Good question. I can’t answer it directly. However, I’ve been on several juries and I don’t think we ever went more than 90 minutes without a break.
^^^Good question.
Did anyone answer the question if a “doctor’s note” satisfies anything for a short-term issue. I’m guessing not because I’ve seen too many kids have profs ignore doctor’s notes.
The doctor’s note leaves it at the professor’s discretion. I personally take a kid’s word for it. Another prof might insist on the note. But a real belt-and-suspenders prof will wait for paperwork from the ADA office.
We are drilled every year that only the ADA paperwork creates a requirement for us to accommodate – but that we can always make whatever accommodations of our own we think are appropriate.
There’s a little trick we are invited to use if we ever have any doubt. If, in the middle of a test, a kid without paperwork asks for an accommodation, give him a pen with different colored ink to finish the test with. Then, if we’re dissatisfied with whatever we hear back from ADA, we know where to stop grading.
Much too bureaucratic for this professor’s monkey brain. But it does illustrate that faculty are aware of these issues and have been for a long time. If a professor makes a decision regarding accommodations, you can assume he’s given the matter some thought. He might be a jerk, but he’s probably an informed jerk.
DS sprung a bloody nose after and AP exam had been handed out but before it was begun. He was not allowed to go to the bathroom. He staunched the bleeding with his sock and carried on. I’m not advocating that level of rigidity for a test that hasn’t even started but just offering it as an example of strict rules.
Judges pause trials all the time for bathroom breaks for lawyers jurors court reporters and themselves
Eek, @saintfan that sounds unpleasant on so many levels.
It does - it was pretty extreme. He is prone to bloody noses when the air is dry, though, so it pretty good at stopping them. After that I always sent him with a tissue pack.
Dyslexics are sometimes given extra time on exams, but most jobs are not like college exams. They may read more slowly than peers who possess similar IQs, but they just build extra time into their work day to complete it. I would wager that the majority aren’t knocking on their employers’ doors asking for extra time to do work assignments.
What’s being tested? The reading level or the knowledge of physics? Dyslexia isn’t difficulty with physics or algebra. It’s difficulty processing written language. The difference between you and dyslexics is that you, apparently, can’t do physics. However, dyslexics have the same range of IQs as the rest of the population, so your dyslexic classmate could very well be good at physics.
Dyslexics process the written word more slowly than nondyslexics. So an exam with “3 short sentences” followed by “lots of physics theory” and algebra will take a dyslexic longer to process than it would take a nondyslexic who has a similar IQ. The idea that giving dyslexics extra time is an unfair advantage suggests a real misunderstanding of what it’s like to live with dyslexia. Extra time won’t help them accurately complete physics or algebra problems if they don’t know how to do them. I think if they were given the opportunity to trade places with your kid and not need accommodations, most dyslexics would happily do it.
Difficulty processing math is called dyscalculia. Interestingly enough, it’s the rote things you can use a calculator for (like multiplication) that gives dyscalculics the most trouble. Higher order thinking comes easier to them. My dyscalculic daughter finds algebra far easier than she did 3rd grade math.
Having dyslexia, dyscalculia, and/or dysgraphia doesn’t mean students can’t learn the material. They require appropriate interventions at an early age, but those who get them are capable of entering the same careers as their neurotypical classmates. Dyslexia didn’t seem to hold back physicist Pierre Curie, molecular biologist Carole Greider, astrophysicist Matthew Schnepps, neurosurgeon Fred Epstein, or Dr. Florence Haseltine, among many, many others.
Do some people need accommodations that include frequent bathroom breaks during exams? Probably. It doesn’t sound like OP is one of them. But not liking the accommodations that others qualify for doesn’t make them unfair. If you’re fortunate enough that your kid’s daily life isn’t affected in a way that requires them, you’re very fortunate.
" Extra time won’t help them accurately complete physics or algebra problems if they don’t know how to do them." These arguments always ignore the fact that most tests are time-pressured. You don’t see many students leaving physics exams before time is called. Yes, extra time helps.
The college board’s own study http://www.ets.org/Media/Research/pdf/RR-05-20.pdf says that over 40% of non-disabled students felt they needed more time on the SAT and that mid-ability non-disabled students scored 72 points higher on the SAT when given time and a half.
And so it seems that bathroom breaks should be scheduled. Students who need to leave during the exam are losing time. This isn’t fair. It’s also disruptive to students who have difficulty focusing when people are coming and going.
