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I never really go the appeal of unlimited time on tests, unless you actually have a diagnosis that requires it. I saw it around me when I was in university but

by jlgreco 13y ago

I never really go the appeal of unlimited time on tests, unless you actually have a diagnosis that requires it. I saw it around me when I was in university but I am unconvinced that it actually helped any 'normal' student. I mean, what are you going to do with unlimited time anyway? Sure, some tests are designed to be too long for the allotted time, but most aren't. If you need more time on a test that is designed for the normal amount of time, what is going on? Are you deriving formulas that you neglected to memorize? Possible I suppose, but how many students are clever enough to do that correctly on a test when needed but don't just know the material in the first place? Extra test time as an unfair advantage makes even less sense to me in subjects other than mathematics and physics. What are you going to do, derive an answer to "Who were Dizzy Gillespie's primary influences?"? If it wasn't mathematics or physics, I was always fucked if I didn't know the answer within half a minute or so of reading the question. Even with mathematics or physics, if I was spending much time at all deriving things, it was generally a sure sign that I had failed to prepare and was fucked regardless. Here is my hypothesis: Much of the elevated diagnosis rates at upper-class schools reflects the fact that people with more money are more likely to acquire diagnosis for non-life threatening ailments their children have. The rest of the elevated diagnosis rates is probably just rich people throwing money at the wall and seeing what sticks. I doubt it gives them an advantage, but they have the money so it can't hurt to try.

dougk16 13y ago
With unlimited time, you have the opportunity to take little breaks here and there, even if it just means doodling for a few minutes, and this is a huge advantage if you leverage it well. I run into this daily with my work life now as well...bang your head against a problem for an hour straight, go to the bathroom, come back, and the solution pops into your head like magic. Edit: Also, the more time you have between answering a question and rechecking it, the more objectively you see things, and notice mistakes that you would miss if you were rushed.
- jlgreco 13y ago
  You and lmkg both allude to stress, which is something I hadn't considered. Still, if reduced time-based stress is creating accounting for a significant difference, I am almost inclined to say that perhaps that is a legitimate thing to diagnose and accommodate. I think that is pretty close to the intended use of 'infinite test time'. I never had much success with checking my answers before turning in a test, though I suppose other people very likely do.
  - dougk16 13y ago
    I actually didn't mean to implicate stress, although it is of course also a factor for some people. But even in non-stressful situations, frequent breaks from cognitive load are simply a necessity for me. I think it's because my brain is more like a sprinter than a long distance runner, and the latter is probably better suited to typical tests. I can start getting real sloppy after even 15 minutes of intense mental focus, even if I know the material well. But of course sprinting has its benefits in other situations, so it all balances out.
  - comex 13y ago
    My brother has had some accommodations, such as being allowed to type answers on a computer, or being able to take the SAT over multiple days, that I think should just be available to everybody. These exams are supposed to test knowledge, not handwriting/the ability to write for long periods of time without getting achy, or the ability to stay focused on a boring test for over 4 hours; nor do those seem all that onerous on schools. Test time falls more into "onerous", and being able to solve math problems or write quickly can be important, but if a student does significantly better in general without a time limit due to stress, it seems somewhat unfortunate to me that they need to go to a doctor to be accommodated, something which largely depends on their parents and has something of a stigma...
lmkg 13y ago
The biggest impact is probably test stress. So, a psychological edge more than a "real" one, but nonetheless one that results in significant performance gains for some students.
rwallace 13y ago
Irrespective of whether extra time actually confers significant advantage, the data is adequately explained by the hypothesis that rich parents believe it does.
- jlgreco 13y ago
  Oh, I certainly understand that many rich parents think it does. I just don't think it is quite as pervasive as some claim, and I doubt that it provides enough of an advantage to really worry about. There are probably bigger problems to tackle, like the wage gap in legitimate diagnosis rates.
cma 13y ago
Timing is pretty important on the SAT math section; if you spend too much time on one problem you might not get through all the others.
githulhu 13y ago
Some people smart and fast, while others are also smart, but, well...slow. Meaning that both would get the right answer to a tough question eventually, but the fast one would get it faster. Some would argue that this makes the fast one "smarter," including, one could guess, the designers of timed tests, such as the SAT.
Spooky23 13y ago
It is a huge advantage for open book exams. An acquaintece of mine in the 90's got a learning disability diagnosis from a doc in the box (trivial, the drug companies gave you a script) and leveraged that to get unlimited time. I'm more like you -- I don't have te patience to benefit.

by jlgreco 13y ago

dougk16 13y ago

With unlimited time, you have the opportunity to take little breaks here and there, even if it just means doodling for a few minutes, and this is a huge advantage if you leverage it well. I run into this daily with my work life now as well...bang your head against a problem for an hour straight, go to the bathroom, come back, and the solution pops into your head like magic. Edit: Also, the more time you have between answering a question and rechecking it, the more objectively you see things, and notice mistakes that you would miss if you were rushed.

jlgreco 13y ago
You and lmkg both allude to stress, which is something I hadn't considered. Still, if reduced time-based stress is creating accounting for a significant difference, I am almost inclined to say that perhaps that is a legitimate thing to diagnose and accommodate. I think that is pretty close to the intended use of 'infinite test time'. I never had much success with checking my answers before turning in a test, though I suppose other people very likely do.
- dougk16 13y ago
  I actually didn't mean to implicate stress, although it is of course also a factor for some people. But even in non-stressful situations, frequent breaks from cognitive load are simply a necessity for me. I think it's because my brain is more like a sprinter than a long distance runner, and the latter is probably better suited to typical tests. I can start getting real sloppy after even 15 minutes of intense mental focus, even if I know the material well. But of course sprinting has its benefits in other situations, so it all balances out.
- comex 13y ago
  My brother has had some accommodations, such as being allowed to type answers on a computer, or being able to take the SAT over multiple days, that I think should just be available to everybody. These exams are supposed to test knowledge, not handwriting/the ability to write for long periods of time without getting achy, or the ability to stay focused on a boring test for over 4 hours; nor do those seem all that onerous on schools. Test time falls more into "onerous", and being able to solve math problems or write quickly can be important, but if a student does significantly better in general without a time limit due to stress, it seems somewhat unfortunate to me that they need to go to a doctor to be accommodated, something which largely depends on their parents and has something of a stigma...

lmkg 13y ago

The biggest impact is probably test stress. So, a psychological edge more than a "real" one, but nonetheless one that results in significant performance gains for some students.

rwallace 13y ago

Irrespective of whether extra time actually confers significant advantage, the data is adequately explained by the hypothesis that rich parents believe it does.

jlgreco 13y ago
Oh, I certainly understand that many rich parents think it does. I just don't think it is quite as pervasive as some claim, and I doubt that it provides enough of an advantage to really worry about. There are probably bigger problems to tackle, like the wage gap in legitimate diagnosis rates.

cma 13y ago

Timing is pretty important on the SAT math section; if you spend too much time on one problem you might not get through all the others.

githulhu 13y ago

Some people smart and fast, while others are also smart, but, well...slow. Meaning that both would get the right answer to a tough question eventually, but the fast one would get it faster. Some would argue that this makes the fast one "smarter," including, one could guess, the designers of timed tests, such as the SAT.

Spooky23 13y ago

It is a huge advantage for open book exams. An acquaintece of mine in the 90's got a learning disability diagnosis from a doc in the box (trivial, the drug companies gave you a script) and leveraged that to get unlimited time. I'm more like you -- I don't have te patience to benefit.