How to get Extended Time on the ACT

Parents Forum Learning Differences and Challenges - LD, ADHD
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<p>My son easily received extended time on the SAT -- his school counselor filled out the appropriate application and sent it in, and BOOM! he had the extended time SAT ticket! -- but he was quickly denied extended time on the ACT, when I was required to send in the application. I made sure to send in the appropriate paperwork, which was similar to what was sent in to the SAT board, but still, my son was denied.</p>

<p>After receiving the ACT denial for extended time, I got angry. I started to research how this was almost ALWAYS the case, these denials, because years ago wealthy parents began getting their "doctors" to provide an official ADD "diagnosis" for their children in, maybe, their junior year of high school, so that they could get extended time on the test, and therefore get outrageously good scores and get into their Ivy League schools. Over time, this made it so that kids with legitimate learning disabilities are getting denied on a regular basis. I had heard that I would have to submit applications three or four more times, and would probably always get denied. Even my son's ADD specialist shook their head and said that it was futile -- all of the women in that office had sons with ADHD and had applied for extended time and had been denied.</p>

<p>Well, I JUST found out that my son got his extended time for the ACT on the very first appeal. This is absolutely amazing to me -- and so I want to tell any parents out there who have learning disabled kids what I did, in the hopes that they, too, can get extended time.</p>

<p>My son's counselor sent the packet to the ACT board, and it was not just a packet -- it was an entire BOX that possibly weighed four or five pounds, FULL of documentation that included:</p>

<ol>
<li> Any documentation that I had proving my son's High Functioning Autism/Inattentive ADD diagnosis.</li>
<li> Probably the most important thing -- a very detailed letter from my son's high school caseworker where she contacted each of his teachers during his junior year, and listed every time he used extended time for tests/exams at school.</li>
<li> Testing that we had done when my son was getting tutoring at a local educational company much like Sylvan learning center. The ACT denial listed that evidence of tutoring/psycho-educational testing reports would be beneficial.<br></li>
<li> Any comments from teachers on interim reports where they said something like "your son is trying hard, but he requires redirection" or "your son requires a lot of extra time on tests."</li>
<li> I copied EVERY SINGLE page of EVERY SINGLE IEP for the LAST ELEVEN YEARS and included that in the appeal documentation.</li>
</ol>

<p>What I did NOT include:</p>

<ol>
<li> Psycho-educational testing from a psychiatrist or any other type of professional. I had read that this would be necessary, and I was seriously considering doing this in a later appeal if this one was denied -- but it irked me that I would have to spend $1,000-$2,000 for a report to document what is already readily apparent -- my son needs extended time because of a very serious autism/add diagnosis. THAT had already been documented plenty.</li>
<li> Report cards. My son currently has a 3.67 GPA -- but what that GPA doesn't reflect is the fact that when his meds aren't working (as they are not right now) homework takes FOREVER and he works ten times as hard as any other kid to get the same results. Good report cards are never a favorable thing to include in a case like this.</li>
</ol>

<p>It's my guess that the ACT board took one look at that huge box of documentation and just said "forget it -- this one's not giving up" and gave my son his extended time, as they should have done the first time. I guess they have to make sure that it's necessary -- because there are people out there who take advantage of the system -- but it sure bugs me when the kids who really NEED the extended time DON'T GET IT.</p>

<p>I sincerely hope that this information can help somebody out there who needs it. I also hope that we did not just get incredibly lucky. I really want other people to benefit from this information.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the details. We will be requesting extra time for my DS who sounds like your DS in terms of need for extra time. We definitely have lots of documentation for his need for extra time on just about every test he’s ever taken as well as redirection, etc. Hopefully we will be successful also.</p>

<p>I think if you can prove your child has been on an IEP throughout high school the process should be easier. I can understand their concern over kids who are diagnosed late, but that is definitely not usually the case with many of the kids who are requesting extra time.</p>

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<p>My son was given extended time on first try BUT he 's had an IEP ever since kindergarten so I had lots of documentation to send in - not everything but enuf to prove that he’s been getting help for many years</p>

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<p>My son was denied initially. I found his original testing and first IEP from second grade, took it to the high school and asked the special ed dept to fax it in with a note that if more documentation was needed we have a four inch thick file of IEPS through the years that could be sent. He was then granted the extended time- the very next day.</p>

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<p>Soccermother, now THAT’S fascinating! THAT’S the way to handle things!!!</p>

