Accommodations for Testing

[Mom22ns]

We got them! Ds is a senior in high school this year.

 

Last spring we applied to the ACT board to get extended time for him on his ACT. This was granted in just a few days - seriously, days! We were so excited. He took the ACT and scored very well.

 

Then ds decided to take a couple of AP classes through PA Homeschoolers this year. Back to the drawing board for me. I did the college board application and he was given extended time for writing and an word processor for essays. It took 7 weeks, and they did not give extended time on the full test as we had requested, but it was still a relative success. We won't bother to appeal.

 

Having gone through this, I thought I would share a few things I learned, both from experience and from the public school director of special ed (my best friend) who guided me.

 

First the ACT board. The key here was having had a long history of a documented disability. Ds actually was in ps when he was young. The testing we submitted was from third grade! They said it had to be current, but my friend told me not to worry. We downloaded and submitted the form the request. I wrote a letter of explanation that accompanied it and included his last IEP (5th grade) and his last testing. I received no response at all, but when I went online to check on his account about a week later, the accommodations were already posted - exactly as we had asked for. Taking the test with extended time also meant taking it alone. He was the only one with that accommodations at the testing site, so he had an individually proctored exam. There were no distractions in addition to plenty of time. How great is that!

 

The college board. They are less friendly, they just are. You can't print the application you have to call and they snail mail it to you. Then it takes 7 weeks and they use every day of that 7 weeks. By this time we had updated his testing and the testers specifically stated he needed extended time for all testing, but the college board still only gave it for writing. His subtest scores for reading and math were apparently not different enough between the timed and untimed portions of the tests he was given. They don't care that he has literally never finished a math test in less than 4 hours in our homeschool <sigh>. The key to the college board is test results. You have to have specific testing that demonstrates the need you are trying to get accommodated for. They examine the testing far more carefully than the ACT Board and do not take the recommendation of schools or professionals, only their own evaluation of the test results.

 

Well, thats about it. I hope it helps someone. If anyone ever needs the letters we submitted with the applications or any other specific questions answered, feel free to contact me. 

[FairProspects]

When you say the college board examines the test results, what tests are you referring to? The tests you submitted from the 3rd grade evaluation?

[Mom22ns]

When you say the college board examines the test results, what tests are you referring to? The tests you submitted from the 3rd grade evaluation?

 

We had updated evaluations done before requesting accommodations from the college board. It was the test results from the current evaluation. After speaking to the College Board, I don't think they would have taken the old results the way the ACT Board did. I could be wrong on that, but when they say current, I thick they mean it :).

[FairProspects]

Ok, this is what we plan to do as well. So why would the College Board deny the request for extra time on math & reading? Was the working memory subtest percentage too high? Were the achievement test math & reading scores too close to grade level? Which subtest scores matter the most for getting accommodations if they are going to ignore professional recommendations?

[Mom22ns]

I don't want to give that much detail about his scores on the board FairProspects, but I'll PM you.

[FairProspects]

Ok, thank you!

[SandyKC]

We had similar experiences between the ACT and College Board.  ACT folks were MUCH easier to work with and readily granted all accommodations recommended by our neuropsych in our report.  The SAT/College Board requires a comprehensive evaluation that is less than 3 years old, and in spite of neuropsych recommendations, they did not grant anything but a short amount of extended time.  

When we went back to them--they basically said they look at if a kid performs at an average level or above, and if so--nix the accommodations so as not to give an "advantage" to kids with LDs.  Unfortunately, when a child DOES have an LD and is capable of performing at a high level with accommodations, the student cannot show what he is capable of without standard accommodations.

 

Thus, if the student is functional at a college level, the SAT folks, in my experience, don't really care about the student's needs and they keep that antiquated "it's not fair to the other kids" mindset. Thus, they limit the accommodations as MUCH as they can. :-/  Truthfully, I did NOT LIKE the college board's attitude when dealing with them!!

[Mom22ns]

We had similar experiences between the ACT and College Board.  ACT folks were MUCH easier to work with and readily granted all accommodations recommended by our neuropsych in our report.  The SAT/College Board requires a comprehensive evaluation that is less than 3 years old, and in spite of neuropsych recommendations, they did not grant anything but a short amount of extended time.  

