Extra time in exams: Are we asking the right question?

When people hear that a student receives extra time in exams, the assumption is usually straightforward: more time means a fairer chance to succeed. But what if that extra time isn’t always used? What if, for some students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), it isn’t even the support they need most?

Those are some of the questions explored in our latest research into exam access arrangements, based on conversations with students, exams officers and school leaders across England. The findings challenge some long-held assumptions and suggest that, while extra time remains an important tool for inclusion, we may need to think more carefully about how it is used and whether it is always the right answer.

The assumption we rarely challenge

Extra time is now by far the most common access arrangement in England’s exam system, accounting for more than 90% of approved arrangements. Yet one of the most striking findings from our research is that being awarded extra time doesn’t guarantee students will use it. Many school staff told us that students often leave before their allocated time has finished. Some use only part of it. Others avoid it entirely.

The reasons are surprisingly human. Some students don’t want to be the last person left in an exam room while their friends head outside. Others feel uncomfortable being seen as different. One student described hearing comments about the ‘special line’ when students with arrangements were directed separately before an exam. Another admitted that because they received extra time late in their school career, they never really learned how to use it effectively. For some, the challenge is not time at all. As one exams officer put it: “If they don’t know the content, giving them another half-hour isn’t going to make the answers suddenly appear.”

None of this diminishes the value of extra time. But it does suggest that putting it in place is only part of the story.

Inclusion is about confidence, not just entitlement

A recurring theme throughout the research was that students need support to make the most of access arrangements.

Many schools invest significant effort in identifying need, gathering evidence and securing approvals. Yet students told us they often receive little guidance on how to use the additional time once it’s been awarded.

Should they use it to review answers? Plan longer responses? Reread source material?

The answer often depends on the subject. Our research found that students were more likely to use extra time in subjects such as English, where reading and extended writing are central, than in subjects with shorter responses, such as GCSE Maths.

The findings suggest that providing extra time is only the first step. Helping students use it confidently may be just as important.

Is extra time becoming the default?

Extra time can make a real difference for students who need longer to process information, read questions or organise their thoughts. However, staff questioned whether it has become the default solution when other arrangements may sometimes be more appropriate.

Students experiencing fatigue may benefit more from supervised rest breaks. Others may benefit from assistive technology or a quieter environment.

Yet many staff felt that extra time remains the go-to option because it is familiar and relatively straightforward to administer. That raises an important question: are we always choosing the arrangement that best meets a student’s needs, or the one that fits most easily into the current system?

The pressure behind the scenes

The debate around access arrangements often focuses on students. Less visible is the growing pressure on the staff responsible for making the system work.

Exams officers, special educational needs coordinators (SENCos) and school leaders described rising numbers of applications, increasing administrative demands and more complex combinations of arrangements. One exams officer described the system as becoming “unsustainable”.

Schools spoke about finding enough rooms, sourcing invigilators and managing increasingly complicated exam timetables. They also highlighted the challenge of navigating misunderstandings about access arrangements among parents and external professionals.

Student voice matters

Perhaps the most important message from the research is that students want to be involved in decisions about the support they receive.

Too often, access arrangements can become something that happens around students rather than with them. Yet the young people we spoke to were thoughtful about what worked, what didn't and how they wanted to be supported.

The most effective approaches were often those where schools talked openly with students, trialled different arrangements and recognised that support needs can evolve over time.

Questions for school leaders

The research points towards several practical questions for schools:

• Are students actively involved in decisions about their access arrangements?
• Do students have opportunities to practise using extra time before final exams?
• Are teachers equipped with subject-specific strategies to help students make the most of additional time?
• Are alternative arrangements, including rest breaks and assistive technologies, being considered alongside extra time?
• Do parents understand what extra time can and cannot achieve?

Looking beyond the numbers

The rise in access arrangements is often seen as evidence of a more inclusive education system. But our research suggests the real measure of success is not how many arrangements are approved, it’s whether students receive the support that genuinely matches their needs, understand how to use it effectively and feel confident doing so.

Extra time will continue to play an important role in making exams fair and accessible. But real inclusion is about more than adding minutes to the clock. It’s about ensuring every student has the right support, at the right time, in the right way. And that means moving the conversation beyond whether students have extra time and towards how we help them make the most of it.

To find out more, read the full paper Extra time access arrangements: Perspectives and experiences of students and staff in England.