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<p>@soccermother - That’s funny. I have a thick-file kid too. I wonder if they’d really read all that documentation. Anyone know for a fact what they really read? Do they take massive documentation as fax, PDF, or snail-mailed paper? Ditto for College Board?</p>

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<p>We will be requesting extended time for my son who has ADHD, a processing disorder, and dysgraphia. He was diagnosed ADHD in the third grade, processing disorder and dysgraphia in the summer before 8th grade. He has been on a 504 since the forth grade. He scored very low on his ACT PLAN test without extended time, so we will be requesting extended time for the ACT next June. When should we start requesting the extended time(along with typing for essay) accommodation? I want to have plenty of time for an appeal if necessary. Thank you!</p>

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<p>I am honestly very surprised your son got extended time for the SAT or ACT without formal professional test results from a psychologist or psychiatrist (at least that is how I read your original post, let me know if I’m not understanding it correctly). Otherwise what you have is documentation of accommodations that have been made and helped him… but those same accommodations likely would help students without disabilities as well. </p>

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<p>I agree, intparent, – I am surprised that he got extended time without a formal professional test result from a psychologist or psychiatrist … although he has had formal psych reports as a younger child, I was expecting to have to get a more recent one. I had read numerous times that this was what was required in order to receive extended time, especially for the ACT. I do, however, think that the ACT board could see, through the mountain of paperwork that we provided, that we meant business, and that if we were required to get a psych evaluation that was more recent, it would only substantiate what information was already provided.</p>

<p>dyiu13 – we snail-mailed the documentation. I much prefer the way soccermother handled the situation!</p>

<p>midwestmom2013 – I might start applying for extended time late in the sophomore year, since the test is taken in junior year. I was not aware of what I should have done – but knowing what I know now, I would certainly have taken care of these issues a lot earlier than I did.</p>

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<p>Ah, but you did have an older evaluation, at least. Without that, I doubt you would have gotten them in either case. We had both an older (2nd grade) and a 9th grade test with pretty much the same findings (guess even College Board and ACT board can draw a straight line between two points and extrapolate through the rest of high school).</p>

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<p>Earlier is always better when applying for accommodations. I tell my students to plan to apply about six months prior to their desired test date, but if you have the documentation gathered earlier, don’t wait to send it in. The new ACT application for the 2014-2015 year isn’t yet available, but should be up on the ACT website in the next week or so. Good luck!</p>

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<p>My son also got SAT time with no issue but not ACT - same dx as your son. Unfortunately his counselor is a bit lazy and his only response was “they never give it.” Thanks for your info. I’ve been trying to figure out another way to try and get it. </p>

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<p>“They never give it” is simply not true… but you do need clear documentation over time of a diagnosed disability (including both older and quite recent diagnosis), and clear evidence that accommodations have consistently been used by the student. And a counselor who fills out the paperwork properly… </p>

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<p>Thank you!!</p>

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<p>1sttimer125, I think that one of the most important things was that we had a resource teacher who asked all of my son’s teachers about how often he used extended time on tests in their class. That information was then written into a concise but specific document to show how necessary extended time was for my son on a regular basis.</p>

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I know this kind of old, but I was wondering if it would be possible to get extra time for standardized tests for a friend even if he does not usually use it at school. He is diagnosed with ADHD and he seems to be able to finish tests on time during school, but when it comes to the ACT (heavily time-pressured test), he just can’t finish on time because he reads slow. He is a really smart guy and does well in school, but he always has to spend an extra one or two hours reading the textbook before every test.

Would appreciate feedback, thanks!

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@Punisher1998 does he have extended time in school now? and for how long? Does he has any eval to support timed vs untimed test? college board has a page on what documentation is required… my older got the multiple days for ACT and extended time for SAT without problem as she has an IEP since 3rd grade and have many evals… My younger recently diagnosed with ADD and just has a 504, but it was based on a psychiatrist’s note and she is taking med…hence I haven’t applied for her yet.

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No, he usually does not need the extra time since most of our tests gives a sufficient amount for people to finish early, but he always takes up the entire time. I was just wondering if he any possibility of getting the extra time on the ACT (although chances do look slim).

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@Punisher1998 It is possible, but your friend needs to be able to document that he needs extended time. He will need an educational evaluation to submit to the ACT people in order to get extended time approved. He can ask his school guidance counselor to help him start this process. Usually a guidance counselor would submit the needed forms to the ACT people in order to get approval and it takes time. There are instructions on the ACT website.

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