OP in no way should you feel morally obligated to tell schools you received extra time. There are procedures for getting extra time and you went through those procedures. It was decided some time ago that students with disabilities should not have their scores “flagged,” and for good reason. I’m sure those who say you are trying to “game” the system would not be willing to trade places with you (i.e., have a disability in order to get accommodations).
On a happier note, congratulations on your scores! You did great!!
Why don’t students have to tell colleges that they were given extra time? Isn’t it a misrepresentation if they don’t? I understand and agree that some kids truly need the extra time, but I don’t understand why they don’t have to report their accommodation.
@Living61 , I’m guessing that you haven’t read through the this thread, but your question was addressed earlier by more than one person. I know that my post #53 deals with your question. While you might want to read the whole thread and certainly my whole post, here are two parts that are directly relevant:
Conclusion here: Extra time helps students with LDs but does not meaningfully help students without LDs.
Re your comments on misrepresentation, what do you think is being misrepresented? What you need to think about first is what is the purpose of the test? Is it to see if people have the intellectual horsepower/knowledge or how they perform on timed tests? I dealt with that in post #53.
Conclusion here: Disclosure disproportionately hurts students who have accommodations. TCB settled to avoid losing a lawsuit and both TCB and ACT now do not disclose.
Thanks for the clarification @shawbridge
what qualifies for more time? Does having real test anxiety count?
^^ read here
http://www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/6368%20ACT%20Policy%20for%20Documentation-Web.pdf
didnt read whole thing but it appears that it qualifies, atleast I know a few people who had this and qualified for more time. Just very interesting.
Wow, I’m really surprised that it was found that extra time does not benefit the average person without a learning disability. I thought that the time constraint was what made the ACT similar in difficulty to the SAT: the ACT has easier, more straight forward questions but gives less time per question to compensate. The reading and science section are especially notorious for being very difficult/impossible for some to complete in the given amount of time.
This may be a dumb question, but why it is made sure that someone without a learning disability doesn’t receive extra time, if it won’t give them an unfair advantage anyways?
@ucAdmirer well I cannot answer why but I can tell you the hassle it would make. My son has 100% extended time on the SAT. This means that his testing takes two days and might not be taken at a regular testing location. This means extra work for the staff because they need someone to either come in on a Sunday (if he does regular Sat testing) or they need him to miss classes and provide a proctor for Monday or Tuesday or both if he does not use a regular testing location.
It is even worse for my son because he has one on one testing. So not only does he need extra time but he needs his own proctor and his own testing room. He also needs a keyboard.
When you have a child with a disability who, in his own words is “punching a rock up a hill” this constant questioning gets really really really old.
For a test that takes almost 3 hours, imagine needing to spend 6 hours taking the test. Fun and oh so much better. (That was sarcasm.)
@LKnomad a thousand times “amen”! D had extended time on the ACT - but her accommodations were one part at a time. SO - to take the ACT twice, she spent 9 or10 Saturdays (I can’t recall if she did the writing portion twice) at her high school with a proctor.
And, as others have pointed out, in order to be able to use the extended time or other accommodations, the student must document the disability. We sent in fairly extensive support - including the 504 backup and the school reports. It’s not as though you can say “tests make me anxious” and poof - you get accommodations. Punching a rock up a hill is a pretty apt description.
You did supper well n your test. Congrats! Which books were you using to practice ACT? And which book would you recommend.
I agree with @techmom99 and @FluddB. As a student who has received extended time throughout middle and high school and into college, I can speak from experience about how necessary it is for some students.
In high school, we took a practice ACT that was the same length with all of the same sections. I took this exam without extra time since it was just a practice. Because of my ADHD and slow processing, the only section I was able to complete fully was the english/grammar section. I finished about 75% of the math section, less than half of the reading section, and about half of the science section. Needless to say, I did not score very high on this exam. However, right before I was to take the real ACT, it came time for me to renew my accommodations testing since the last time I had been tested was in middle school, and things could have changed since. After several hours of testing split into three days, it was concluded by a specialist that I still needed extended time on the ACT and in college.
