Extra time in exams

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Ha, it is possible to prove if someone has a learning difficulty. Go research it or at least get a good understanding of the topic before you post about it.

Says the person who didn't even bother "researching" what my post was even about. And i said "It isn't possible to "prove" someone has some learning difficulties" Not all, some. And if every one can be proved, why is it some people without disabilities/learning difficulties get extra time?

Reply 21

Finn77x

the motivation for this post is you crying over others in your maths exam getting extra time and not you. You I assume did not do well in it or finish it so you feel the need to rant about extra time.

In the end, it's your exam your interest in other peoples exams and additional help is not important. You are not trying to beat those in the room, you are trying to gain a qualification showing you have the skills needed for a job.

Stop posting about stuff which you clearly do not understand.

Come back when your dyslexic and you accurately know how hard it is to do exams. Also I am sitting on AAB ( History, Moving Image Arts and Sociology) and I have both extra time and a scribe, what you going to do about it? :biggrin:

Reply 22

RememberMeWhen

I think people need to understand everything about dyslexia before they decide whether or not they should be given extra time or not. It's all right saying how unfair it is when you don't have the condition.

If someone had a medical problem they wouldn't be expected to run a marathon like everyone else, would they? Having a natural disadvantage that you have no control over whatsoever isn't something to dispute about.

Reply 23

Stevo F

Original post by Finn77x

actually no, I'd thought about posting this for a while but wasn't going to do until my exams were out of the way, today was my last exam. And I am trying to beat other people in the room, ever heard of something called UMS?

Reply 24

R4INBOW

Does it really matter? At the end of the day focus on your own life. If you're so butt hurt about people with no learning difficulties getting extra time then go and report them. No point complaining on tsr.

This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

Reply 25

Stevo F

Original post by R4INBOW

I'm not complaining, I'm just asking people's opinion and expressing my own

Reply 26

Finn77x

Lol you amuse me.

re-read what I said.

come back and whine when you have learning difficulties and understand the need for extra time or other allowances in exam periods.

Reply 27

TenOfThem

Original post by Stevo F

... ...

The learning issue that you mentioned in your OP was dyslexia so it is not surprising that people think that is the LD you are referring to even when you generalise later on

The time allowed in an exam is adequate for people with no learning or physical difficulties to demonstrate their ability in the subject

People who "cannot write quickly" would have a physical disability rather than a learning one

You suggest that people are given extra time when they have no issues ... how do you know ... I do not imagine that you have a full medical history of everyone in your exam hall

The board requirements prior to the allocation of extra time (or a reader or scribe or laptop) are very exacting and I find it difficult to believe that anyone in your exam is having time without a proven need

If you actually believe that your school is cheating then perhaps you should make a complaint to the JCQ about them

Regarding the other aspect ... that of the workplace ... perhaps you should check out the laws regarding disabled people in the workplace

Reply 28

Data

Original post by TenOfThem

The board requirements prior to the allocation of extra time (or a reader or scribe or laptop) are very exacting and I find it difficult to believe that anyone in your exam is having time without a proven need

I disagree. I think there are massive inconsistencies in the assessments made by specialist teachers and Ed Psychs and a fair amount of getting extra time is having a parent who complains enough. As an exam officer, you have to process what the 'expert' has recommended but when they are viewed collectively they are not consistent and someone being assessed more than once by different people can get quite different assessments of need.

Reply 29

SophiaKeuning

The thing is, school isn't the workplace. Education doesn't = work. Not everything is about work, how depressing. They are totally different.
But anyway, you suggest in the workplace they wouldn't get extra help, that it's not fair for them to get longer time, but who said the 'real world' is fair? It's actually a lot less fair than school!

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 30

Stevo F

Original post by SophiaKeuning

But anyway, you suggest in the workplace they wouldn't get extra help, that it's not fair for them to get longer time, but who said the real world is fair?

But this is part of my argument... life, as you say, isnt fair, so why try to compensate for it at school when as soon as they go into the workplace they don't get the same advantages?

Reply 31

TenOfThem

Original post by Data

You know more about this than me, Data

The "experts" in my school need evidence before they submit a claim to the exams officer

Reply 32

SophiaKeuning

Original post by Stevo F

But this is part of my argument... life, as you say, isnt fair, so why try to compensate for it at school when as soon as they go into the workplace they don't get the same advantages?

