Odds of getting time accommodations for the SAT

[Garga]

I'm considering trying to get my son time accommodations for the SAT test in the spring. 

Problem: How likely is it that a homeschooled mom will be able to convince the College Board that her son needs accommodations?  Has anyone been successful?  What did it take for CB to provide the accommodations?

On College Board they tell you what tests the student would need to take with a psychologist, but they clearly state that the results of the test alone are NOT enough to get accommodations.  You are expected to provide information about how the student is being accommodated in the classroom.  There are links to documents for teachers to fill out.  

But I'm the only teacher.  And I'm his mom.  And I'm not even always aware of how much or little I'm accommodating.  It'll be a bear trying to figure out how to word this so that it means something to College Board.  Plus, my son would have to take a bunch of tests, and he isn't so keen on the idea.  He'll do it, but he'll be miserable about it.

Before I make my son take hours upon hours of tests and before I get more gray hairs trying to figure out how to write up reports for College Board, I need to know if it's even worth pursuing this.  

Has anyone tried to get accommodations when it's just Mom's word alone asking for them?

ETA:  I don't want this post to be LOOONG, but I have spoken with the school psychologist who has NOT tested him.  I gave her a long document of what I see with him and what I do to help him in his studies, she said that he sounded like he clearly had issues from his ADHD and that he needs the accommodations.  That's unofficial, but it did confirm to me that I'm not just making stuff up. So, I do have examples of what my son needs and what I do to accommodate the needs...but will CB take me seriously at all?  I really don't want to waste days of time in testing and writing reports if CB rarely gives accommodations.  Also, my son isn't planning on going to a difficult to get into school.  He's hoping to go to a local state U, so he doesn't need tippy top SAT scores.  And he might even start at the community college, so....is it worth this fight?  Or am I being a Bad Mom if I don't even try?

 

Edited October 25, 2018 by Garga

[regentrude]

13 minutes ago, Garga said:

 Plus, my son would have to take a bunch of tests, and he isn't so keen on the idea.  He'll do it, but he'll be miserable about it.

Before I make my son take hours upon hours of tests and before I get more gray hairs trying to figure out how to write up reports for College Board, I need to know if it's even worth pursuing this.  

I have no answer to your original question, but I wanted to comment on the quoted: you will want to have your DS to take those tests anyway, so he can get documentation for a disability for college. That will get him testing accommodations for extra time (typically time and half, or possibly even double) and accommodations for classroom quizzes etc.

[RootAnn]

Garga- others have gotten accommodations because I've seen threads about this very thing. Here's just one of them (which I found linked on the pinned "motherload" threads at the top of this forum). None that Momof2ns  (or something like that) said one of her kids got accomodations from both the CB and the folks at the ACT.

Found another one (Accommodations for dyslexia) on the motherload list. Common advice:  start early because testing takes time and the CB is not quick, document what you currently do for him, and find a testing person who does this successfully so they use the proper buzzwords.

Edited October 25, 2018 by RootAnn
More info

[Julie of KY]

My oldest got accommodations several years ago, and I just got approval for my daughter. Both my kids had formal psych reports saying they needed the accommodations. I wrote up a "homeschool educational plan" outlining accommodations at home. I did a simple paragraph summary of elementary and then more year by year starting in middle school. Usually my accommodations from one year to the next were exactly the same. I just made a bullet list saying unlimited time for homework, extra time on tests, books allowed to be listened to rather than read, etc. They have been homeschooled since day one.  We have always been approved on the first try.

My son got accommodations for both ACT and SAT/psat/AP and now has college accommodations. My daughter has only applied for college board accommodations so far, but since she was approved for this I don't anticipate any problems getting ACT approval.

I would definitely recommend getting the psych evaluations done if you think your student will need accommodations in college. 

[Garga]

1 hour ago, regentrude said:

I have no answer to your original question, but I wanted to comment on the quoted: you will want to have your DS to take those tests anyway, so he can get documentation for a disability for college. That will get him testing accommodations for extra time (typically time and half, or possibly even double) and accommodations for classroom quizzes etc.

