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x-post, FYI: accommodations on College Board tests


wapiti
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College Board Simplifies Request Process For Test Accommodations

 

Beginning January 1, 2017, the vast majority of students who are approved for and using testing accommodations at their school through a current Individualized Education Program (IEP) or 504 Plan will have those same accommodations automatically approved for taking the SAT®, PSAT™10, PSAT/NMSQT®, SAT Subject Tests™, and AP® Exams. Most private school students with a current, formal school-based plan that meets College Board criteria will also have their current accommodations automatically approved for College Board exams. This streamlined process builds on the College Board’s August 2016 expansion of testing accommodations that can be approved directly by schools without the need for additional documentation.
Under this new policy, school testing accommodation coordinators need to answer only two questions when submitting most requests for students: “Is the requested accommodation(s) in the student’s plan?†and “Has the student used the accommodation(s) for school testing?†If the answer is yes to both questions, eligible students can be approved to receive most accommodations on College Board exams. This new process is expected to reduce the approval time for an overwhelming majority of accommodation requests.
Edited by wapiti
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The keypoint, is: “Has the student used the accommodation(s) for school testing?†

 

A couple of years ago, I read that the College Board.  Had identified that some students were being diagnosed with an LD, just before the SAT tests.

Also some students were being coached on how to fail certain evaluation tests, to get specific accommodations.

So that they might get higher grades.

 

But to overcome this, the Board shifted the focus. From the diagnosis, to a history of using the accommodations with tests.

 

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O.k. DD needs accommodations with nearly everything we do at home (extra time, oral presentation of a lot of things, etc.) but she has not taken any standardized tests since we started homeschooling in 6th grade.  I had been considering issuing something like the IOWA just for my own purposes.  If I were to do something like that and document any accommodations I provided, I wonder if that would count?  (She is nowhere near ready for the SAT/ACT but she is creeping towards that goal).

 

FWIW, she did just complete an evaluation through a neuropsychologist.  Processing speed is low and impairs a lot of her functionality.  Timed anything drops her from average/high average to severely impaired in many areas.

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I attend a cover that provides SAT-10 accommmodations, so DS used them. All of his teachers give DS extra time for testing and he types all of his working including tests. When I applied for ACT accommodations, the headmaster of the cover signed off stating that they allowed accommodations, and the SAT-10 coordinator wrote a letter stating the accommodations and testing cycles that DS used them. In my state, private schools don't provide official IEP or 504. Covers are considered private schools. Anyways, I established a history of testing accommodations because DS needs them. IRL, not all of my fellow homeschool moms with SLD kiddos agree but whatever. I did provide the cover with a copy of son's np report.

Edited by Heathermomster
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I attend a cover that provides SAT-10 accommmodations, so DS used them. All of his teachers give DS extra time for testing and he types all of his working including tests. When I applied for ACT accommodations, the headmaster of the cover signed off stating that they allowed accommodations, and the SAT-10 coordinator wrote a letter stating the accommodations and testing cycles that DS used them. In my state, private schools don't provide official IEP or 504. Covers are considered private schools. Anyways, I established of history of testing accommodations because DS needs them. IRL, not all of my fellow homeschool moms with SLD kiddos agree but whatever. I did provide the cover with a copy of son's np report.

 

That sounds great.  I wish we had things like this but we don't.  We don't have cover schools here and DD has not taken any in person academic classes since she left brick and mortar school.  There aren't any local homeschooling academic classes she can take (three tiny homeschooling groups folded and the fourth only offers fun enrichment stuff sometimes).  On-line classes she has taken only meet once a week, so most work is done with me using accommodations I put in place myself.  Local public schools do not allow homeschoolers to do anything with them.  In fact, homeschooling is hardly known here and not a popular idea.

 

Not sure how to proceed.  

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That sounds great. I wish we had things like this but we don't. We don't have cover schools here and DD has not taken any in person academic classes since she left brick and mortar school. There aren't any local homeschooling academic classes she can take (three tiny homeschooling groups folded and the fourth only offers fun enrichment stuff sometimes). On-line classes she has taken only meet once a week, so most work is done with me using accommodations I put in place myself. Local public schools do not allow homeschoolers to do anything with them. In fact, homeschooling is hardly known here and not a popular idea.

 

Not sure how to proceed.

Call the College Board and ask.

 

It would be nice if she could take something like a SAT-10 with extended time. SAT-10 has rules about their testing. Maybe you and a couple of moms can self-organize, work together, and administer testing yourselves. Make testing available to families within your group. Some churches are more than willing to loan their facilities to homeschoolers.

 

I have read the test to two high needs students at different times. You need to establish that standardized testing with accommodations administered prior to College Board and ACT testing.

Edited by Heathermomster
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BTW, a family friend from college is currently teaching DS Early American Lit at her kitchen table, and she affords DS his accommodations. I speak with teachers ahead of time to determine whether they will accommodate. Accommodations are never freely offered no matter where DS has attended a class. I have to request them. I guess my point is that accommodations are not a service that is advertised.

