PSAT accomodations for LD student

<p>My suggestion is to apply as early as possible. We did it winter of his soph. year that way if he wanted to take any SAT 2's that June he could. Also there is not enough time in the fall of junior year to get the paperwork done in time before the PSAT. If you pick up the packet from your school the envelope has the date that the paperwork must be in for each test date.
For my son we did our paperwork and his counselor did the rest including the documentation. I don't know what she sent. At school he no longer has an IEP just a 504. He was granted 100% time and a reader or tape recording of the test. For the PSAT he took it the same day as the other students in a room by himself with a proctor. That was all arranged through the school.
For the SAT it has been a real struggle. With 100 % time you take it at your school not at the test site. We have had a hard time getting the school to find a proctor and also we have had issues with the school not being able to find where the test ended up once it was delivered. A 2nd test had to be sent. Strangely we have had pretty positive dealings with the ETS disability office. Our problems have all been with the disorganization of his high school.
From what we have seen if the accommodations go way back it is easier to get them. If the diagnosis is fairly recent it is harder. The latest testing also has to be in the last 3 years.
Also the accommodations state if your child changes high schools he must reapply for accommodations.</p>

<p>my daughter has LD dx of processng speed disability after testing. 504 has been on file for a year, although testing was last month. am seeking info from anyone who has tried to get extended time on PSAT, SAT or ACT.</p>

<p>My daughter was diagnosed years ago with both ADHD, for which she cannot be medicated, and Convergence Insufficiency, for which visual therapy did not work. We were denied for accomodations on the SAT the first time, so I got expensive educational testing done, to show the 50 percentile point difference there is when she is timed as opposed to untimed on reading tests, and to show her very high scores on perceptual reasoning, verbal comprehension and working memory contrasted with her abysmally low score on processing speed (a function of the visual disability and the mechanics of the test). We were just denied again. We have documentation all over the place. I faxed more sub-test scores to them last week, and now have to wait the 7 weeks all over again. What else do they want? She can't read for more than a few minutes without pain and the words jumping around, and that is borne out by testing and by letters and scores from her pediatric opthalmologist. Wow....they really are tough. We are also having a fairly hard time in school with getting accomodations. We have gotten her extended time on reading and testing with breaks, but have not been able to get writing in the test booklet instead of using scantrons. They are very resistant because she does fairly well academically. But that is because she works for 6 hours every night to complete homework. AAAAA!! I am so frustrated.</p>

<p>to tanyanubin: it is appalling that your daughter was denied accomodation. may i ask if your daughter has had a 504 plan in place at her school, and if so, for how long?</p>

<p>Man, this is so disheartening to read. We'll be applying for the first time in the fall so that both PSAT at SAT II's will be covered, assuming the accomodation is granted. I'll keep you all posted as to what happens. Tanyanubin, have you tried dealing with the ACT people? It might be worth a shot, given that your dealings with ETS make no sense whatsoever. My state is pretty good on laws requiring accessibility, mainstreaming etc. I'm wonder, if S is denied, if it would make sense to go to the State's disability office within the education dept. to see if they can go to bat for us. I keep thinking that if the state requires adequate accomodation, and the SAT is virtually required by our state universities, how can S be required to take a test without the accomodation that our state law would appear to require? Just a thought.</p>

<p>O/P? Does your city have a fully operational Department of Vocational Rehabilitation? You might want to go there in person and ask about help, just make everyone put stuff in writing.</p>

<p>Shucks, and here I am worrying about l.d. accomodations for the GRE!</p>

<p>There has to be something for O/P's child. The SAT and whatnot is really important.</p>

<p>Alrighty, this is all I found out. </p>

<p>Here is a neat article on this issue, as well as other issues which pertain to schooling and whatnot, <a href="http://www.acteonline.org/members/techniques/mar05_feature2.cfm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.acteonline.org/members/techniques/mar05_feature2.cfm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>And here is the College Board's site and the area which speaks of l.d. testing for the psat and whatnot.
<a href="http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/psat/reg/ssd.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/psat/reg/ssd.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>This is all I got and it is my pleasure to try and help o/p out.</p>