 

1 hour ago, Julie of KY said:

My oldest got accommodations several years ago, and I just got approval for my daughter. Both my kids had formal psych reports saying they needed the accommodations. I wrote up a "homeschool educational plan" outlining accommodations at home. I did a simple paragraph summary of elementary and then more year by year starting in middle school. Usually my accommodations from one year to the next were exactly the same. I just made a bullet list saying unlimited time for homework, extra time on tests, books allowed to be listened to rather than read, etc. They have been homeschooled since day one.  We have always been approved on the first try.

My son got accommodations for both ACT and SAT/psat/AP and now has college accommodations. My daughter has only applied for college board accommodations so far, but since she was approved for this I don't anticipate any problems getting ACT approval.

I would definitely recommend getting the psych evaluations done if you think your student will need accommodations in college. 

 

28 minutes ago, kand said:

This. If he plans to go to college,  accommodations are likely to be more important there than they are with the standardized tests, so he might as well go ahead and get them now. 

 

Yes, we already have a plan for testing for college accommodations.  That's why I was speaking with the psychologist.  She originally recommended waiting until next year for the testing because she's seen a number of times where the colleges (at least around here) want the testing done within a year of starting college.  She said we can do them now, but run the risk of having to re-do them in another year.  So, I was going to hold off on all the testing for college accommodations so he'd only go through them once in his senior year.

But then I realized he may need them for the SAT, which made me write this post.  If getting accommodations for a homeschooler is almost impossible, then I might as well wait on the college accommodation testing until next year.  But if it's a possibility, then I want to go ahead and do them now, and then possibly have to do them again next year. 

But thank you to everyone who was looking out for me and pointing out that we'd need college accommodations.  ?

Edited October 25, 2018 by Garga

[MerryAtHope]

Interesting--what I read said that most schools want testing within 3 years of college, which made it an easy choice to do them. It's definitely not impossible to get accommodations (though it's easier for ACT than for SAT--you still need the tests though.) For either, make sure any accommodations you want to ask for are contained in the report by the Psychologist, and then make sure you provide a record of having provided those accommodations in testing situations through your homeschool, going back at least several years. College Board has a lot of info up on what they want though, and that can help you with wording and what to list.

[Julie of KY]

All the schools I talked to wanted testing within 3-5 years. Noone wanted it in less than 3 years. It might be a regional thing, but you might try calling the schools disability department directly and asking.

[katilac]

Check with the schools directly. I've never heard of wanting them done within a year. 

[Garga]

I contacted the psychologist and we’re going to go ahead and do the full assessment now.  If he needs tests again later, so be it.  If not, awesome sauce.  

He’s on their schedule for assessments and I’ll have time to get everything to College Board well before he takes the SATs.  I have hope that he’ll get the accommodations.  Somewhere I heard someone complaining that “CB never wants to give out accommodations” and was concerned that all of this would be a waste of time.  But it sounds like we have a reasonable chance of being heard and accmmodated.

Thank you everyone for responding as I was seriously waffling on whether or not to put him (and me and the psychologist) through the effort of preparing a request just to have it summarily denied.

Edited October 26, 2018 by Garga

[Farrar]

If he's never had an eval before, the results might surprise you. The thing you think is obviously one thing may be something else entirely. And that will hopefully be useful for you and him in finishing out high school anyway, even if the accommodations get denied.

Good luck.

[Lori D.]

1 hour ago, Garga said:

I ... was concerned that all of this would be a waste of time...

Getting specific info is never a waste of time. Even if an evaluation does not provide accommodations for the SAT, it could provide helps in college that DS otherwise would have had to pay for. And even if it does not provide that, you and DS will go forward, armed with specific results that will help you target learning and study skill methods that will help him for the rest of high school, and for college. ?

