<p>I'm pretty sure I did well on the most recent SAT (2350+ range, got 2230 last time and I felt like I did terrible that time...), and I'm wondering if colleges (specifically HYSPMC) will see if I used extended time. And more importantly, if they do, will they care?</p>
<p>There was a law suit a few years back, so tests are no longer flagged if a student gets extra time. Colleges will not be able to see if you got extra time (that includes all colleges).</p>
<p>How are you allowed to use extended time if you are in such a high range?</p>
<p>Wait–extended time? Is that allowed?</p>
<p>@wizkid94 extended time isn’t given to people that score lowly on the SAT, it’s given to people who are deemed to have a disorder that puts them at a disadvantage time-wise.</p>
<p>Unfortunately the extended time is becoming abused. In my D’s high school (northeast, suburban, upper income) many kids in the top 10% of the grade are given extra time. A handful actually need it due to dyslexia and other actual learning disabilities. But many start visiting psychologists at the first sign of a B grade in freshman or sophomore year and they get diagnosed with a vague “processing” disorder. Many of these kids then get 50% more time on SATs. Since College Board now cannot divulge if a student received extra time by law, the numbers have gone up. And scores have gone up. Feel sorry for the kids who have to compete with this and for the kids who really, really need the time and are struggling. Why don’t they just let everyone have extra time if they really want to level the playing field. Major abuse. Don’t know if colleges are keen to this. Anyone know?</p>
<p>@SC3mama
my guess is that enough people take the SAT to ensure that the few false-diagnoses don’t tremendously affect the overall curve. It is frustrating, though. I know so many kids in my highschool who get extra time for various stupid reasons. One kid even has extra time because he has an “auditory processing” disorder. How that’s supposed to hurt his chances on a visually-administered test is beyond me.</p>
<p>Haha I don’t think I’m abusing it. I don’t really need it persay, but I definitely find it useful, especially for the essay. It seems with extended time I get like 100 points higher.</p>
<p>^Haha wouldn’t everyone :p</p>
<p>yea probably lol</p>
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<p>Curves are determined before the administration of tests. Test-takers don’t set the curve. The College Board sets the curve depending on the difficulty of the test.</p>
<p>There is an increasing abuse of accommodations in the recent past. My understanding is that the collegeboard and ACT require that the student get accommodations in school and have a documented history of disability.</p>
<p>My current senior has a documented writing LD but he refused accommodations. He scored a 680 in CR but only a 540 in writing with a 5 on his essay. Clearly, the extended time, etc. would have helped him.</p>
<p>My current sophomore was diagnosed with dyslexia in first grade (H has it so I was on the lookout) and has had accommodations since then. He took the PSAT last week with extended time (time and 1/2) for both math and english sections. I had him take it cold with no prep to get a baseline. I will always have him use his accommodations and I will encourage him to fully disclose to colleges since it’s something that will have to be taken into account wherever he goes.</p>
<p>I think that the standards for getting accommodations should be stricter. They should be there for kids like my son who needs them. However, I also have no problem with having his status disclosed.</p>
<p>No one needs them. Extended time is inherently flawed anyway. I think that anyone who takes it with extended time should be graded on a separate curve/scale altogether. It doesn’t make sense for someone’s scores to be lumped in with everyone else’s who took it under normal time.</p>
<p>Sheep -</p>
<p>How would you set up a curve for kids with extended time? I think that the granting should be more scrutinized. My son was diagnosed with dyslexia in first grade and has been classified ever since. I already keep him out of Honors and AP classes even though he’s bright enough for it (his verbal IQ is in the same range as his older brother who only has a writing LD and is in honors/AP) because he can’t work fast enough to keep up with the day to day reading and writing requirements. Should he not be able to go to college because he can’t finish the SAT fast enough? </p>
<p>I have no problem with CB or ACT scrutinizing his paperwork to decide if he needs extra time. Actually, CB already granted it to him. I also have no problem with schools he applies to being told about his situation. In fact, I was against the law suit over the extended time. If you truly need it, it’s part of you and shouldn’t be hidden. If you don’t need it, you shouldn’t get it.</p>
<p>Setting up a curve for the kids who take the test with extended to is rather simple. Simply plot all the raw scores for the kids, and rank the percentiles in each section. So for example, maybe getting 20/50 on the math would put you in 50%tile so this could be a 500 on this special SAT.</p>
@SheepGetKilled, I understand your opinion on this subject, but some people actually do need it… For example, I have a form of muscular dystrophy, and one of the NUMEROUS things it causes me to do is write and fill things in extremely slowly. When the average person is on the last few questions, I’m not even halfway through. Some people do need this accommodation so that they are able to be in the same playing field as their peers. The extended time does not allow you more time to look over your work, but rather to complete the same amount of questions as other students. I have 2x the regular time, but I am just barely finishing when that extra time is called, just like any other “normal” student. P.S. Math has 60 questions, not 50 (1 question per minute).
Of potential requested accommodations, extended time is the most frequently granted to students who are eligible for special education or have a 504 plan. When looking at test reports and IEPs or plans, extended time is ubiquitous, even approaching universal. While other accommodations have an explanation such as student requires a reader because…, extended time is very often the first listed and rarely excludes an explanation about why the student qualifies for it.
ACT has used an application for students who only request extended time and another application form for students who require additional accommodations. Because of the volume of requests, testing agencies like ACT have internal rules for processing the huge number of applications for ET only. While a few students may be granted ET because the meet criteria for ET, there aren’t enough students who get ET erroneously to abandon the approval rules.
Then there is research and the answer fairy. The research tends to support an appropriate increase in scores when ET is used and the student needs more time to perform equitably because of a documented disability The student with MD provides a very good example of a student with a disability that prevents him from marking answers with the same rapidity as other students.
Now for the answer fairy. Having taught thousands of undergraduates in 20 years as faculty, I have watched students who slump in their chairs, rub their eyes, stare at the ceiling, check the clock repeatedly and ultimately turn in their test papers at the deadline. They look like they are are expecting something. My sister and I call this behavior watching for an answer fairy to come and tap them with a wand that will provide the correct answer. Speed and accuracy of responding characterizes students with good grasp of the content coupled with sufficient proficiency tin sorting through potential answers to respond within traditional test limits. A few students are their own answer fairies because they can think through test questions and potential responses to test questions. A handful routinely won’t quite finish the the test within standard time limits because they overthink or over-analyze test questions on tests, in the classroom and life.