Government should 鈥渆xplicitly consider鈥� whether the amount of time in reformed exams is sufficient, the qualifications regulator has said, as revised data on the scale of access arrangements is revealed. Ofqual has to show the proportion of pupils getting arrangements such as 25 per cent extra time from 2016 to 2025 after historical data was found to 鈥渟ignificantly overstate鈥� the issue. Alongside that, the regulator has published research showing 鈥渟ubstantial variation鈥� in how quickly pupils are able to complete exams across different subjects. The watchdog has called on the government to consider this when reforming qualifications following the curriculum and assessment review. 鈥淲hile we do not have evidence of speededness being a significant issue in current assessments, future assessment design will be strengthened by an explicit consideration of whether the standard duration of whether the standard duration is sufficient for students to work without undue time pressure,鈥� Ofqual wrote in its report. New figures published – but remain unclear The revised data, today, showed the proportion of pupils receiving access arrangements is much lower than previously reported. Ofqual said between 18 and 27.7 per cent of pupils had at least one access arrangement in 2024-25. The most common arrangement was 25 per cent extra time, which was granted to 16.6 to 25.5 per cent of pupils. This is broadly in line with the proportion of pupils with special needs, Ofqual said. But private schools are still much more likely to use it: 22.4 per cent to 32.1 per cent, compared with 14.6 per cent to 22 per cent for state school pupils. Ofqual said it was unable to publish specific figures, and had to use a range, because it did not know whether there were candidates with multiple arrangements or with some granted for future years. The watchdog said the top end of the ranges published would likely be reduced once more information was collected. Figures suggest lower rates of access arrangements compared with historic data. Incorrect figures, suspended in July, reported 26.5 per cent of state school pupils and 41.8 per cent of private school pupils had arrangements. Ian Bauckham, chief regulator at Ofqual said the data will 鈥渕ore accurately inform the legitimate interest the education sector and the public take in access arrangements鈥�. 鈥淎ccess arrangements must meet the needs of students, allowing them to demonstrate fairly what they know, understand and can do. They must also be manageable for schools and colleges to implement.鈥� Exam ‘speededness’ The regulator has also looked more broadly at how long it should take pupils to complete exams. They have said the Department for Education should consider 鈥渨hether an assessment should require a student to work at speed鈥�. Research today on 鈥榮peededness鈥� 鈥� the rate at which a pupil鈥檚 score in a test depends on how quickly they work 鈥� found variation between subjects. Ofqual found 鈥渟ubstantial variation鈥� in how quickly pupils were able to complete exams. It analysed how many did not answer questions at the end in 181 papers for biology, chemistry, physics, maths, combined science and geography. In maths, the 鈥渕aximum omission rate鈥� (the proportion of pupils missing a final question) ranged from 3 per cent to 52 per cent (a mean of 20.8 per cent). The omission rate was calculated by looking at all different papers within each subject, and a cross all exam boards. Averages were lower in the sciences, (7.4 per cent for biology, 4.7 per cent for physics and 4.3 per cent for chemistry), although the combine science average was 14.5 per cent. Meanwhile it was 9.7 per cent for geography. Pupils eligible for free school meals and with special educational needs missed the most questions on exam papers.