[MerryAtHope]

On 10/26/2018 at 12:32 PM, Garga said:

I contacted the psychologist and we’re going to go ahead and do the full assessment now.  If he needs tests again later, so be it.  If not, awesome sauce.  

He’s on their schedule for assessments and I’ll have time to get everything to College Board well before he takes the SATs.  I have hope that he’ll get the accommodations.  Somewhere I heard someone complaining that “CB never wants to give out accommodations” and was concerned that all of this would be a waste of time.  But it sounds like we have a reasonable chance of being heard and accmmodated.

Thank you everyone for responding as I was seriously waffling on whether or not to put him (and me and the psychologist) through the effort of preparing a request just to have it summarily denied.

 

CB takes longer and isn't as "user friendly" in the process compared to ACT, but even if you initially get a "no" response from them, appeal and try again. I've heard of lots of people who were turned down initially but were able to get the accommodations later (sometimes after talking with someone on the phone). With them it's especially important to only ask for accommodations listed in the testing results (and if your psych. doesn't initially list things, call them and ask about whether that would be appropriate and can they add it in their report, and get a new copy.) I know sometimes it's all a headache!

[Garga]

1 hour ago, MerryAtHope said:

..With them it's especially important to only ask for accommodations listed in the testing results (and if your psych. doesn't initially list things, call them and ask about whether that would be appropriate and can they add it in their report, and get a new copy.) 

 

The psych seems very open to what I have to say.  When I first met her in September when we were talking about assessments for college accomodations, I had a very detailed Word document of all of my observations of my son and what I suspected was going on and what accommodations I’m doing for him now and what I’d want the college to do.  She loved my document and now that my son is on her schedule for testing for SAT accommodations, she asked if she could have a copy of my document and said she would probably use some of my wording to put in her assessment, if I was ok with that.  I was, because I figure that if her notes match my notes that I’ll send to CB, it would only strengthen my son’s case.

So, with that said, can you clarify exactly what you mean in the quote above?  The psychologist should list in her assessment that he needs X (like “time and a half on any tests” or something), and that’s exactly what I ask for from CB?  And if the psych hasn’t listed something very specific (like “time and a half on any tests) in her assessment, then I can’t really ask for it and expect a “yes” from CB?  

Please clarify, and I’ll certainly ask her to list exactly what he’d need, per her assessment, and I’ll ask her if we can make sure she uses wording that will make sense to CB.  I just got her paperwork in the mail today with some questionaires to fill out and I can include a request like that in that paperwork that I send back to her, as well as email her about it.

[Janeway]

I had the forms and they required you to submit documentation. You can simply request it, but I am guessing without the documentation, it won't matter and will be denied.

 

I am going to second the person who said he needs the testing anyway for college. Thing is, why do accommodations on the ACT or SAT if you do not plan to do any for actual college? If he needs extended time, then he needs it for all testing, not just the college board stuff. Most people struggle to finish every problem on the SAT or ACT.  Struggling to be able to do every single problem on the SAT or ACT is not a sign of needing extended time. 

[Janeway]

15 hours ago, Garga said:

 

The psych seems very open to what I have to say.  When I first met her in September when we were talking about assessments for college accomodations, I had a very detailed Word document of all of my observations of my son and what I suspected was going on and what accommodations I’m doing for him now and what I’d want the college to do.  She loved my document and now that my son is on her schedule for testing for SAT accommodations, she asked if she could have a copy of my document and said she would probably use some of my wording to put in her assessment, if I was ok with that.  I was, because I figure that if her notes match my notes that I’ll send to CB, it would only strengthen my son’s case.

So, with that said, can you clarify exactly what you mean in the quote above?  The psychologist should list in her assessment that he needs X (like “time and a half on any tests” or something), and that’s exactly what I ask for from CB?  And if the psych hasn’t listed something very specific (like “time and a half on any tests) in her assessment, then I can’t really ask for it and expect a “yes” from CB?  