Because school is a part of real life which is about intellect. Say a person with dyslexia is doing a chemistry A Level exam. That exam is a measure of their capabilities at chemistry, they might be really good at it, one of the best in the class, but they will do rubbish if treated exactly the same as everyone else because it takes them a lot longer to decipher questions and write answers. The main problem with schools is that a lot of people fail if they don't fit into the quota for which it was designed (exams, exam times, lessons), but giving those who need it extra time school is just doing it's job well and not being so rigid. Giving extra time is ensuring that people get qualifications suitable for their brains. Dyslexia and the likes has nothing to do with stupidity. They shouldn't be punished and expected to work exactly the same as you and I when their minds work a little differently.

Reply 33

Data

Original post by TenOfThem

You know more about this than me, Data

The "experts" in my school need evidence before they submit a claim to the exams officer

I have met a few very intelligent students who were completely incapable of expressing their ideas on paper and they would fail dismally in exams without access arrangements. They got good grades at A level with a scribe as they did know their stuff but I'm not sure how they are going to use their knowledge in the real world if they can't even write an email - voice recognition software is getting better but it still has its limitations.

The current system is deeply flawed - one expert will say someone needs extra time with a writing speed of 16wpm, while another will say someone of the same age doesn't get it at 14wpm. Assessments are full of phrases like 'X would benefit from access to up to 25% extra time in some exams' - well wouldn't we all? It is then left to the Exams Officer to try and decide what it is fair to apply for. School league tables may pressurize you into applying for everything you think you can get, whether or not it is fair on all the other students whose parents haven't paid lots of money for an Ed Psych to find they write slowly.

The X gets nothing, but Y who is only marginally worse gets 25% extra is also deeply unfair. My school tries to operate a stepped system with candidates getting 10%, 17% or 25% extra but this is a pain to administer and causes howls of rage from parents who say the Ed Psych says their son would benefit from 'up to 25%' (which is the standard phrase) and why can't they have 25%?

Laptops are another bone of contention. We have candidates who type at 35wpm who, logically, ought to be given significantly less time than anyone else because they produce significantly more than anyone could handwrite. One boy last week churned out 13 typewritten pages in an exam; that's just unfair.

I could go on. I don't think access arrangements should be removed completely but they currently favour the middle classes and are badly regulated and often illogical.

Ironically, my daughter's school assessed her as qualifying for extra time without me ever mentioning it. She wrote a letter to say she didn't want it. Yes, I am sure have influenced her but that's what parents do.

Reply 34

SimplyEccentric

Is there always a surge of posts hating on those with extra time around exam season? Just curious. I must have seen 10 identical posts in as many weeks :sigh:

Reply 35

Stevo F

Original post by SimplyEccentric

Is there always a surge of posts hating on those with extra time around exam season? Just curious. I must have seen 10 identical posts in as many weeks :sigh:

This is the first time i've posted a thread about this issue and i've never seen one discussing it before, you must have been searching for it to find so many

Reply 36

madders94

Original post by Stevo F

This is the first time i've posted a thread about this issue and i've never seen one discussing it before, you must have been searching for it to find so many

Actually there have been a fair few and there's been no need to search for them, they pop up in the "Most recent post" thing fairly often.

Reply 37

madders94

Original post by Stevo F

But this is part of my argument... life, as you say, isnt fair, so why try to compensate for it at school when as soon as they go into the workplace they don't get the same advantages?

Workplaces DO have to make reasonable adjustments under the DDA and other rules so giving the pupils extra time is a reflection of what they'll have in the workplace.

http://www.beingdyslexic.co.uk/pages/information/dyslexic-adults/dyslexia-in-the-workplace/_adjustments-in-the-workplace-for-dyslexics.php

Reply 38

SimplyEccentric

Original post by Stevo F

This is the first time i've posted a thread about this issue and i've never seen one discussing it before, you must have been searching for it to find so many

Original post by madders94

Actually there have been a fair few and there's been no need to search for them, they pop up in the "Most recent post" thing fairly often.

You were saying, OP? :flutter:

That's where I found all of them, too! I may be too lazy to actually go into the forums; I just click a topic that interests me in the 'Latest' :colondollar:

Reply 39

Stevo F

Original post by SimplyEccentric

You were saying, OP? :flutter:

That's where I found all of them, too! I may be too lazy to actually go into the forums; I just click a topic that interests me in the 'Latest' :colondollar:

what do you mean "you were saying?" What i said still stands, I personally have never seen another thread on this and this is the first time I have posted about it.
I can't talk about what other people have seen because I'm not them, I've just got my own experience to go on...