PSAT Accomodation results thread

<p>I decided I needed to make an appeal for S to have accommodations in the summer after sophomore year because his chronic health conditions can really make it tough for him to function. Since he had no written IEP or 504 (private school), I pretty much had to figure everything out myself, including the procedure. I walked it over to the grade level & college counselor at the HS & then walked it over to the registrar & kept calling the College Board to get status updates. The LOST the portion of the form that the HS registrar completed but had the rest of the form & attachments (don't ask me how). When I learned that, I let the HS registrar know & she immediately faxed them a copy of the form that she had completed & we had mailed in weeks prior. </p>

<p>They approved everything we asked for--frequent breaks, extended breaks, ability to eat & drink during test & breaks.</p>

<p>From what I've read, I'm guessing it's easier to get granted your accommodations when you have excellent documentation supporting your request & there aren't many requests for accommodations from your HS relative to the # of test-takers.</p>

<p>Since my D has the same chronic health issues S does, we also have applied & been granted the same accommodations for her test-taking with CB. We never requested extended time with either child because they have never needed or been granted additional time at school.</p>

<p>I don't know what the portion of students requesting accomodations is.
I didn't really start thinking about it ( because I am in denial that she is a junior), until I was working in the counseling office and a "poor" student came in to get information about accomodations from the counselors.</p>

<p>They weren't available- & so to give him something to do while he was waiting I began firing questions at him- he thought I was being overly snoopy, until I explained that I was asking on behalf of my daughter who had an 504.-( then he was much more willing- because of privacy issues- many students don't know who has accomodations and who doesn't- but I think it would be better in some cases- to let them network- because they are having to get better at advocating for themselves & I think it would be easier if they knew they weren't the only ones).</p>

<p>( he had an IEP & the head of that dept- is much more responsive than at her previous school- however- she doesn't have an IEP anymore- she only has a 504- & the accommodations given depend on communication/willingness w teacher)
So no the counselor didn't suggest it- in fact he recommended not asking for it- for the PSAT- ( which she had taken prior to turning in the forms)</p>

<p>We just asked for 50% more time- D thought that was enough & that was what the pysch had written in her report- we also asked for more frequent breaks.</p>

<p>Emeraldkitty -- Such good news for your D. Congrats on getting her what she needed!</p>

<p>hmmm, interesting thread
my soph son has an IEP , Specific Learning Disability (central auditory processing issues primarily, leading to problems with reading, writing, spelling and processing speed)
the local high schools have started force feeding the PSAT in 9th and 10th grade...you can opt out, but if you don't your kid takes it
last year this got past me and he took it cold, no accom or anything and he did really poorly (no surprise)
this year his case manager wanted him to take it, but we declined after discussing it with the case man. and our son..have been busy with my senior d and honestly it hadn't occurred to me that he could get accom for PSAT, which of course he should have..btw, case manager never suggested or offered it
what should I do now to make sure he gets accom. next year when he takes it as a junior?</p>

<p>ya know the principal asked me about my daughters case manager when I told him that I wanted her evaluated for an IEP ( she had , had one previously in elem & middle school)
I didn't know what he was talking about- what is a case manager?
anyway
the counselor had the info for getting accomodations
it is a form that you fill out first- then the counselor fills it out & notes what accomodations they are receiving in school.
Testing needs to be also submitted or whatever you and the counselor think needs to be presented to illustrate why he needs accomodations
do it in plenty of time - in case you need to appeal decision and resubmit info</p>

<p>Check out the collegeboard website <a href="http://www.collegeboard.com/ssd%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.collegeboard.com/ssd&lt;/a> (students with disabilities) for their instructions </p>

<p>My son was approved for 1.5x time - we reequested based on his neuropsych testing that showed very high IQ and achievements scores and a very low processing speed index (attention). He has a 504 plan that requests extra time on tests and a few other things but he is ADHD and he does not actually sit long enough to benefit from the accommodations! When he was approved for the extra time on the PSAT he arrived at school and was separated from the pack and placed in a small room with a few students - he was not expecting this and was mortified. I can't wait to see those scores. He is taking all honors classes and doing his homework, managing his work and activities, is a real challenge for him. I think he needs help with organizing himself more than extra time. If he buzzes through the test, he will not buzz back twice - he is ADHD!</p>

<p>He got 1.5x time? I have the same thing (low processing speed),(ADHD/ADD) and I took the PSAT w/o the accomodations and barely got half way thru the math section. Any chance at me getting double time?</p>

