood. And before people say this is cheating they have to enter codes to log onto them and there is no spell or grammer check on them.
If you truly need help your school should pick it up or if you talk to a teacher about it they have ways to help you, but even with extra time some people dont finish so saying its not fair to those who dont finish it, maybe they should practice to speed up/ stop wasting time looking at the clock or moaning about people with extra time.

that is me lol. I can't write properly either.. computer's really aren't good.. but if I wrote it by hand it would end being a big scrawl.

With the computer it takes much longer and you have to faff with a usb and all that crap and then remember to mark the question and candidate number and stuff.

Plus with a computer your more inclined to edit your work instead of actually just writing your answer.

[OU Student]

(Original post by Sean9001)
There is no special consideration, or extra-lenience in the work place for somebody who has dyslexia.

Actually, there is. An employer is required by law to make reasonable adjustments.

[Starfish101]

(Original post by hannahchan)
that is me lol. I can't write properly either.. computer's really aren't good.. but if I wrote it by hand it would end being a big scrawl.

With the computer it takes much longer and you have to faff with a usb and all that crap and then remember to mark the question and candidate number and stuff.

Plus with a computer your more inclined to edit your work instead of actually just writing your answer.

And you can't use the bad handwriting excuse to save your bad spelling! (the only way I manage to pass English exams)

[Ps3SuperSRG]

They shouldn't. But this isn't as bad as people who get more time for having bad hand writing. I can safely say my handwriting is awful but why don't i get extra time? This is made worse by the fact those with extra time don't put effort to improve their writing so just get extra time for no reason

This was posted from The Student Room's Android App on my GT-I9100

[TheWaugh]

I just see it now, OP is stopped at a crossing in their car. An old lady starts to walk across the road rather slowly, the lights change from red to amber then to green. The old lady is still crossing the road, OP thinks "why should she get extra time? I don't". Long story short OP commits traffic offence.
Welcome to the real world!

[Sean9001]

(Original post by OU Student)
Actually, there is. An employer is required by law to make reasonable adjustments.

Red-tape at its finest.

[Sean9001]

(Original post by Stray)
I think you mean efficiency. Efficacy is quite unrelated to timings and speed. But we won't judge you.

Yes. Feeling the shame.

[lubus]

agree 100%,there have been maths exams where i would have benefited from 25% more time (d1 and d2, cocking up algorithms and having to start over grrrr)

dyslexia doesnt affect you rability to do maths.

+ im sure there are people who are just bad at spelling and thinking who get diagnosed for dyslexia to get more time

[RedLizzie]

I feel like I'm fighting a tide of ignorance with this thread. I hope that in the future you'll become more understanding, empathetic and kind, (and never have a child who has any kind of special needs). You'd be well advised to concentrate on the above and becoming less concerned with other people and more centered on your own success.

[minimarshmallow]

(Original post by Sean9001)
And awarding extra time merely disguises the candidate's inability to perform at the same level as other candidates. Exams provide a way for employers to judge the abilities of future employees. There is no special consideration, or extra-lenience in the work place for somebody who has dyslexia. Therefore, all students should sit exams under the same time limits because that presents the most accurate comparison of what those people would realistically be able to produce at work.

Someone who achieves 75% in a 2 hour exam, and someone who achieves 75% in a 2 1/2 hour exam would not work with the same efficacy in the work place. Extra time wrongfully takes away a recruiter's abillity to identify the best candidates.

I wish people would read the thread before thinking they've got a new point to make when they haven't, but I'll say this for the millionth time anyway:
I can't think of a job where you would have to read a question, handwrite an answer and then read over it within the space of an hour on strictly controlled question and answer papers that have to be written in certain colours. The deficits will be negligible in most workplaces, especially as you'd have access to coloured overlays, coloured papers, screen readers, changeable fonts and usually a computer rather than handwriting etc.
The extra time allows the dyslexic person the same opportunity to get down all of the information they know as a neurotypical person - if you took away extra time you would be taking away a recruiter's ability to identify the best candidates because a dyslexic person may know more than a neurotypical, not the other way around as you stated.

[08rbut]

I think that dyslexics being given extra time is a good thing, as I have a friend with dyslexia. I know that when she reads something, she does not always get it 100%. In English exams, it is extremely useful, as I do realise she makes a fair few spelling errors and even when proof reading, she may not get it, but there is a bigger chance she will notice her errors if given extra time.