 

When we went back to them--they basically said they look at if a kid performs at an average level or above, and if so--nix the accommodations so as not to give an "advantage" to kids with LDs.  Unfortunately, when a child DOES have an LD and is capable of performing at a high level with accommodations, the student cannot show what he is capable of without standard accommodations.

 

Thus, if the student is functional at a college level, the SAT folks, in my experience, don't really care about the student's needs and they keep that antiquated "it's not fair to the other kids" mindset. Thus, they limit the accommodations as MUCH as they can. :-/  Truthfully, I did NOT LIKE the college board's attitude when dealing with them!!

 

Thank you for sharing that. It is good to know it wasn't just me.

 

I felt like the ACT Board was just out to make sure we weren't trying to scam the system. Offer testing, historical documentation of the disability (we didn't just create it for the sake of high stakes testing), professional opinions that agreed with what we were asking and they were satisfied. They were looking to help.

The College Board felt the opposite from the first phone call to the final letter with the accommodations offered. They cared little about his potential or that he be able to demonstrate it. Their goal was to give the absolute minimum in accommodations, no matter what historical evidence, test results, or professionals suggested would be appropriate. I am glad we got something, but disappointed too.

[SandyKC]

Thank you for sharing that. It is good to know it wasn't just me.

 

I felt like the ACT Board was just out to make sure we weren't trying to scam the system. Offer testing, historical documentation of the disability (we didn't just create it for the sake of high stakes testing), professional opinions that agreed with what we were asking and they were satisfied. They were looking to help.

 

The College Board felt the opposite from the first phone call to the final letter with the accommodations offered. They cared little about his potential or that he be able to demonstrate it. Their goal was to give the absolute minimum in accommodations, no matter what historical evidence, test results, or professionals suggested would be appropriate. I am glad we got something, but disappointed too.

 

VERY WELL PUT.  That was exactly what I felt like too.  When it came down to attempting to GET the accommodations too, there again the College Board was of no help.  The ACT folks made the set up and administration of the accommodations easier.  The ACT provided a better experience for us from start to finish.  

[SandyKC]

Ok, this is what we plan to do as well. So why would the College Board deny the request for extra time on math & reading? Was the working memory subtest percentage too high? Were the achievement test math & reading scores too close to grade level? Which subtest scores matter the most for getting accommodations if they are going to ignore professional recommendations?

 

Basically, in our case with aptitude being on or above grade level, they denied virtually all accommodations--doesn't matter that a student performs at the documented level because of accommodations.  The SAT folks, in spite of all other professional opinions, including a very comprenhensive recent neuropsychological eval, decided unilaterally on their own that my son must not NEED accommodations if he is able to do the work.

 

 In other words, in our experience, if a kid is capable of the work with accommodations, the SAT doesn't think the the accommodations are necessary. They specifically told us "his disability doesn't affect his achievement if he can work at that level."  It seems to stem from that "failure first" mentality and/or ignorance about twice exceptionality.  They don't care that a kid works well below his intellectual ability level without accommodations--only that he is able to work above a minimal functional level. Thus, they are guarantying a student with high abilities and disabilities cannot demonstrate what he is CAPABLE of doing--only that he meets minimal criteria.

 

Their policies pretty much removed any chances for scholarships and the ability of one son to present as the highly capable student he is when granted accommodations.  It's a mindset difference between the ACT folks and the College Board people.  

 

The vibe I walked away with was that the ACT people VALUE the individual students and want to give them a truly fair shot at college on the same level as all other students.  My feeling was that the College Board people don't care about the students with disabilities, and certainly don't care that their policies adversely affect a student's ability to demonstrate what he is CAPABLE of accomplishing.

[FairProspects]

Well, that's not cool. We live on a coast that universally accepts only the SAT, so we are going to have some work to do. Ugh.

