I have a friend whose DD is a Junior and has taken her first SAT.
DD did better than average but not as well as the friend thought she should have. In order to boost her score, the friend had ADHD diagnosis from a doctor in order to get extra time on the exam. It sounds to me like this diagnosis was solely to get extra time on the exam as I have not heard anything about this during high school.
Some questions
Are colleges made aware of the extra time?
Is this factored into the scores by the colleges?
Is this a dirty trick or just keeping up with others that play the same games?
Not sure how I feel about this. On one hand, it sounds like playing games with the system. On the other hand, no man is an island and if this is being used by others to increase scores then you are disadvantages if you don’t play the game.
A “dirty trick?” No. The SAT/ACT/colleges all allow extra time for students with documented disabilities. Whether some parents/students abuse the system is beyond the scope of this thread. Personally, unless one is walking a mile in those shoes, there is really no reason/point in questioning.
I have 2 kids, 1 with an IEP, and 1 with a section 504. Standing alone with no other disabilities (in my state), ADD/ADHD falls under section 504. High schools document accommodations, and extra time on tests is an accommodation. It is pretty difficult for a special ed team to approve extra time on tests in high school unless the student is struggling. The “extra time on tests” accommodations developed by the special ed team is then passed to the college board. Kid 1 had no issue with getting extra time as this was an accommodation he’s had in all years of education. Kid 2 was diagnosed freashman year with ADD, and was not able to secure any extra time for tests as her grades didn’t display the need.
Wait until they get into the real world. Boss: “I need that report by the end of the day.” Employee: “I should be given more time, because I have always been given more time, like when I took the SAT and took all my tests in high school and college.” Following week after the employee did not turn in the report by the deadline: Boss to employee: “I am truly sorry. We are are going to have to let you go.”
It may seem unfair and a dirty trick, however, for those kids with test anxiety and ADD, they will need documentations of diagnosis and treatment by a mental disorder specialist physician in order to receive the extra time. So it would not be easy for someone just to get a diagnoses solely to get an extra time.
It can be very difficult and expensive to get accommodations on the SAT. A letter from a doctor for ADHD will not cut it. The suggestion is laughable.
The point of accommodations is not to give a boost to someone with a disability but to allow them to show their true ability.
The idea that accommodations are lightly given is insulting to kids who get them–kids who have to live everyday of their lives impacted by their disability, despite intelligence and intellectual gifts.
I don’t think your D has the whole story about the friend.
I talked with the CB about getting accommodations for my oldest for the SAT and I’ve seen the paperwork involved.
They want documentation of an existing IEP or other plan.
They want copies of specific testing.
They not only want proof of a disability but proof there is an impact on performance.
I decided not to pursue testing because I had medical proof of a disability but not all the right tests, even though I had already spent thousands on evaluations.
Also, it is important to know that at the college level accommodations are all about access to information, almost like how a wheel chair helps a person with a physical disability get access the a building. The curriculum isn’t changed.
And extra time can be helpful and seems like a benefit, but it comes with a cost. Kids with disabilities have to work harder to do the same work. With extra time, they have to put in that effort for an even longer period of time. It’s exhausting and there is a chance they might crash before using the extra time.
My oldest’s therapists described the extra effort involved with her disability as like pushing a medicine ball uphill. Imagine having to do that longer than everyone else who is just walking on level ground.
“As a school lawyer, I’ve witnessed the growing pressures schools face to provide extended time to more students, especially in affluent communities. Distribution of accommodations for wealthy and poor students is not equitable. Decisions often come down to parents’ advocacy—not intrinsic student attributes. What a flawed gatekeeper the College Board has hired.”
From a five year old article in The Chicago Tribune, “At powerhouse New Trier Township High School on the North Shore, the highest number in the state, 170 juniors — or 1 in 6 test takers — got special testing accommodations last year.” And, “At many Chicago public schools, no students got accommodations.”
@Overtheline - Wow! First if someone who needed extra time on tests in school needed to complete a report for work - they would most likely just spend extra time. There is a huge difference between school and work. Many people with disabilities that were accommodated for testing go onto to be very successful. And you must not know that firing someone with a disability without giving them reasonable accommodations is likely to get your company sued.
Personally, I wonder why more questions aren’t raised about the basis for the quick timing, especially with ACT, but SAT as well. For example, imagine if the time for the tests were changed to even twenty-five percent more per section; the grade distribution, after being curved, would be interesting. Some would score higher, some wouldn’t. It just seems to me that the time is unreasonably short. I don’t think slacker employees are analogous unless the type of job is more of a cog. Slow, deep thinkers, found in a number of particularly intellectual fields of work, get the short end of the stick on these tests (it should be obvious, but that also includes 2e kids).
@Overtheline Students with disabilities often have strengths in other areas, and should chase after careers that are good fits for them. Yes, there are professions that wouldn’t be a good fit. I’d never want a person with a disability to read your post and lose hope. My kids have killer work ethics, and kid #1 has won some very competitive awards in the arts. To quote Lena Waithe “The things that make us different — those are our superpowers. Every day when you walk out the door and put on your imaginary cape and go out there and conquer the world, because the world would not be as beautiful as it is if we weren’t in it.”
