<p>We have decided to ask our D's school about applying for extra time for both tests and they have agreed to do so. D is Aspie/ADD A student but real trouble with timed writing. PSAT scores out this week were R55 M62 W47 which I feel is underperforming and that without extra time.
Has anyone had experience with who gets extra time and who doesn't? We always try to have him do as much as possible without ant accommodations but I feel like this is too important not to try to get some help.</p>
<p>My D2 had extra time on the SAT and ACT. Things that I think helped us get it vs. some others who have been denied:</p>
<ul>
<li>She had both an older (2nd grade) and more recent (9th grade) evaluation and diagnosis. So there was a consistent pattern over time.</li>
<li>She had been using accommodations for extra time on tests and a couple other things in high school.</li>
</ul>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>The college board site has extensive information on how to apply for accommodations. Pay attention to what kind of supporting documentation you need to provide. You need to show that there is a disability that would affect speed of test taking, that the student has had an accommodation of extra time and has been using it. </p>
<p>D1’s request for extra time was denied and she did well enough without it that we never pushed the issue. Did get testing in a quiet room.</p>
<p>D2 has extra time, quiet room and keyboarding for the essay (the keyboarding was turned down the first time–GC sent a copy of D2’s actual (atrocious) handwriting and the request was approved!)</p>
<p>If your daughter is not using accommodations in school on a regular basis - with a well-established paper trail - she is very likely to be turned down (especially by the ACT…the SAT tends to be a bit more generous with accommodations). Also FYI, the PSAT does not have an essay, so there was no timed writing portion to bring down the writing score.</p>
<p>I have a lot of experience with this stuff, so feel free to PM me if you have specific questions. It’s a tricky business!</p>
<p>Swans004, thanks for offering advise. Can’t PM as I don’t have enough posts yet. I think our only weak area may be that after the original diagnosis at 2.5 years old we haven’t really had an update as autism should he diagnosed before 3 yo and it’s a chronic incurable problem so really no point. Lots of initial therapy, the IEP’s and then switched to 504 at 4th grade. Med checks every 3-6 months now and know there are time accommodations happening at times. What do you think our chances are?</p>
<p>Like your daughter, my son was also diagnosed with autism at 2 1/2 and we really have not had follow up except for testing done at school. He has always performed well academically without accommodations of any sort. However at his IEP meeting the end of freshman year, his guidance counselor suggested applying for them, so they would be in place for SAT’s and AP tests. We did not apply for them for ACT’s but as I type this, I think I will talk to his guidance counselor about doing such. College board did approve them so hopefully ACT will too.</p>
<p>Our HFA/PDD-NOS diagnosed son’s counselor applied for extended time on the SAT, and he was quickly given extended time. I applied for extended time on the ACT, and was denied the first time. After that, I applied again, but this time I basically threw the book at the ACT board by including every single copy of my son’s IEP’s from the beginning of time! Also included any notes from teachers about needing and using extended time in school. The school counselor wrote a detailed note with info from a variety of teachers saying that my son needed and used extended time.</p>
<p>2nd application for extended time on the ACT, my son received it. I’ve heard that applying numerous times works when you are denied. I also think that overwhelming the ACT board with documentation helps.</p>
<p>Also – on the essay – my son also writes illegibly and slow. I had read that it really didn’t matter WHAT you wrote, as long as you wrote a lot. I told my son to just write, as fast as he could, and fill up as much of the space as he can. He took the test twice, and tripled his essay score just by not worrying about content but rather filling up the page.</p>
<p>Hi 3, Just sent you a PM! Sorry not to have responded sooner…</p>
<p>Ask your child’s guidance counselor to apply as soon as possible for accommodations from the College Board. It is an online process, and it is best from them although the parent can apply.</p>
<p>I agree 100% that if your child is not getting the accommodation at school, you will have a difficult time getting it for standardized testing. Most students have taken many standardized tests already as part of state requirements, so should have had those accommodations in place.</p>
<p>Does anyone know if students must/should apply for accommodations for PSAT and PLAN as well as the main ACT and SAT? What about SAT-Subject tests and CLEP tests? What about Compass placement tests? Am trying to get my testing accommodations ducks in order ASAP. Thanks! </p>
<p>Anything administered by the College Board (SAT I and II, PSAT, AP, CLEP) is covered once you have accommodations through them. I assume the same is true with ACT/PLAN but haven’t had to do that…</p>
<p>Thank you, Sudsie.</p>
<p>With both my kids, I had to appeal. For ShawSon, I had to appeal for the SATs and it took a year and written and phone conversations. We were looking for double time and other accommodations that he had been getting starting in middle school. Ultimately the appeal was successful (we got good advice to go to teachers and others we were not paying as it seemed that the College Board folks were wary of the opinions of paid professionals) and he took the test and did very well. The ACTs just agreed to what the SATs agreed to and he did very well on that test as well. </p>
<p>For ShawD, the SATs said yes immediately (we were just asking for 50% extended time) and the ACTs needed an appeal with lots of written info from teachers and they said yes. She only took the ACT (much better suited to her). the issue there was that she had only had a formal diagnosis in sophomore year (and had been getting accommodations since then). But, she had had an earlier, very serious medical problem and we were focused on that for several years and not LDs even though we and the private middle school she’d attended had noticed the problem. The private school preemptively started giving her accommodations and so I got the teachers to explain that they saw symptoms of the LD and responded without any testing. </p>
<p>PSAT was included automatically for my son; too bad he took it already before the school approved his 504 plan (after six months of having 100% of the paperwork needed).
