My school refuses to give me extra time?

<p>I have dyscalculia and it's nothing short of a miracle I've managed a score in the high 600s on my math section. I know if I had more time, I could probably do better. It's just that I have to check my work, because I'll always mix up the numbers in my head, but when you only have one minute per problem, you can't always check.
I explained this to my guidance counselor, but she just shrugged me off. Then, I had psychiatric tests done, and tested in the 99th percentile in reading and writing and the 69th in math. I showed her the documentation, and again, she shrugged it off, since I "have an A in math." Forget that it's barely an A and I've had to actually work (a lot) to get it. -.-
When I take the SAT again this year, it'll probably be my last time, and since I know now why I have so much trouble, I want to see if I can get extra time. Since she doesn't take me seriously, do I abandon hope of accommodations and accept my score, or should I contact Collegeboard?</p>

<p>You are legally entitled to extra time on any test if you have a certain card (I think it’s a card) detailing your disability and it will say on the card that the tester is required by law to give you extra time. If you don’t have that card (and I don’t know if you can get one for the disorder you specified) they don’t have to give you extra time, and in the case of the SAT since it is such a regulated test, they won’t. See your doctor or whoever diagnosed you to ask about that.</p>

<p>Do you have a 504 plan or an IEP at school? I think you have run into roadblocks because you are succeeding despite a relative weakness in math. I would surmise that you have been able to adapt well, using your strengths to diminish the impact of your math deficit. Generally speaking, a student must show that the disability is negatively impacting their ability to access their education. With your SAT scores far above average, I would guess it would be a hard sell to the College Board that your disability has hurt your ability to successfully take the test and score well.</p>

<p>Hello, we ran into a somewhat similar problem with our son… until last year we were living overseas, and the school system there simply refused to acknowledge the existence of ADHD, let alone give him extra time. So there was no way to get extra time on the SAT. In the end, we gave up the fight, moved back to the U.S. and were able to get accommodations … but even then his math scores were not as good as yours! I would think that if you have high verbal scores and a good GPA you shouldn’t have too much to worry about.</p>

<p>You should definitely apply to receive accommodations. You can do this without your school’s participation. Do a google search for college board services for students with disabilities. You and your parent will have to fill out some forms as well as the doctor who did the testing. The dr. will have to send the test results as documentation. It can take a few months for the College Board to review it and make a decision so I suggest you begin the process now. If they approve your extended time you will get a SSD # that you will use when you register online. On the test date you bring a copy of the College Board’s letter that details your accommodations.</p>

<p>I NEVER qualified for any Disability accommodations in High School. K12 Schools will only give you accommodations if you are performing significantly below the average of of all students. In college disabilities are classifieds when you are performing at a level below you intelligence i.e. You can have an overall IQ of 130 (gifted) ,but still get accommodation if you are performing at a level below you intelligence. I hope that makes sense for why your Counselor shrugged you off. In the schools eyes you are performing above average so there is nothing they can do by law. I have dyscalculia too, so I completely understand your frustration.</p>

<p>I just looked this ‘dyscalculia’ up and it sounds just like me! Sorry to intrude on your thread but I just randomly saw it and wondered what it was. I’m gifted and my math scores have always been far below my other scores. I always get points off on my tests for simple sums in math or forgetting ‘must know’ formulas in science. I got 95th-99th percentile in just about everything and then 64th percentile mental math on ITBS a while back. Huh. I guess there is nothing I can do about it now. I think I’m too old to get tested.</p>

<p>The college board is very reluctant to give out accommodations. It is not unusual for people with disabilities to be denied accommodations initially. If you are denied accommodations initially you can appeal their decision and provide them with additional information which may or may not help. It depends.</p>

<p>The first thing to know about accommodations is that the college board wants to know if your child is using them on a regular basis in school. If not then they are likely to rule that your child does not need those additional accommodations for the SAT test.</p>

<p>For kids who are gifted/LD the above approach can be problematic because often the course work in their classes is not so demanding that they need accommodations. So it appears as though accommodations are unnecessary.</p>

<p>In this case it is a good idea to prepare for applying for accommodations when your child gets his/her neuropsychological testing done. Explain to the tester that you are hoping to apply for accommodations and you want to show the college board how not providing your child with those accommodations impacts their performance. For example a child may get 69% on a math achievement test when given limited time. But the child might score in the 99% if given unlimited time. </p>

<p>As for accommodations in school. It is important to know that legally the school can not use good grades as an excuse for why they are denying a child an IEP or a 504. If the child has a diagnosis and the diagnosis indicates that certain accommodations would be beneficial then the school must take that into consideration when providing the child services. Some schools implement something called RTI (Response to Intevention) which means that they don’t immediately have to put a child on an education plan or give them a 504 but can just provide them with the accommodations to see if those in fact help, especially if those accommodations are provided to the rest of the general population. If this is done then the parents and child are strongly encouraged to collect data regarding the child’s use of those accommodations just in case they find a need to show that a 504 is warranted.</p>

