Applerouth Webinar: Accommodations in Testing

Applerouth Webinar: Accommodations in Testing

12/6/2016

There was a major announcement on December 1, 2016, from the College Board about how they manage the process of granting testing accommodations for students with learning differences. Beginning in January, students getting accommodations at their school will be automatically approved by the College Board (SAT) for testing accommodations.

The Department of Justice was looking into complaints that the College Board and the ACT were making it too difficult for students with IEPs, 504 plans, or diagnosed learning differences to get accommodations on the tests. The DOJ saw denials of accommodation requests as a violation of civil rights, based on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and wanted the companies to eliminate excessive and burdensome documentation demands. (Note on terms: a 504 plan follows you to college, but an IEP stops after high school).

In response, both companies seem to be relaxing their policies to make it easier for students to get accommodations. A student has to have a school plan in place, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be an IEP or 504. Documentation of accommodations given in class should be enough, whether from a public or private school. A comprehensive report (such as a psycho-educational evaluation) is not necessarily required. Whatever plan you have, the College Board wants it to have been in place for at least four months. The ACT wants it to have been in place for a year. Even students who are successful academically can still receive accommodations. In either case, the student will need to be able to show what the disability is, how it affects his/her performance (functional limitations), and how the accommodations will help.

The College Board and ACT are both expecting a groundswell of students requesting and receiving accommodations.

How to Apply:

ACT

The application process is now all online. The student must initiate the process by first registering for a test. The student requests accommodations at that time. The school then manages the request by officially uploading and submitting documentation. The school is then notified, and the counselor tells the student/parents the decision. If accommodations have been in place for a year or more, it’s almost guaranteed that test accommodations will be granted.

SAT

The process for College Board is very similar to ACT, but the school counselor initiates the request. College Board asks you to apply for accommodations two months before the test, but the earlier the better. If approved, you will receive an SSD code that can follow you from the PSAT through the SAT and AP Tests.

Any psycho-educational evaluations or other diagnostic testing for a learning difference should be five years old or less. Note that, while these can cost $2,000 to $3,000, there is some evaluative testing available through the schools, but less thorough. Also, at University of Georgia, you can get an evaluation from a graduate student for $500.

Decisions: Both the SAT and ACT will also provide faster decisions. For the ACT, an answer could come as quickly as five days. However, they ask for three weeks, and it’s a good idea to request it even further in advance. College Board asks you to apply for accommodations two months before.

Appealing a decision: If accommodations are denied, you can appeal. Usually it’s because the evaluation was old or there is insufficient documentation, etc. If you have to appeal, you must submit something new—a letter from a teacher or counselor, any new tests, etc. It’s a waste of time to just send in the same information you sent before. You might hold back a letter or something in case you need extra information for an appeal. Don’t appeal more than once.

If you’re going to be getting time a half, you should take your practice tests with time and a half as well.

Neither test flags students that received accommodations, so colleges will not know (this has been the case since 2004 for College Board).

Roughly ¾ of all accommodations are for extra time. This is much more valuable on the ACT than the SAT, because the SAT already has more time built into it, while the ACT is a bit of a speed test anyway. One drawback is that you can’t self-pace on the SAT, meaning that if you have time and a half, for example, you will automatically get than much time for each section (unless you’re only getting it for one section), and if you finish a section early you can’t skip ahead to the next section—you just have to wait.

Are accommodations fair? Accommodations don’t generally help students who receive them surpass other students, but they do help them catch up.