Please clarify, and I’ll certainly ask her to list exactly what he’d need, per her assessment, and I’ll ask her if we can make sure she uses wording that will make sense to CB.  I just got her paperwork in the mail today with some questionaires to fill out and I can include a request like that in that paperwork that I send back to her, as well as email her about it.

The assessment should list specifically which tests she gave him and what the results were. Then there will be a summary of conclusions complete with specific diagnosises as well as diagnosis codes. After that should be a list of specific recommendations of what to do, which will include things at home as well as school. 

 

All this might be enough, but what I have listed above is a basic minimum. The application would be strengthened if you can contact the local schools and get a written IEP that spells it out. I actually did this even though my child was home schooled and our state or area is sticky about home schoolers. So if you can get an actual IEP, then you should have no problem at all. 

[Garga]

51 minutes ago, Janeway said:

I am going to second the person who said he needs the testing anyway for college. Thing is, why do accommodations on the ACT or SAT if you do not plan to do any for actual college? If he needs extended time, then he needs it for all testing, not just the college board stuff. Most people struggle to finish every problem on the SAT or ACT.  Struggling to be able to do every single problem on the SAT or ACT is not a sign of needing extended time. 

 

You’re right.  This isn’t just about the SAT.  I originally approached the psychologist for accommodations for him for college, and accommodations for the SAT was an afterthought.  He is very, very slow.  It runs across all areas of his life.  My days are spent trying to accommodate how slow he is and balance out his workload because everything takes him a long time.  I have a 9 page, single spaced Word document outlining all the issues that I’m seeing with his speed and how I accommodate.  It wasn’t until recently that I thought, “Hmmm...perhaps he should get accommodations for the SAT...and I wonder how hard that is to do?”  

It wasn’t until 9th grade when he took outsourced classes that I found out he had real issues. Those teachers don’t accommodate for slowness.  Up until then, I hadn’t even realized I was accommodating.  I thought everyone worked that slowly.  But then his online teachers expected things to be done by a certain time, and he struggled to meet the limits.  

At first, I thought it was just a maturity issue, or that he needed me to teach him how to move faster, etc etc, but by the end of 10th grade, I realized that this was something out of his control and that he will always need extra help (accommodations in college.). 

There’s a boardie here who has a website with some tests you can give your kids at home to test how fast they read and when I gave him those this summer (to get a sense of things), he reads very, very slowly.  My guy is smart and works hard, but his brain simply works slower than others.  Once I saw the results of those tests, I knew I had to get serious about getting him help.  His brother who is 3 years younger, flew through the tests and reads right on level.  Not that I’m comparing them, but it let me know that I wasn’t administring the test wrong.  It really is that my oldest’s brain works differently. 

 

Edited October 28, 2018 by Garga

[Janeway]

54 minutes ago, Garga said:

 

You’re right.  This isn’t just about the SAT.  I originally approached the psychologist for accommodations for him for college, and accommodations for the SAT was an afterthought.  He is very, very slow.  It runs across all areas of his life.  My days are spent trying to accommodate how slow he is and balance out his workload because everything takes him a long time.  I have a 9 page, single spaced Word document outlining all the issues that I’m seeing with his speed and how I accommodate.  It wasn’t until recently that I thought, “Hmmm...perhaps he should get accommodations for the SAT...and I wonder how hard that is to do?”  

It wasn’t until 9th grade when he took outsourced classes that I found out he had real issues. Those teachers don’t accommodate for slowness.  Up until then, I hadn’t even realized I was accommodating.  I thought everyone worked that slowly.  But then his online teachers expected things to be done by a certain time, and he struggled to meet the limits.  

At first, I thought it was just a maturity issue, or that he needed me to teach him how to move faster, etc etc, but by the end of 10th grade, I realized that this was something out of his control and that he will always need extra help (accommodations in college.). 