We want to apply for ACT accommodations soon, but I’m not sure of the process, and his school does not offer the ACT. </p>
<p>Some teachers are very good, some are not. Some school districts tout Powerschool or other online grade and assignment programs, but if there is 80% compliance, that’s one out of five courses where kids with issues have no backup to find out about things missing or late.</p>
<p>Sorry for bringing this up again but, once, you have been granted extra time for the SAT, is the process for the ACT any easier?</p>
<p>@Hawkace The SAT and ACT are administered by two difference companies. Receiving accommodations with one has no bearing on the other.</p>
<p>Many people believe that it is extremely difficult to get accommodations for a diagnosed disability on standardized testing. In actuality, it is easier now than in years past. Congress passed the updated American with Disabilities Amendments Act (ADAAA) in 2008, with a broadened definition of “disability” and a less stringent interpretation of the terminology such as “substantially limits” and “major life activities”. </p>
<p>In 2011, the Department of Justice (DOJ) handed down rulings following two denials of specific accommodation requests for the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT). These new regulations opened up options for students with documented disabilities to receive accommodations on standardized (high stakes) testing that will provide the student “equal access” to these tests. </p>
<p>Furthermore, mitigating measures, the things that students and families did to help manage or ameliorate the disability (i.e. use tutors, take medications, etc) can no longer be used against them. This means that with the proper documentation, the likelihood of getting the requested accommodations is high.</p>
<p>While there are some differences between the College Board and ACT procedures, the basic guidelines are the same. To receive an accommodation, the request must at a minimum address the following three main questions: “what,” “how,” and “why” accommodations are needed to best ensure an accurate demonstration of the students’ abilities.</p>
<p>See above. In one case, we had to pull teeth to get the SAT folks to come on board while the ACTs were easy. In the other case it was the reverse. In both appeals processes, there seem to be a generalized distrust of opinions and results from professionals who were paid to provide an opinion. Instead, they seem much more swayed by the observations of teachers and others who had not been paid and had no vested interest but whose opinions were consistent with the professionals. I wrote a memo to each laying out the evidence and the argument for the accommodations. Because I had done research about the two organizations’ own research on standardized test scores and test results, was clear about my experiences with the kids and the LDs’ impacts, and am an able persuasive writer and speaker (at one level I do that for a living), they were both ultimately persuaded. In one case, I have kept in touch with the person I dealt with to thank her and to chronicle our son’s subsequent successes. </p>
<p>Since my original post S has finished the Woodcock Johnson comprehensive battery for submission to the College Board. The therapist has yet to finish the report for our school coordinator so she can complete the application. I have not had any experience with looking at this test but it has been very enlightening. Although, S’s slightly above average overall, scores in verbal and thinking ability were 90th percentile while cognitive efficiency was 10th percentile. The counselor the the scores won’t help with getting extra time as the overall is average but I read that cognitive efficiency is basically processing speed so I would think that is a strong case for extra time.</p>
<p>S also had the entire academic battery portion of the test with great scores in academic achievement but I am not sure if these tests were important for applying for extra time on the SATs.</p>
<p>Does anyone have any experience with how the College Board views these tests?</p>
<p>Of course it is a strong case for extra time–but you need to make sure they do the report correctly. The scatter between test results is highly clinically significant and should be presented as such. Your son is not average–he is advanced in one area and delayed in another. If they did IQ testing make sure they calculate a general ability index (GAI) as if he has this much scatter a full scale IQ is invalid. Look at resources about twice exceptional students (can start on Hoagies Gifted Site) if you want to learn more. Good luck!</p>