<p>I will tell you I just talked to a counselor at the ACT after a child was denied twice in a row even with additional - requested - documentation. I got condescending platitudes about her doing fine in school despite the school’s support for the request - and multiple examples of test scores - including their own, showing near perfect performance until she ran out of time.</p>
<p>The counselor finally confessed that they really ONLY approve them for students who score low to mid teens. He said they were trying to get those kids up above a 20. I asked if the test was to judge a student’s speed or their knowledge of the material - and if so, then why deny the medical diagnosis and the school plan. What was odd was they said they only consider ADD accommodations if the illness is “life altering.”</p>
<p>So another mother on CC gave me the name of an attorney. I am curious as to how many students are denied nationally. They won’t consent to talking to the physicians or the school post decision. I’m particularly disturbed that a student can get accommodations and score well within merit aid range, but other students are denied the same accommodation.</p>
<p>yes - I know some students fake it. Just like I know some students without ADD go to the test on medication. But I do worry that the ACT is rigged against students whose diagnoses are legitimate. The benchmark seems to be ADD has to be as life altering (as implied by the counselor) as if the student had a physical disability like blindness or hearing problems. Count me disgusted because I’ve been counseling poor students in an urban district who have severe cases of ADD that have gone undiagnosed and advised them to get their child treated and now I know they don’t have a snowball’s chance of getting through the fake gauntlet ACT has established.</p>