Access Arrangement
I really need advice and would appreciate some advice. I no longer receive extra time and in the run up to my exams I have noticed that I am struggling to complete all mock and mini tests. This is causing huge anxiety and causing me to skip meals, constantly cry and worry and more recently, make my OCD even worse. I do not have a formal diagnosis for OCD or anxiety and it is easy to minimise my behaviour as normal pre test anxiety but I know it is more significant. I consistently cannot complete tests and struggle to leave questions blank, preoccupied by my handwriting and the impact of the blank questions on my results.
As such I come out of all tests really upset. I can't perform to the best of my abilities because I cannot organise my thoughts onto paper and move fast enough through the questions.
I was assessed by the school assessor due to having a dyslexia diagnosis and scored below 84 in the Phonological memory test. All other scores were average and so I do not qualify for extra time under the JCQ guidelines.
However, the DASH was not completed on the basis that I had a standard score of 105 without completing the free writing subtext and I am worried that the school haven't fully completed the tests because this test would have provided a picture of how I can organise my thoughts and record them which is more representative of processing in an exam situation.
So my question is: can the school skip administering the DASH based on the standard average score? Would it have impacted the results (ie 2 scores below 84) The school have said they will not revisit the assessment by conducting another but have accepted they will administer a maths fluency assessment as they had not carried this out previously.
Also is there any other tests or evidence I can obtain which can support me and show the school that even though their tests don't merit extra time, there is something else going on which is impacting my ability to complete questions in time. This is not a case of me simply being slow and needing to speed up. I have personal tutors who strongly believe I am capable of getting high scores but not able to perform in exam time limits because I cannot leave questions blank or obsess with writing, punctuation and mistakes.
I currently have rest breaks which do not help because I then lose my thread and can't resettle.
Any advice would be really appreciated. TIA
As such I come out of all tests really upset. I can't perform to the best of my abilities because I cannot organise my thoughts onto paper and move fast enough through the questions.
I was assessed by the school assessor due to having a dyslexia diagnosis and scored below 84 in the Phonological memory test. All other scores were average and so I do not qualify for extra time under the JCQ guidelines.
However, the DASH was not completed on the basis that I had a standard score of 105 without completing the free writing subtext and I am worried that the school haven't fully completed the tests because this test would have provided a picture of how I can organise my thoughts and record them which is more representative of processing in an exam situation.
So my question is: can the school skip administering the DASH based on the standard average score? Would it have impacted the results (ie 2 scores below 84) The school have said they will not revisit the assessment by conducting another but have accepted they will administer a maths fluency assessment as they had not carried this out previously.
Also is there any other tests or evidence I can obtain which can support me and show the school that even though their tests don't merit extra time, there is something else going on which is impacting my ability to complete questions in time. This is not a case of me simply being slow and needing to speed up. I have personal tutors who strongly believe I am capable of getting high scores but not able to perform in exam time limits because I cannot leave questions blank or obsess with writing, punctuation and mistakes.
I currently have rest breaks which do not help because I then lose my thread and can't resettle.
Any advice would be really appreciated. TIA
Hi Sandy.
It sounds to me as if you would really benefit from a discussion with the disability and support teams at the university your applying to.
Like you I have personal physical and mental health issues that impact on my study. There is support available.
The disabled students allowance is a form of student finance you don’t have to pay back, that funds some forms of student support.
Reaching out to the support team at your university or the one your applying to will start the process of getting brilliant quality advice, and starting the process of getting the right support arrangements in place for you to enable you to be successful.
It’s important to be open and honest with advisors so they can help you in the most effective manner.
It sounds to me as if you would really benefit from a discussion with the disability and support teams at the university your applying to.
Like you I have personal physical and mental health issues that impact on my study. There is support available.
The disabled students allowance is a form of student finance you don’t have to pay back, that funds some forms of student support.
Reaching out to the support team at your university or the one your applying to will start the process of getting brilliant quality advice, and starting the process of getting the right support arrangements in place for you to enable you to be successful.
It’s important to be open and honest with advisors so they can help you in the most effective manner.
