Judul : Data blunder led to overestimate of special needs pupils getting extra time in exams by 50%
link : Data blunder led to overestimate of special needs pupils getting extra time in exams by 50%
Data blunder led to overestimate of special needs pupils getting extra time in exams by 50%
Exam chiefs have admitted they overestimated the proportion of children getting extra time in exams for special needs by more than 50 per cent.
In an extraordinary blunder, Ofqual, the exams regulator, admitted the real figure is much lower that what it originally said.
The mistake was caused by including duplicate applications in its data for the last decade.
The latest figures showed an incredible 30 per cent of children got extra time in their A-level and GCSE exams,following a massive rise since 2016.
However, today, the regulator admitted the real figure is likely to be less than 19 per cent.
It means Ofqual are now withdrawing ten years’ worth of data, and will re-publish the latest figures in the coming months.
The mistake is significant because the supposed enormous rise in children being granted extra time for special needs has become a political headache for the Government.
Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, has been battling how to mend the country’s overloaded and ‘broken’ special needs system.
As part of this, she asked Ofqual to look into why there was a large disparity between the percentage of children who get extra time at private schools, at 42 per cent, compared with those at state schools, at 27 per cent.
Today, Ofqual admitted that the real figures for private and state schools will be broadly in line with their respective special needs populations.
Tom Bramley, executive director of research and analysis at Ofqual, said: ‘We are correcting the record as soon as possible.
‘The access arrangements process has not changed, and students who received support did so appropriately.
‘This issue is limited to our access arrangements dataset and our other statistics are not affected.’
In a blog post, Mr Bramley said the error had been due to incorrect reporting at a local level.
It included those who didn’t sit exams in the year being recorded, and duplicate applications for the same student.
‘Reporting was based on data that was not linked to individual student exam entry records, making validation difficult,’ he added.
He said that the proportion of students receiving special exam arrangements – including extra time – was much more closely aligned than previously reported to the proportion of students with special educational needs reported in the school population.’
Pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) can apply for extra time in exams – with 25 per cent extra time being the most common.
It is known as an ‘access arrangement’ – and others in this category include use of a reader or scribe.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said: ‘While it is regrettable that problems have been identified with these statistics, Ofqual has done the right thing in withdrawing them and working to correct and republish them.
‘Having correct datasets on access arrangements is vital to identify trends and changes across the system.
‘School leaders have certainly seen more requests for access arrangements in recent years in the aftermath of Covid, increased reports of anxiety and mental ill-health, and significant rises in numbers of children with additional needs.’
Ofqual is due to publish revised statistics in late 2025, covering the academic years from 2020/21 onwards.
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