There’s a boardie here who has a website with some tests you can give your kids at home to test how fast they read and when I gave him those this summer (to get a sense of things), he reads very, very slowly.  My guy is smart and works hard, but his brain simply works slower than others.  Once I saw the results of those tests, I knew I had to get serious about getting him help.  His brother who is 3 years younger, flew through the tests and reads right on level.  Not that I’m comparing them, but it let me know that I wasn’t administring the test wrong.  It really is that my oldest’s brain works differently. 

 

I took my children to a psychologist that does testing. Here, it was through the children's hospitals. The person who does the testing should be like that. Also, consider that the public school might just do the testing for you. That would be free and probably would not take as long. Here, there are waiting lists for private testing. However, here, I have found the public school won't test unless you already had private testing to back up what you suspect is going on. Good luck!

[Corraleno]

My son was approved for accommodations (on the first try) for both the SAT and ACT, and he now has the same accommodations in college. My advice is to read the instructions for each test VERY carefully and follow them to the letter. Send them everything they ask for (and more), and use the type of language they want to see. Write your teacher report in the same way you would if you were a PS teacher and your child was one of the students in the class. Describe each issue, link it to the test results/diagnosis, describe how the disability affects school work in specific ways, and describe how you modified his education to accommodate each issue.

As Merry noted above, the process for the SAT is clunkier and takes much longer. Unless they've changed the process very recently, you have to contact them to request the forms, which they snail-mail to you. After you submit all your documentation it can take up to 2 months to get a reply, and then if it's denied there's an appeal process that will drag it out further, so be sure to apply WELL before your chosen test date. ACT is easier and faster, everything is online and I think we had an answer in 2 weeks or less.The most common accommodation, and the easiest to get, is National Extended Time, which is time-and-a-half. It generally also includes a quiet room with fewer students and longer breaks. It's the easiest to get because most high schools will have a room designated for this, so they just send you to that room and it doesn't require any extra work for anyone (compared to, say, double time spread over 2 days, keyboarding for essays, a dedicated reader, etc.).

If you want National Extended Time, then the Ed Psych report should include the test results, the diagnosis, a statement about how the issues affect school work, and recommendations for the exact accommodations included in National Extended Time — i.e., at least time-and-a-half, a quiet room with minimal distractions, and longer breaks. Then in your teacher report, you will describe the student's history, how his issues affect his schooling (be specific), and how you accommodate his issues (again, be specific). You mentioned that he is very slow, so it's likely that he will test very low for processing speed. That is relevant to the request for extra time, so definitely provide examples of how that affects his work.  At minimum you want to include that he has been given extra time on tests (or that his tests have been untimed), that he works in a quiet space to minimize distractions, that he takes extra breaks throughout the day, etc. In addition to listing specific accommodations in my report (like those above, plus use of audiobooks and video lectures due to dyslexia), I also noted that homeschooling itself represented a major accommodation, since his disabilities were the primary reason we started homeschooling.

You should also include something in there to explain why you did not pursue testing earlier, because they tend to be suspicious of students who are "suddenly" diagnosed with ADHD mere months before they take the SAT. You could say something along the lines that you have always known what the issues were, that you discussed them with your pediatrician (or previous teachers, or whatever), but did not see the need for formal testing since he was homeschooled and did not require an IEP or 504. Now that he is considering college, you were advised to seek testing in order to get the accommodations he would need in college.

Good luck!

[MerryAtHope]

On 10/27/2018 at 5:06 PM, Garga said:

So, with that said, can you clarify exactly what you mean in the quote above?  The psychologist should list in her assessment that he needs X (like “time and a half on any tests” or something), and that’s exactly what I ask for from CB?  And if the psych hasn’t listed something very specific (like “time and a half on any tests) in her assessment, then I can’t really ask for it and expect a “yes” from CB?

 

 

Yes, that's it exactly :-). The first time I applied, I had something in my accommodations at home (and in my written education plan for years) that wasn't mentioned on the report, and they denied it for that reason--so you'll just want to make sure they match up front :-).

Edited October 30, 2018 by MerryAtHope