<p>The problem you will have with CB is the most typical accommodations for discalcula is calculator use and formula sheets. As CB gives you these for the SAT it will be hard to get other accommodations. They are very stingy with extra time and will use your score to argue you are performing at level. Not saying this is right, its just experience with them.</p>

<p>There is no card that automatically qualifies you for accomodations - and even if it did, it would not apply to College Board because they are a privately held company.</p>

<p>If you have a diagnosis, that still will not always qualify you for a 504 or an IEP. You only get one or the other if you have a disability that negatively impacts certain life functions - and if you’re already performing at or above grade level, they’re not likely to look at it that way. Further, if you did well in your early years, and only started to struggle in middle school or high school, they’re likely to argue that you’re just lazy. We ran into this with our daughter because she scores in the top category on the state testing, yet was getting C’s and D’s in middle school. We believed she was dyslexic, but the school wouldn’t have her tested, we had to have it done on our own. Turned out she has a processing disorder, but not bad enough to qualify for a 504 plan.</p>

<p>If you don’t have accommodations at school, College Board is unlikely to give them for the SAT. If it looks like you went shopping for a diagnosis after entering HS, they won’t give you extra time either. This is a very tricky area for double gifted students, because they are often able to compensate until they reach high school 9and sometimes longer). ucacheer is correct - colleges will work with you, but you have to get in first. That’s where a good interview, and well written essays can help. Rather than speak to your difficulties, speak to how you have worked to overcome those difficulties.</p>

<p>The diagnosed disability must result in a “substantial limitation” to learning or result in your needing “Special Education” services for you to receive accommodations from your school. You do not fall into either of these categories. Evaluations done outside of the school almost always come back with some type of “disability”. If you truly had dyscalculia, you would not score at the 69th percentile. More accurately you have a “weakness” in math.</p>

<p>csdad - if she is in the 99th percentile for everything else, it is possible she does in fact have dyscalculia, just as my daughter has dyslexia. The problem is as you state - it does not result in a “substantial imitation” when that limitation is measured based on an average student. If she has a “weakness” there is a reason behind that weakness, and in her case it has been diagnosed as dyscalculia. </p>

<p>Look at the definition used by neuroscientists, it is similar to the definition of Dyslexia. Dyslexia does not prevent a student from reading, it makes it more difficult. A more intelligent student will find ways to compensate. While it may be true that the majority of outside evaluations come back with a disability, these evaluations are not being done on a random sample of students - they are students that have disabilities that were not diagnosed. </p>

<p>I was told by an administrator at our middle school that my daughter couldn’t possibly be dyslexic, because she did so well on the standardized tests. But that ignores the corollary - that students with disabilities can’t possibly do well. If that’s the case, why do we expect them to perform well when it comes to No Child Left Behind standards? Yes, my daughter learned to read at the “normal” age, but she didn’t learn to read well. Until middle school, the kids don’t really read that much for school, much of what they do is read to them, or done in groups. Then they get to middle school, and suddenly have text books, and are expected to read the material on their own, and “go over it” in class. Suddenly my daughter was “lazy” because she wasn’t completing the readings. Funny, I sat with her working on one science assignment. The answers to the questions were plainly right in front of her, yet she couldn’t find them in the text (her sister 4 years younger was able to find them immediately). She was in our gifted and talented program, yet getting C’s and D’s in regular classes - but that was her fault, she didn’t need to be tested, according to the school. If they choose to send her for their own testing, it will corroborate the tests I paid for, they almost always do!</p>

<p>Studies have been done, and shown that most students won’t do better with extra time for the SAT, because they don’t understand the materials, and extra time won’t get them any closer to the correct answers. The students that do better are those with learning disabilities, because they do in fact understand the material, they just can’t process it as quickly.</p>

<p>And thus the difference between medical & educational models. One could be diagnosed with any number of disorders, but if these disorders do not substantially limit learning or result in a need for special education, accommodations are not entitled. Very gray area as to whether a weakness or disability.</p>

<p>Not grey at all! There are specific diagnosis for these conditions, and many who meet them are not in a position where learning is limited based on someone of average intelligence or ability. However, these conditions do in fact keep them from reaching their own potential. The problem is in how we measure whether there is an impact. I know an MD who intially struggled in med school, until he was diagnosed with dyslexia. Once that happened, he was given some accommodations (mostly extra time on tests and assignments given early), and learned strategies to cope with the amount of work. He is an excellent doctor, but knows his own personal limitations - he won’t work in an ER where he might be called on to read a medical chart and make a quick decision.</p>

<p>In most states, schools are required by law to identify both gifted kids and those with learning disabilities, but in many only the LD kids are entitled to a “free and appropriate education.” If a gifted child happens to have a documented disability (it’s not either/or), then he or she is also entitled to that appropriate education. Appropriate does not always mean easier - sometimes it means more challenging, even if accompanied by accomodations such as more time on tests.</p>