Once I had extended time, I was able to complete all of the sections on the ACT and get a score I was proud of. Many people would say that this is not fair, however, I would disagree. People have said to me that having extra time gives me an advantage, but really, it equalizes me with the people who do not have a learning disability. If I were given the same amount of time as someone who does not have a learning disability, that person would have a huge advantage over me. In addition, it is not as if I just asked for extra time and I got it. rather, I had to go though hours of metal testing to make sure I qualified, and was granted extra time by a doctor who had become familiar with my mental capabilities.
Therefore, it is not unfair for students with learning disabilities to have extra time because it puts them on a level that is equal to the people who do not have a learning disability.
There’s an accommodation for English Learners in the US, too. May international students use that?
Why should an international student score as much as a native one? It’s unfair!
@SiaraAR, From your other thread it sounds like you’re an international student who struggles with the time limitations on the ACT. Accommodations are for students with learning disorders. Not fully understanding the language the test is given in isn’t a learning disability.
Instruction in US colleges is in English. Why should they relax the standards for international students because English isn’t their native language? The point of the exam is to test college readiness for US colleges.
@austinmshauri Thank you for your response.
I wondered, too and I have the same question. But check the link below:
www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/ACTPolicyforEnglishLearnerSupportsDocumentation.pdf
Also, I don’t know why everyone ignored me asking for help about the ACT reading section. Could you please give me some advice or recommend me some books or prep courses? (Excuse me asking here, Message me for the answer if you want)
Please note that ACT does in fact report accommodations - they do not report what accommodations are given, but apparently a more generic statement that they are available to the individual student. They also list the testing site, which is a clear indicator of accommodations for any student who is unable to test at a regular testing site.
Extra time at my son’s school was just being in a separate room and away from distractions. I would advise that that room have a clock on the wall. Accommodations just level the playing field for the students that need it. It’s really nothing more then that. Whether it gets reported to the colleges is immaterial. Lots of kids need accommodations in college also. Every college have learning centers. They are there for everyone to use. The problem is that lots of kids don’t want to be different and don’t seek out the help they need in college. Getting help is nothing to be ashamed of.
@SiaraAR, The Policy for English Learners states that it’s for ESL (English as a Second Language) students enrolled in US high schools. It’s not relaxing the standards for international students. It appears to be a program for US students whose families are recent immigrants or are recent enough that English isn’t spoken at home. It’s not a program for international students, so it doesn’t appear that you’d be eligible.
The way to improve test scores is to practice. If the language is difficult for you then work on the vocabulary. There are threads about ways to improve test scores. If you do a search you’ll find some. The accommodations discussed in this thread are for students with diagnosed learning disabilities. They’re designed to level the playing field for those students.
Here’s the math for my daughter:
Because of my daughters LD she needs to spend about 10-12 hrs/week more than her (high achieving) peers to do the same work and get grades she is proud of in her classes. Because she is a diligent, hard worker she puts in the time and work.
Her brother attends one our our top ten public universities and spent a fraction of the time in HS to get the same grades and walked in blind to the ACT and nailed it.
That’s between 400-480 extra hours a school year more than her brother to acheive the same results.
She is a Junior this year. By the end of the school year she will have logged an extra 1,200-1,440 hours more than her peers to keep up. This year she has also logged 24 additional hours with an ACT tutor prepping for this months sitting.
If the ACT grants her extra time it will be a 50% increase…5hrs including breaks instead of 3hrs 55mins.
She would gladly trade the 1,440 extra hours she had to spend doing school work the past 3 years to not need an extra hour and a half on the ACT.
Trades welcome.
@oliver72… It’s great she is getting the help that she needs. In college she will have to seek out help but it’s there for the taking. If she has accommodations make sure you do what you need to do now so it carries over to college. My son had a 504 and had accommodation for the Act. It was one of the best things that happened to him. Again, it just levels the playing field for kids that need it. He ended up with a 34. It’s not the lack of knowledge, it was the speed of the test. Act is a fast test for some kids.
We also had to push to get the extended time. Make sure your school follows through. Take matters into your own hands if needed.
I understand standardized tests but I think either you know the material or don’t. You shouldn’t be penalized because you need more time to get the correct answer . I personally would like to see extra time as option… For everyone…