<p>Merlinjones -- Very helpful material, thanks so much. And for heaven's sake, don't put yourself down for seeking GRE info and accomodation. You're the trailblazer on this board; with any luck, a number of the younger kids here will be benefitting from your experiences when they have to contend with the GRE in years to come! In terms of my S, he's doing very well in school as a result of his hard work and the excellent accomodation provided by his (private) school -- meaning they are not required to accomodate, and we are just grateful that they do so. My plan now is just to go through the usual procedures required by ETS and the ACT, and given that he clearly meets their criteria as outlined in the articles you just provided, accomodation should be granted. That said, reading some of the CC horror stories of kids who also clearly meet the criteria but who have been denied accomodation, I am thinking about Plan B.</p>

<p>My son took the PSAT with time and half and in a sperate room. He had the same accomodations for his SATs. This was a number of years ago. We had no problems getting these. However, ETS is a mystery.</p>

<p>Having just found this issue forum, I am thrilled. I did just post a short reply to this same subject, but on the other thread about "denial by CB". Perhaps the 2 threads should be merged (moderator?) as they are related.</p>

<p>An interesting side note: in a conversation with the teacher at a highly respected (independent) local SAT prep course, he said extra time accomodations have been known to backfire in most of his students' experience. Of course, this depends on the students particular issues/needs. He said the extra time is TOO draining, making an already difficult task (sitting taking the several hours-long test) even more herculean. The kids have a tendency to zone out, and of course, they can't move on to the next section once they have finished. So, if they do get done before the clock runs out, they still must sit and wait, wait, wait, getting more anxiety-ridden. It ends up taking over 6 hours, if I recall my son's experience correctly.</p>

<p>Pieceofcake- I know for my son taking the entire SAT on 1 day with double time would have helped some but he would have faded as the time went on. Luckily for him if you are granted 100% more time the test must be administered over 2 days. This worked well for him. The hardest part of the test is having the school find the proctors.</p>

<p>Mom60 -- We are going to request 100% (double) time for my S plus keyboard (same accomodations received at school) this fall, and I'm a little nervous about it. Would you be comfortable sharing info about the process you went through to have this accomodation granted for your son?</p>

<p>I will share our experiences and I would also be interested in hearing what diagnosis the CB approved 100% time for, as both my children have been rejected with that request once each. </p>

<p>My current 12th grader was approved for 100% extra time back in 7th grade when she took the SAT for the Johns Hopkins Talent Search. It may have been easier to get double time back then, and probably Johns Hopkins going to bat for her helped. It was also essential that she received the same accomodations at school. She was in a private school and trying to function without accomodations and was rejected by the CB at first. When we went to the school and told them about her learning issues, they began granting her accomodations and that was enough for the college board to change their mind and grant them to her as well. A few years later, when she started high school, an updated psych report said she no longer had learning disabilities, only ADHD, and the College Board dropped her down to 50% extra time. That was also when they were beginning to tighten up with granting accomodations. Recent re-testing shows her ld's never have gone away, and that she needs 50% time for verbal and writing and 100% for math. However with lots of study (and some ritalin for ADHD which helped her speed up) she ended up at 750 math and close to that in the other areas with just the 50% extra time across the board. She used every second and it was a grueling 6 hours. There was a dramatic improvement from 10th grade PSATs to 11th grade SATs, partly due to lots of study. The ACT soundly rejected her application for accomodations, but at the time her diagnosis was only ADHD. </p>

<p>My current 9th grader takes 6 hours to do homework it takes his peers 2 hours to do. He was also approved for extended time in 7th grade, but only for 50% time, despite compelling test results for dyslexia, dysgraphia, etc. But back then you could use the time how you wanted to. He decided during the test to spend all of his 150% time on math only, answering randomly in verbal, then re-take the SAT and do the same thing focusing on verbal (smart strategy, wasn't it). However this caused the College Board security folks to do an investigation because they hadn't seen kids do so well in one section and so poorly in another. But they did release his scores and they counted. However, by the next year they had changed the administration method so students must take their extra time equally in each section. Now that he's begun high school we are re-submitting for accomodations and asking for 100% time again since the most recent psych testing recommends that. His abilities are >99th percentile and processing speed <7th percentile, and he has lots of other problems besides slow processing but we don't expect to get 100% time. We took it as far as we felt was worth our effort last time and were told by consultants who advise the college board on such issues that unless you are blind or otherwise severley physically disabled, it is virtually impossible to get 100% time. There is a professor named Dr. Nicole Offiesh whose academic research focuses on this issue and she argues how crazy it is that a cookie cutter approach is applied to all kids despite different needs. I think fairtest.org should take this one on.</p>