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BTW, a family friend from college is currently teaching DS Early American Lit at her kitchen table, and she affords DS his accommodations. I speak with teachers ahead of time to determine whether they will accommodate. Accommodations are never freely offered no matter where DS has attended a class. I have to request them. I guess my point is that accommodations are not a service that is advertised.

 

I absolutely agree, I need to request accommodations.  I would not expect anything to be advertised.  There has just never been an opportunity to even ask.  No local academic classes since we started homeschooling, even when I have tried to organize them myself.  The exception is the writing class that DD is taking currently.  Another mom and I are tandem teaching it with my daughter and her son.  We had more than two students to start out with but the other moms rarely brought their kids and finally dropped out because they couldn't keep up with the material since they rarely came and were unwilling to do any catch up work at home.  I am providing accommodations for this class but again, I am the primary teacher and there is only one other student.  The other mom helped more at first but now only sometimes participates, sometimes takes a nap (health issues; I know she needs the rest) and sometimes just drops off her son.  

 

I did try hiring tutors for certain subjects.  One quit before he ever even met the kids because he got another job.  One offered to buy some work books from Barnes and Noble to help DD with math but had no clue how to teach from anything but those workbooks and had never heard of different ways to approach math or how to use manipulatives.  Another told me flat out she would not be willing to teach any child with a diagnosis because she felt that those types of kids either are lazy or were pampered or were not functional enough to learn from her.  And so on...

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Call the College Board and ask.

 

It would be nice if she could take something like a SAT-10 with extended time. SAT-10 has rules about their testing. Maybe you and a couple of moms can self-organize, work together, and administer testing yourselves. Make testing available to families within your group. Some churches are more than willing to loan their facilities to homeschoolers.

 

I have read the test to two high needs students at different times. You need to establish that standardized testing with accommodations was administered prior to College Board and ACT testing.

I agree.  I will call and I will look for additional options.  Thanks for the suggestions.  I've been waiting to push this until DD was further along in certain areas but we are getting to the point where I need a better paper trail.  If we had relocated two years ago, like I had planned, this would not be an issue but here we are...

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O.k. DD needs accommodations with nearly everything we do at home (extra time, oral presentation of a lot of things, etc.) but she has not taken any standardized tests since we started homeschooling in 6th grade. I had been considering issuing something like the IOWA just for my own purposes. If I were to do something like that and document any accommodations I provided, I wonder if that would count? (She is nowhere near ready for the SAT/ACT but she is creeping towards that goal).

 

FWIW, she did just complete an evaluation through a neuropsychologist. Processing speed is low and impairs a lot of her functionality. Timed anything drops her from average/high average to severely impaired in many areas.

A written report from the neuropsychologist recommending extended time in tests might help.

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A word about ACT/SAT testing. Moms on the board have successfully remediated their children and their kids have moved on to do amazing things with their lives and education.

 

My DS took ACT last year with extended time. The only reason he took the exam is because it was mandatory at our cover, so we didn't prepare at all. DS rocked the test with the exception of math. In spite of that, he scored better than both of his nt cousins, but the kid struggled mightily with math and will likely never overcome that SLD to achieve a state scholarship. The only reason I personally see for taking these tests is to gain entrance to a 4 year university and earn scholarship money.

 

Honestly, I do not see my son graduating college ege unless he attends a school with minimal core math requirements. He will likely go to CC first to knock the math out so that he can transfer into a state school. At the moment, I seriously question his ability to get by in a finite math class; however, we still have time to practice.

 

Overall, my point is that our kiddos do not follow traditional educational paths, and students with severe SLDs shouldn't be expected too. I gave up applying to the College Board. Last school year, I waited on the phone 2 hrs over two days to request the application for accommodations. The College Board application for accommodations was not downloadable. I don't understand that at all. 20% of the population are dyslexic and these students require extra time. This is not new information. Lastly, a former WTM Board member was a college prof married to another college prof. At one time, her DH was ambivalent about providing extra time to accommodated students, so he provided extra time to all of his students. He discovered that NT students scored the same. Grades did not improve with extra time for NT students; however, extra time does help students with SLDs.

 

In my view, college accommodations are far more important. Colleges want up to date testing that is less than 3 years old, and they don't give a fig about about how many accommodated tests your child took in middle or high school.

 

I do think that it is nice that the College Board is coming around.

Edited by Heathermomster
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Not sure how to attain that.  Hmmm....one of the downsides of homeschooling.

 

Years ago, I enrolled my son in a public homeschool program specifically so that he would have a 504 plan documenting accommodations that he then used to take a standardized test once a year at the school. I felt it was important enough to deal with the downside of that situation (though, I should say, that I was able to teach him as I saw fit--didn't have any input on that, but they might have had they disagreed with what I was doing).

 

My son also had an established history of diagnosis (and attempts at diagnosis) going back to when he was 7.  We had the final evaluation done when he was 14 and he used that report to obtain ACT/SAT accommodations as well as accommodations at the CC and his current four year school.  The evaluator had extensive experience with writing reports for this purpose (and homeschooling, remarkably).

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