@Overtheline I do agree that in “the real world” no employee can get extra time for work assignments. But as a parent of a child who has learning disabilities documented since kindergarten I take offense to your the tone of your post where I feel you are making light of some student’s genuine need for accommodations. Accommodations made for SATs and other timed exams are done to provide ample opportunity for a student with to show what he/she knows – nothing more and nothing less.
Quite frankly you are talking apples and oranges when you compare a timed exam to a work assignment. Even in school students with learning disabilities do not get extra time on papers, projects etc. My S worked longer and harder than many students to complete non-timed assignments on schedule. And he does the exact same thing as an adult in his work – if he has to work longer hours, bring work home etc. to get am assignment done on time he does it without fail. In addition, my S found a career that plays into his strengths and minimizes the impact of his learning disabilities. So with hard work and a smart career choice, a student who needs accommodations on a timed exam like the SAT in HS can find success as an adult in the working world.
I do think that getting extra time on SAT is important for many students with demonstrated and documented disabilities. People who try to get an unwarranted diagnoses to get extra time for kids just to bump up their scores should be ashamed.
As others have suggested, it is simplistic to suggest that a doctor’s note will suffice. If the student hasn’t been getting accommodations all along, it is unlikely she will get them just for the test with only a doctor’s note. My DD had a 504 with extra time, and we decided not to pursue extra time on the SAT because the process was quite onerous.
@happy1 “I do think that getting extra time on SAT important for students with demonstrated and documented disabilities. People who try to get an unwarranted diagnoses to get extra time for kids just to bump up their scores should be ashamed.”
I so agree. My son very rarely uses his 504 plan as he doesn’t want to be different. He has both a medical and ld that qualify him for special circumstances. One thing that OP should be aware of is that very bright kids often go undiagnosed until that get into testing like the ACT/SAT. One of my friends daughter’s was diagnosed with Dyslexia as a Freshman in high school. She took a placement test for a private school and the school looked at the scores and told Mom - “there is something that doesn’t add up here, take her to a specialist for testing.” Sure enough this poor girl had been undiagnosed her whole elementary and middle school years. She got time and 1/2 on tests and other accommodations at school. She has gone onto a great University all because they caught this disability and accommodated it.
One of my kids got extra time for a slow processing disability. It was quite difficult to get – according to the high school’s GC, no other at that student had ever gotten extra time. IT required boatloads of testing data and also years of doing IEPs at the school. A doctors note by itself would get laughed at.
But if a family wants to invest thousands of dollars on testing and create years of track record and paper trail with the middle and high school on the disability, sure you might be able to game the system. More frequent, though, are kids with a real disabilities whose families don’t have the resources to create the record. So the kids don’t get the extra test time, even though they qualify.
My kid is now at a competitive college. They can’t give you extra time for reading, preparing and studying. Regardless of their strengths and weaknesses, all the students get the same 168 hours per week. My kid works like a dog to keep up.
For a certain type of intelligence the SAT is too long. I remember taking it (back when we carved our answers onto stone tablets) and having 45 minutes after each section to sit and doodle in the margins. The SAT rewards people with that kind of intelligence.
My grades were relatively abysmal because I lost interest in the classes and forgot to turn in homework, but I had a perfect double 800 SAT score. Many of my classmates were pressed for time or didn’t finish. If the extra time accommodation had been in place when I was a kid, my score wouldn’t have been nearly as impressive relative to my peers.
As it was, I got into a school that was probably higher than my abilities could handle and I didn’t do well in college until I transferred to a much less rigorous environment.
So, even though the extra time would have punished me, I think it’s a good idea because it gives the colleges a better picture of incoming classes and ensures a better fit of student to college.
@MaterS school districts do vary widely based on funding of special education in their school districts. Most parents of kids with disabilities within the Chicago area know that CPS is known for not funding special education. Distribution has never been equitable - the funding pie is small (IDEA has never funded school districts the 40%), Parents with resources bring in lawyers to uphold the law. I personally don’t know of an instance where a parent invested that kind of time and money to “scam” special education. I do know many families that don’t receive the accommodations. In general, school funding in IL is a topic of much debate.
FWIW, special education can do amazing things for kids. My kid #1 is an amazing success story, and he had a ton of help from some amazing public school teachers and support staff/therapists.
“if a family wants to invest thousands of dollars on testing and create years of track record and paper trail with the middle and high school on the disability, sure you might be able to game the system.”
That’s right. There are lots of kids who need accommodations. There are also some parents who pour resources into this and some doctors who are willing to give the requested diagnosis to a borderline kid. I assume that I don’t know what’s going on in a family unless I hear it straight from the parent; what their kid tells your kid and your kid reports to you may have no relationship to the facts.
Extra time is requested by students with disabilities who use it as an accommodation in high school. Extra time like most anything else requires practice to obtain advantages. For those that believe that extra time allows students what they really know, that is an inappropriate request. First an example. Your child doesn’t receive extra time and earns score x; a neighbor child was granted extra time without a disability.