Yeah, but lawyers, jurors, reporters, & judges already have their “cheat sheets” in front of them in the courtroom.
Wow this thread has generated a lot of responses. Thank you to everyone who has replied. Just a few points.
@romanigypsyeyes I certainly would never advocate for this professor to be fired. I think it’s wrong that I wasn’t allowed to go to the bathroom and I’ll certainly be bringing this issue to light in one way or another. However, I would never advocate him losing his job over this, or even trying to publicly out him for that matter.
@GMTplus7 You’re making claims and drawing conclusions that are completely out of whack with what happened. I never said I was going to sue the university, for one.
@fretfulmother I certainly didn’t create a scene in class. When he denied my request I quietly replied “ok”, albeit with a worried look on my face, then went back to my desk to attempt to finish my exam. I emailed him respectfully after the exam to take issue with the policy. When he told me “that’s an explanation, not an excuse”, I simply agreed to disagree, wished him a merry christmas, then emailed the dean. I’m not in the habit of arguing with professors. As I’ve said, I’ve never filed a complaint against a professor, or even sent a professor an email complaining about a grade.
Also, just for the record, I don’t have a smart phone. I know, one of the few :). I’m aware this has no effect on the policy as there’s no way a professor could know who has access to a smart phone and who doesn’t.
<<<
Is it fair for a student with an accommodation to get an A after 3 hours vs another person getting a B after 2 hours ?
[QUOTE=""]
[/QUOTE]
This is why I don’t like situations where some get more time than others. If the testing time is 3 hours, then the test should be a 2 hour test that allows anyone to use the full 3 hours.
There are just too many instances where higher scores can make huge differences…SAT/ACT testing, LSAT, MCAT, etc. In these cases, the increases in scores may be minimal, but the impact could be huge. Someone with an (old) MCAT score of 29 isn’t going to have as great a chance as someone with an (old) MCAT score of 31…and the difference may only be a tiny number of more wrong answers.
Well, the newspapers had an explanation for Hilary Clinton’s brief absence after a break in the debate: she was in the restroom. A woman from another campaign staff got there first, and Hilary had to wait Knowing she would be late, she did not turn around, but persisted in going to the loo. I guess she could not concentrate with a full bladder 
As to extra time, the concept of “level playing field” is hard for people to grasp. That’s all I am going to say.
<<<
As to extra time, the concept of “level playing field” is hard for people to grasp. That’s all I am going to say.
[QUOTE=""]
[/QUOTE]
I understand that some people need extra time. Certainly those who have someone reading questions to them or someone with vision or other reading issues need extra time. Extra time is also given to those with anxiety, etc. I just prefer that everyone be given extra time because at any given time there can be an issue where a person needs extra time. Most won’t use it. Most will just finish and go. But, for the person who woke up with an upset stomach or sore throat or head congestion and HAS to take the exam, the extra time is fair.
You reiterate the fact that you are a twenty-four year old adult.
However, as a twenty-four year old adult, you should also possess the common sense by now to use the restroom before a long exam like this. I’m surprised you were given a restroom break during a prior exam, and am not surprised in the least you were denied one.
Regarding test length and extra time, one suggestion I had from a colleague was to make up the exam, then wait a day or two and take it myself, timing how long it took. Then use a multiplier of 3 for how long to expect the students to take. It seems to work fairly well as a measure in my STEM classes. I don’t know about other sorts of subjects.
Badgers this student did go before the exam.
Many professors will not take a doctor’s note. Some examples: My daughter had surgery and notified the professor and had a surgeon’s note. Grade 0. In another class a student with a stomach virus puking in a bucket the entire exam because otherwise professor would give a Grade 0. Neither of those instances could a disability be obtained in an emergency time frame of days. It takes months to go through the process of obtaining a disability and neither of these events were a disability per se. Professors are absent when sick whereas students puking their brains out cannot be excused.
There is no reason in the world going to the bathroom has to be a documented disability. Holding it is not healthy. Frequently kids are taking exams sick and not feeling well and will have to use the restroom for a few minutes. Have you ever been in a meeting an excused yourself for a few minutes? Of course. Part of life is disruptions but they are minor and I never in my life have been disrupted by someone leaving a room to use the restroom whether at college or in the work place.
What the heck does dyslexia have to do with this post? They have a disability just as someone does with a medical disability. Many of them are quite brilliant and have a quite a different perspective on life.
Dang, @saintfan , your kid is tough!
What you did say is “can I fight this” and “is this legal”.