Should people with Dyslexia (or anybody for that matter) get extra time in exams?

[Chippiewill]

-snip-

Was going to say this earlier but I couldn't find a source. Dyslexia isn't a condition, it's a diagnosis, that diagnosis being mostly summarised to bad reading and bad writing. This is pretty evident when the Wikipedia article on Dyslexia amounts to little more than a list of symptoms, the worst they can do for 'cause' is 'Exacerbating conditions' which is basically a list of stuff that would inhibit ANYONEs ability to develop reading or writing skills.

Organisations get a lot of money to diagnose people with Dyslexia so turning every reading / writing inability into a disability makes them profit and of course the pupil isn't going to complain because:

a) They have an excuse for being bad so parents get off their case.
b) They can blame stuff on it.
c) They get extra time in their exams.

[Matthew]

I don't know where I stand on this.

On one hand I agree that exams should be a fair reflection on one's ability compared to another. If someone is bad at reading and writing.. then they are bad at reading and writing. They should not be given extra time to "compensate"- all that is doing is giving them a base to perhaps do better than they would otherwise have done. It does sorta seem to be a little unfair and means that exam results seem a little more pointless than they'd have otherwise been?

On the other hand they should be given extra time because otherwise they're not getting the time to show what they're capable of... But then again, why should a dyslexic person get extra time but not someone who is just naturally thick? What is the difference? (Not saying that dyslexic people are "thick"- I know loads of dyslexic people who are very smart).

I think I swing towards the 'don't give them extra time' side, partly because it seems a little unfair that they're given extra time where others aren't, and also because I know of people who have purposely done badly in a dyslexia test in order to gain extra time. The system is there to be abused. I think exams results should be an accurate representation of someone's ability. As I said earlier- if someone is a little worse at interpreting the question than someone else, then it should be shown in the results. The person worse at reading should not be given extra time to try to 'close the gap' or whatever.

Meh, I'm not sure. I for one know that I'd love extra time in exams like History- the comfort of having just an extra few minutes per essay which you have to write must be great!

[Charz777]

I think no. Simply because it's academia and mental ability should be judged as a whole. If a person is lacking something in their learning, way of thinking etc that affects their performance overall then this should reflected in their grade. Just like a physical disability would affect a performance in sport for example.

If a person needs longer to take an exam then they aren't working to the same standard as those who have the correct allotted time and the reason they aren’t working to the same standard is because of this mental disability.

As for whether or not people need the given time, well this is irrelevant. Sometimes I don’t use the time, sometimes I need more, for whatever reason I need more, I don’t get extra time, but if I did I could better my grade. This is why it is unfair.

Everyone should get the same time, otherwise what’s the point in timed exams? It’s to show how we perform in that time, so, it really is silly to extend that.

[Kardan]

Interesting video on dyscalculia for those interested:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_Hqdqe84Uc

[Zak]

This isn't my fight, so I'll link @Shoe; to this thread as she is dyslexic.

She's in bed right now but I did ask her, put simply she said "yes because it takes a lot longer to read and understand what an examination paper is asking you".

I'll let her reply if she wants to

[GommeInc]

Part of me thinks "why should they?" Dyslexia is an incredibly diverse "condition" - bad writing and reading are two of the popular symptoms which do not really affect the "sufferer" as far as exams go - because they can still understand logic and have reasonable cognitive skills. That said, Dyslexia usually involves poor rational thinking so it varies from person to person. Those that I know who are diagnosed with it do not spend the time tidying up their hand writing or spend longer reading the questions and their answers so I've never really understood the need for extra time and it just seems like an attempt to claim someone with a simple cold is dying of the plague in comparison.