Identify learners eligible for extra time at assessment.

Evidence learners who qualify for time-based reasonable adjustments

Confidently access extra time at assessment for deserving learners

Ensuring your learners access the flexibilities they deserve can be expensive, time consuming, and the risks of non-compliance are everywhere. 

  • Evidence requests come late and rushed 
  • Teacher observations aren’t enough 
  • Risk of non-compliance or rejected arrangements 
  • Expensive psych assessments aren’t scalable 

Cognassist Cognitive Differences Assessment integrates seamlessly with your workflow to help: 

  • Screen every learner with ease
  • Automate evidence pack creation 
  • Apply for flexibilities with time to spare 

A robust, scalable and fast digital cognitive assessment solution

The Cognassist speed of working report identifies learners who are eligible for extra time and is widely accepted as evidence by awarding bodies.

Our assessment is JCQ compliant and recognised by the majority of Awarding Organisations and end-point assessment organisations in the UK, and beyond. 

  • Measures 9 cognitive processes for non-time-based adjustments 
  • Measures speed of working for time-based adjustments 
  • Outputs results in standardised scores  
  • Includes cheat detection so learners can complete on their own for non-JCQ regulated examinations 
  • Can be used in Form 8 submissions when adjudicated by an appropriate professional 
Two people reviewing a laptop

Inclusive Assessment Organisations

Speed of Working

Industry-leading robust speed of processing measurement

For regulated examinations it is critical that speed of working is measured in two different contexts.  

The Cognassist digital cognitive assessment includes two tasks that specifically measure speed of processing – one with a verbal focus (Reading Decoding), and one with visual processing demands (Visual Information Processing Speed). 

Learner results on these tasks are used in two unique and required ways to robustly identify a need for time-based adjustments at assessment.  

 

  1. General speed of working difficulty – this is where a learner’s speed of processing is relatively poor compared to a normative distribution of learners at the same age.
  2. Specific speed of working difficulty – this is where a Learner’s scores on the processing speed tasks are significantly lower than their scores on the other tasks in the assessment. This is irrespective of whether their scores on those processing speed tasks are significantly lower than the population. The reason for this is that this highlights that the learner is going to be specifically impeded from showing their ability when time-based pressures are in play. 

In order to have fair and equitable assessments it’s important that both measures are calculated and understood. As an example, quite often learners with Dyslexia will not show up with a general speed of working difficulty, but are flagged for specific speed of working difficulties.  

Man looking up his cognitive profile

Equity

Extra time in exams is often provided as an accommodation for individuals with certain disabilities or conditions that affect their ability to complete exams within the standard time frame. It aims to level the playing field and ensure that these individuals have an equal opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and skills.

Reducing Discrimination

Around 15% of the population have weaker speed of working than other cognitive processing abilities. This doesn’t usually impact intelligence, but it can limit the performance of other cognitive processing in artificial environments; such as timed exams. The best way educational phycologists have found to counter this effect is to enable flexibilities for additional time to be awarded.

Complex Tasks

In exams that involve complex problem-solving, critical thinking, and creativity, extra time for those who need it enables individuals to thoroughly explore and demonstrate their understanding of the material. Without this flexibility their processing speed can dampen their cognitive retrieval and processing of learned knowledge putting them at a disadvantage to their peers during a critical time.

Secure extra time

Using Cognassist to unlock extra time

Navigating the process of requesting extra time for your learners is made easier with Cognassist. The Speed of Working report can be used to identify your learners who could benefit from extra time.

This evidence can be presented to Awarding Organisations, of which many have pre-approved Cognassist already, to support your claim.

For more detail on time-based adjustments and how Cognassist supports learners, read our guide.

Every country has legislation that protects individuals with learning differences form being discriminated at high stakes exams. In Europe it is the Equality Act, in the US it’s the Americans with Disabilities Act and in Australia it’s the Disability Discrimination Act. Cognassist cost effectively identifies and evidences cognitive learning difficulties that can be defined as having a ‘substantial and long-term adverse effect; for the individual, which is the threshold for most nations disability definitions.  

By including Cognassist into learner workflows your organisation is taking proactive steps to early identification and support of your legal responsibilities.  

Yes, Cognassist is one of only a very few digital assessments that can be used for Form 8. It is important to note that to be JCQ eligible an appropriately qualified practitioner must be present when the user completes the assessment.

It depends on which authority is regulating your qualification.  

  • No, if the regulating authority is JCQ. They require an appropriately qualified practitioner to be present 
  • Yes, if the regulating authority is anyone other than JCQ and this is because Cognassist has advanced cheat detection in the form of performance validity tests 

These insights enabled personalised learning strategies, improving learner outcomes and tutor efficiency.

 

Stephanie Taylor

Learning Support, Safeguarding and Inclusion Manager, Hawk Training

 

Unlock extra time for your learners

Talk to Cognassist today