I live in Michigan and have just completed the process of working with both the ACT and my son’s school to complete his ACT accommodations request. They are using a new system and my school contact had to learn how to use it, and we finally figured it out. This thread is to answer questions for other people who are trying to figure out how to submit a request, and also to track who is getting approved or denied.
The ACT is harder to get accommodations for than the SAT. This is the word from my D’s IEP case manager. Her HS gives the PSAT in the fall and the ACT in the spring. When PSAT accommodations came through the teacher told me that D would probably get ACT accommodations as well (due to her challenges), but that she could possibly be turned down because a significant number of students are (who got them for the PSAT). Luckily her ACT accommodations did come through, but I thought I’d offer a warning. If your kid really needs the accommodations and doesn’t get them for the ACT, look into the SAT. Also, PSAT accommodations carry through to the SAT.
Good advice, and that’s actually why the ACT changed their process and system this year. They have been accused of not giving accommodations to students that deserved it.
“If your kid really needs the accommodations and doesn’t get them for the ACT, look into the SAT. Also, PSAT accommodations carry through to the SAT.”
Just a note that College Board accomodations apply to ALL the CB tests. I just got my 10th grader’s CB accommodations - one application and he now has his accommodations for the PSAT, SAT, SAT II Subject tests and AP tests.
I would say College Board(SAT) over ACT. But I’m biased because the ACT people wouldn’t give me accommodations but the CB did.
I think the key is having the school involved. I am also in Michigan and the school handled the request for my son. They had all the testing etc that I did not have so it was smooth and painless. They also contacted and forwarded his files to the university disability office. I am sure had they needed assistance they would have called me.
New this year - parents are not allowed to submit an accommodation request. The school has to do it.
Last year, I submitted the initial request for ACT accommodations but the school had to provide the supporting documentation. S17 was turned down. I called ACT and spoke with a very helpful woman. She reviewed S17’s file and told me that the accommodations were denied because of the way the school worded the request. I had the school resubmit and he was given accommodations. Without any change other than having more time, his composite score went up 5 points. He is taking the test again tomorrow with accommodations.
I am not bothering with the SAT for him because he is dyscalculic and does very poorly in math. He is much better at science and social studies so I think he has a better shot at getting a score that is more reflective of his ability on the ACT. However, I did apply for and receive CB accommodations because he took the AP Psych test this year and plans to do APES and US Govt next year. In addition, he is taking a business law class that many kids take the CLEP test out of.
Hmmm, I have been told by many people that CB is much stricter about accommodations than ACT. But last year the ADA wording was expanded and my son got the accommodation with no trouble, first time. Several friends had to submit requests as many as three times to get the desired result. We have yet to try getting it for the ACT.
I have also heard that it can be difficult to get accommodations because they are trying to weed out people who are recently “diagnosed” with LD’s. S17 was diagnosed in pre-school with speech, language and visual LD issues and with dyslexia in 7th grade and dyscalculia in 8th.
Sure. If a student has navigated 11 or 12 years of education without accommodations and is considering further education in college they may not need accommodations for one or two test sittings. The schools will have the history of the IEP and prior testing accommodations which is what the college testing services are looking for. My son’s IEP for dyslexia began in first grade and the school tested him every three years with a battery of tests performed over 2 to 3 days.
In Michigan we are an SAT state so the school didn’t want to help me with ACT accommodations and told me to submit the request myself. But I called the ACT and they said new this year parents are not able to submit and they have a new computer system. So I found the user guide for the new system, figured out what needed to be done and got the paperwork together with a little help from the school. I gave the school the PDFs I created and they submitted after a couple tries (had some hiccups). I will let you know if it goes through. Got denied by CB twice, but since I handled the paperwork for ACT I’m more confident.
Things change all the time so read all the info but when son took the act accommodated he did not schedule the test himself, the school arranged to administer and let him know what date he would be taking it at the school guidance office. He did not take it on a regular test date.
In NY, you can’t have dyslexia or dyscalculia listed on the IEP as the actual diagnosis. That was part of the problem I had in getting the accommodations. The school sent the NY mumbo jumbo and ACT denied. When they re-submitted with an addendum that his LD’s actually meant dyslexia and dyscalculia, the accommodations were granted. He is actually at the test right now, in a separate room…
@techmom99 , I am also in NY state. My son is dyslexic and dysgraphic, and you are correct, it doesn’t say anywhere that he has those issues. Maybe my son’s school is used to handling requests, but I was pretty amazed that his CB accommodations came through first time, no trouble.
I have been through this with 2 of my daughters (they have type 1 diabetes, and require “stop the clock” testing and bringing drinks and diabetes supplies in to treat low blood sugars. I had the WORST time getting accommodations last year because my HS daughter didn’t have an IEP (she has and IHP) and because of that the school didn’t register her. She sat for the test without accommodations, had no access to her blood sugar meter, juice, insulin until breaks. Her blood sugar was very high at end of test (it was the school-wide test, for free, so we didn’t worry too much). She took it again today, and the OP is correct. Now you do not apply for accommodations through the ACT, it’s a separate application and each school has a person in charge of that. Only… when I applied for accommodations, the school didn’t have anyone in that position yet, and had to get someone trained and credentialed to do it!! UGH!! Now, however, the accommodations are in place forever. The whole class gets a free "re-take’ in October, and the accommodations are already done. The whole process took several weeks because it was new, and I had to have a “letter of diagnosis” and a “letter of requested accommodations”. Compare that to my oldest who just sat for the MCAT… 7 hour test for medschool… she uploaded the documents and had accommodations in place in 48 hours. SO FRUSTRATING.
CB accommodations came through easily for my 2 dyslexic children; it was with ACT that I encountered problems with the second one. However, I decided to fight for them because I think the format of the ACT is better for him.
Our HS has been primarily an SAT school. When D took ACT in 2008, she was one of about 20 students out of 400 who did so. Our school has only recently been used as an ACT testing center.
techmom99, that is interesting…how does NYS define it on IEP paperwork - is it just called a learning disability as a generic term? It’s been so very long since the journey began for me so I don’t recall if any of his IEPs actually said the word “dyslexia”. I probably didn’t care what the terminology was once I knew what the problem was…
S17’s IEP states that his “disability classification” is Learning Disability.
It then gives a breakdown of his testing results. For instance, his verbal comprehension is in the 99th percentile, but his processing speed is in the 6th. His math score in applied problems is in the 71st percentile but his math fluency is in the FIRST! His “general abilities index” is in the 95th percentile.
The narrative report states that he receives program and testing modifications “to support his difficulties with writing.” The report also says that “written expression is a strength; however, his dyslexia affects his writing.”
@moonpie that’s one of the reasons I started this post, because this is new to the schools and they don’t know how to use the new computer system yet. So parents might want to start the process early.