<p>You need documentation from the doc & school showing what your ed needs are in order to have any chance of getting accommodations. You also have to allow for a pretty long processing time from college board. Good luck--work with your school; they should have someone there in charge of such matters.</p>

<p>how long of a time? I still have not submitted and I am planning on taking SAT's in March or MAy.</p>

<p>Honestly, the sooner you submit all the paperwork the better for you, as they may ask you for more documentation and/or lose docs (they lost ours). I'd definitely try to get it in ASAP, especially before the Christmas mail slows things down.
Do you have an IEP or 504 that documents your need for additional time? That would be helpful (but only public schools have them). Work with your school right away.</p>

<p>Yeah I have them (IEP). My school hasn't been the most helpful with this process (I found out about accomodations through this site, alot of my teachers wouldn't even know I have a LD if i don't tell them, etc), these are things I would hope the learning department would do.</p>

<p>Thanks for your quick response to my question, i wil submit them ASAP.</p>

<p>Does your IEP state that you get extra time for exams? It is helpful if the IEP says you are entitled to such time & the school indicates that it has been giving you extra time per the IEP.</p>

<p>yeah, it also says i get extra time on homework (not that that matters).</p>

<p>Aodh -- If you are applying for a certain amount of extra time (time and a half or double) make sure that documents at your school say that that is the amount of extra time you need and why you need it. Also make sure that the person at school who fills out the application form for accomodations writes in that the school has been giving you that amount of extra time on tests, etc., and that you've been using it. Also, the deadline for sending in an application for 1.5 time is later, and the documentation is less complicated, than an application for double time, which is a bigger deal to get. If there are students at your school a year ahead of you who get extra time, it would be good if you could speak with them and find out who at the school assisted them and what documentation they provided to the school and to the ETS. Good luck!</p>

<p>They never told ANY of us we needed to send in papers or any of this stuff.
I am terrified they will forget to send it in, or do it wrong or something.
I definately need double time, but nothing in my IEP says I get double time, just extra, should I have people write notes and include that in the envelope?(doctors, people in the department, etc.)? I feel like I am doing this all my self and that the school is not helping at all. I try to talk to them, my mother email's them: Nothing.
Thanks for your help.</p>

<p>My kids' HS never told anyone they could apply for accommodations either, the onus was on the family/student to figure it out & get whatever the student needed. I did the legwork on behalf of my kids because they have had chronic health issues for years & years & their level of functioning is wildly variable, depending on their health from day to day.</p>

<p>You need documentation and YOU and/or your family need to go & get the school to complete the form & send it in with the docs you have to support your request. You need to follow the instructions at this website to apply for accommodations. They also have contact info so you can call the College Board if you need more info/assistance. If you don't get a helpful person, hang up & try again, writing down the name of whomever you get who IS helpful so you can ask for them next time.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/sat/reg/ssd.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/sat/reg/ssd.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>There is no shortcut or easy way to get this paperwork sent in & approved, but you have to persist if you need accommodations.</p>

<p>Our accommodations ( for major major severe physical disability and LD's) were helpful and everything went smoothly. My son was exhausted when he came home as I imagine all testtakers were. His results were in the 57th percentile for juniors, and he had not pre-studied for the test, could not find the time. So we were happy about the results, it puts him in the slightly above average category of scores which would be good for the various state colleges we are interested in.</p>

<p>What were your experiences, those who orginally posted about accommodations?</p>

<p>Congrats! Glad your S did well.
My D did not get any accommodations, which she was happy about (didn't want or need them for the short PSAT exam). I'm going to insist that she receive accommodations for the SAT because that's where she'll really be exhausted otherwise.</p>

<p>Aodh -- Sorry to reply a month later!!! According to our school, if you're requesting double time, your paperwork both from the psychologist who did the initial testing and from the school have to say double and not just extra. If the initial testing report just says extra, have the psychologist write a new letter that explicitly states double. Get a copy for yourself, but also be sure that a copy is filed with your school. If the psychologist does this a lot, he or she will know how to phrase the additional letter, but your test results and dianosis should be mentioned as justifying the double time. Also, assuming your school has been giving you double, it would be helpful for the psychologist to mention that, so that ETS will see that extra was correctly interpreted as double by the school. Finally, the school should also mention that they have been giving you double time, and that it has been necessary. Our school has not made a lot of applications for double, but they do process a ton of kids successfully for time and a half, and they seem to know what they're doing, so I hope this helps.</p>