[wapiti]

Basically, in our case with aptitude being on or above grade level, they denied virtually all accommodations--doesn't matter that a student performs at the documented level because of accommodations.  The SAT folks, in spite of all other professional opinions, including a very comprenhensive recent neuropsychological eval, decided unilaterally on their own that my son must not NEED accommodations if he is able to do the work.

 

 In other words, in our experience, if a kid is capable of the work with accommodations, the SAT doesn't think the the accommodations are necessary. They specifically told us "his disability doesn't affect his achievement if he can work at that level."  It seems to stem from that "failure first" mentality and/or ignorance about twice exceptionality.  They don't care that a kid works well below his intellectual ability level without accommodations--only that he is able to work above a minimal functional level. Thus, they are guarantying a student with high abilities and disabilities cannot demonstrate what he is CAPABLE of doing--only that he meets minimal criteria.

 

Their policies pretty much removed any chances for scholarships and the ability of one son to present as the highly capable student he is when granted accommodations.  It's a mindset difference between the ACT folks and the College Board people.  

 

The vibe I walked away with was that the ACT people VALUE the individual students and want to give them a truly fair shot at college on the same level as all other students.  My feeling was that the College Board people don't care about the students with disabilities, and certainly don't care that their policies adversely affect a student's ability to demonstrate what he is CAPABLE of accomplishing.

 

Wow.  Then why is the SAT so tightly timed, I wonder.  Faster doesn't mean smarter.

 

Good luck to your student on the ACT then :)

[wapiti]

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Edited January 12, 2016 by wapiti

[FairProspects]

Have you checked into this lately to make sure?  I didn't know there were still schools out there not accepting the ACT.  Not that I've been a fan because I always assumed my 2e kids would have a better shot at the SAT as a better measure of ability rather than achievement (they won't likely be eligible for any accommodations regardless), but it's interesting to note the difference in philosophy behind accommodations at these two major testing companies.

 

Also note that the new SAT is seeking to make itself more achievement-oriented like the ACT - sorry, that makes me chuckle.

 

It looks like you are right - and that is new. I've been checking the major state university admissions pages for years and the decision to value the ACT equally with the SAT is now right on the main admissions page. That has to be a change that occurred only within the last year or so. Huh. It could be good for us anyway assuming it doesn't change again in the next 7 years.

[Mom22ns]

It looks like you are right - and that is new. I've been checking the major state university admissions pages for years and the decision to value the ACT equally with the SAT is now right on the main admissions page. That has to be a change that occurred only within the last year or so. Huh. It could be good for us anyway assuming it doesn't change again in the next 7 years.

 

I had heard that all colleges now accept the ACT. In fact it is equally accepted and more often taken than the SAT now. I believe that is the reason for the most recent round of SAT test changes which will make it much more ACT-like. The ACTs popularity has overshadowed the SATs. Part of the reason for that may be that the College Board has become a bit too unfriendly to the students it should be serving.

 

Sandy, my ds didn't have any areas that were below average either. His lowest score was 50th percentile (processing), but his highest were 99.9th. The discrepancy there is more than 2 standard deviations and should be enough, but alas... the only score they considered significant was the timed writing vs un-timed writing which had enough discrepancy to give him extra time for writing and a keyboard. We are glad of that, but really, that processing speed means EVERYTHING, not just writing requires extra time. They want discrepancies within an area, math timed v math un-timed, reading timed v reading un-timed, but there was nothing on any of the tests that was challenging enough to show that discrepancy. If we wanted to fight it, I would go back to my tester and see if they could come up with more challenging tests in these areas where he would have to give significant thought to the answers, thus showing that with unlimited time he could get there, but with limited time he is severely hampered by his processing speed.

 

We will only use the College Board for 2 AP exams. He took the PSAT without accommodations and will never bother with the SAT. His ACT was high enough to get him into the college of his choice.

[SandyKC]

Because the ACT has a Science section and the SAT does not, that was instrumental in my DS' high ACT score.  He scored a 35 in Science! (Top score is 36), so needless to say, that pulled up his composite and made the score high enough for him to be accepted everywhere he applied. ;-)  For anyone whose child LOVES science (like mine does), I'd highly recommend giving the ACT a shot. ;-)