Yea it’s like having two kids run a race but one is in a wheelchair. Giving them a head-start hardly puts them at an “advantage”.
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In Olympics, they run separate races. A head-start just isn’t sufficient. I’m not against accommodations. I just think there should be an indication on the test report (if the college would still like to use test scores) of such accommodation and the reason for it to avoid abuses.
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It was an example. Jeez stop being so argumentative
How sad that any child with a disability which is listed in a LEGAL document in their iep, would have to state why they are receiving accommodations. These kids with accommodations don’t just walk into a testing center and state “I want more time”. Doesn’t work that way. They have to go through all sorts of testing and then hours are spent developing their plan.
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Ok. Why shouldn’t colleges know about it?
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Colleges want to see what your child can do, not what he can’t do. No child should have to defend or explain their right to use the accommodations to which she is entitled, that includes letting the college know. It’s not an option, it’s the law.
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I’m not taking a stance, but test companies (and HS) can’t divulge that a student has accommodations because of HIPAA (and other privacy laws). Both test companies used to report accommodations on a student’s score report, that stopped about 20 years ago.
Just last year, ACT lost a lawsuit for disclosing some students’ disability status outside the score report: ACT settles class action for $16 million
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Yes college board sited that their reasoning for not disclosing was that it was found to be discriminatory against students with documented disabilities.
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I’m not a lawyer, so I won’t argue about legal matters. But not all laws make sense in all circumstances.
Here is research from the ACT, published by the Chronicle of Higher Education TODAY
Summary Findings Survey of Higher Education Enrollment and Admissions Officers Admissions policy landscape and outlook: • Following several years of a more gradual trend towards test-optional, the four-year institution admissions policy landscape has shifted towards test-optional policies after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic • Most institutions that adopted test-optional policies as a result of COVID-19 did not anticipate making policy changes prior to 2020 and have adopted temporary or pilot policies; these institutions indicate being somewhat unlikely to return to test-required, with significant uncertainty remaining. Institutions that adopted test-optional policies prior to COVID-19 are highly unlikely to return to test-required • Institutions of all types of admissions policies are unlikely to become test-blind, citing that students should be allowed to choose to submit test scores and that test score data is too useful to abandon altogether COVID-19 impact on admissions processes: • COVID-19 has differentially affected application volume across the higher education landscape depending on institutional profile, with selective institutions largely observing increases in applications, and less selective institutions experiencing more mixed results • Even as many four-year institutions become test-optional, most still report significant use of testing data throughout the enrollment process; COVID-19 has impacted the percentage of students submitting test scores (with test-optional institutions reporting a 20-30% decrease in students submitting scores); many institutions note that this reduction in data has led to increased difficulty in some parts of their candidate evaluation process, with the most pronounced pain point related to awarding merit scholarships • As admissions decision makers at four-year institutions look to the future, most anticipate that sourcing students and ensuring student success and retention will present the greatest challenges in the enrollment process
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I find this interesting. It is my understanding that the SAT and ACT math sections really only cover material to about Algebra 2/Trigonometry. A 27 might be a point at which U of M at least deems you proficient enough at those subjects to continue with your engineering math and science courses. Today most kids interested in Engineering specifically and STEM in general have completed at least some calculus and beyond. Proficiency in math (usually through linear algebra and differential equations) is need to be successful in engineering, however, I can see where the math score itself wouldn’t be predictive. I would be curious if there was correlation between success in engineering and the score on say an AP Physics C course. That would seem to be a more relevant course.
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Our son’s best friend is one of those students that needs more time. He is a very bright kid who is a top student but needs extra time to process information. This accommodation has helped him tremendously. However, there are many kids who will take advantage of this by fraudulent means. The answer lies in extending the time for everyone. Most kids will finish a test in the original prescribed time. Our DS always finishes early although we wish he would use the full allotted time. When I was in college and grad school, everyone finished at a different times, some well before the end, some just before the end and some right up until the end. Students then left the room. It was not disruptive at all and can easily be accomplished. Or, then can ask everyone to remain in place until the test is over. Either way, those that need accommodations are taken care of and there is no need to distinguish them in any way, and they have the time they need to do well. It also eliminates the incentive to fake a medical condition by those students seeking an advantage over their peers.
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Sadly with that Varsity Blues scandal, we seen how those with $ can take advantage
Yes. And if anyone thinks that the kind of shenanigans that happened with Varsity Blues aren’t still happening, I think they are naive. Beyond that extreme, many more children from wealthy families are seeking (and obtaining) testing accommodations while kids from poorer communities aren’t able to do the same (and I’d guess the need is the same or greater). To me, so much of the modern standardized testing system favors the wealthy - kids who are already more or less on 3rd base to begin with (elite schooling, time and $ for specialized activities & training, no need to work or worry about having a roof over their head or food on the table). For as much as they tout “diversity”, most elite schools remain as they ever were - bastions of wealth and privilege for the upper classes (with 2/3 of students coming from wealthy families and only 4% from poor ones).
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Running and wheelchairing are different enough that they are different divisions or sports. Note that wheelchairing is faster for longer distances when comparing top performers.
Absolutely… and aside from being able to obtain testing accommodations, there is the fact that those with money can afford the best of the best in terms of test prep, can afford to pay to have someone do their child’s applications as well as write their essays. So even if you take out the testing piece, if a school was evaluating for other factors such as essay quality then the playing field still wouldn’t be level. The system, no matter how you look at it is flawed. We can only hope these kids end up just where they are meant to be.
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That would be a violation of HIPAA.
People abuse sick time too. Would you like to give your current and future employers access to your medical records?
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Correct. Varsity Blues was outright corruption by getting someone else to take the test or having corrupt proctors change the answers. They were rightly prosecuted. However, kids who go to extremes by faking a medical condition to get extra time don’t do it to gain an advantage over kids who have a legitimate need that warrants extra time. They do it to gain an advantage over all other students. Granting extra time for everyone would eliminate that advantage completely and obviate the need to try and game the system as well as having to report extra time for any student. I realize that this doesn’t address the argument about kids who can spend a small fortune to prep but it does address the extra time conundrum.
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Why should they know?
What would you want them to do with the information if they had it? How would you want it to impact their decision making?
Truly curious about your thinking here.
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Montclair State’s student population includes a significant number of young adults who are first-gen, low income, who face hardships like home and food insecurity, aging out of the foster-care system, etc. A core part of their mission is to provide opportunities for students who have been historically underserved. With the State of NJ massively underfunding higher education (and lower education, but that’s a different thread…) for years, the cost of attending a NJ four-year public college for many populations is out of reach. 
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I assume the student would have to disclose his/her medical condition to CB or ACT to be accommodated. How does CB or ACT handle the privacy issue? Wouldn’t colleges be able to do the same thing?