<p>I just got logged off and my message disappeared when I tried to post, so apologies if this paraphrases a response that eventually appears.</p>

<p>Thanks so much for sharing your children's experiences. My son has a profile very similar to your son's. We're applying for accomodations with ETS to match the accomodations received at school this fall, and will keep the board posted. I am also about to google Nicole Offiesh. </p>

<p>I share the wish that fairtest would take this on. I only wish my kid wanted to attend one of the many fine fairtest schools; at this point, he doesn't. I am wondering is if there are any organized groups that do advocacy for LD children with issues like ETS/ACT accomodation -- some ed psych equivalent of the Children's Defense Fund? It concerns me that while we'll apply very early, we may be denied with only a short time before the tests in question are administered, which will make it difficult to mount an effective appeal. I wish there were a clearinghouse for information in this area so parents wouldn't be preparing their children's applications and appeals in such isolation. It is difficult to reconcile some of the ETS denials described on this board with federal and state laws that require public high schools and colleges to accomodate. I find it bizarre that my state's universities will accomodate my child once he gets there, but that the ETS, whose SAT's he is required to take for admission to our state's universities, may deny him those same accomodations. </p>

<p>And congrats to your daughter for her stellar SAT performance!</p>

<p>AnonyMom- sorry I haven't rechecked this board for a few weeks.
After hearing so many horror stories about the ETS I am still amazed with the accommodations my son was granted. In addition to the 100% time he also has either a tape version or a reader.
I don't know if I am repeating myself. At the time of applying for the accommodations I was naive. I filled out our portion and returned the rest to his school counselor. She did the rest. I am not sure what she sent as far as testing and proof of disability. At the time we requested the accommodations she only knew my son slightly. Our family already had a relationship with her from a previous child. My son started this school as a soph. He has previously attended a school for 6-9 where he was part of a learning skills program. The counselor at the high school basically copied the 504 from the middle school. I did provide her with private testing from grade 9 that diagnosed ADD and LD with mention of previous testing done. I also provided the high school with copies of all his testing from public elementary school including his IEP's. He had an IEP for grades 2-5 and was in resource. I think this was the key to his getting the extra time. From what I have heard that the ETS is more likely to grant extra time if the disability has been identified early on. Those who were identified in late middle school or early high school seem to not fare as well.
One thing that my friend was told by her psychologist was that you don't need to show the whole report. You can chose to show only portions. If you have any testing that indicates LD or ADD from an early age send it.
My son has been sporatic in using his accommodations in high school. He does not advocate for himself. So he has a few grades that are really low.
I am hoping that he learns to use them in college
Good luck to you</p>

<p>I thought I would give my latest update
although my D had an IEP in elementary and middle school & has a 504 in high school, the counselor is advising against accomodations or even trying to get them for PSAT
plus he doesn't have the forms anyway
I realize that she probably isn't in competion for NMS, however, I am not thrilled about her having to take a timed test- because of her processing difficulties-</p>

<p>no disrespect to the counselor, but that seems a bit of a lame reason not to get her extended time. the forms are easy to get from the college board, and can probably even be downloaded. it could be that he has missed the deadline. you could easily contact the college board to find this out. one hopes he has made the effort to file the paper work for extended time on the SAT or ACT. i cannot understand why he would advise against accomdations, since it seems as if it would only serve your daughter's best interest, and time and half is not flagged to colleges (although time extenstions beyond time and a half are).</p>

<p>have you considered having her simply skip the test altogether, rather than putting her through taking a test at disadvantage? if my daughter does not qualify for extended time (we applied this summer) she will stay home on PSAT day. since it's all about NMS, what is the point? (and if you want practice testing, kaplan and princeton review willl procter practice tests with extended time for free.</p>

<p>I agree with the previous poster. Kinda lame. He did miss the cutoff, because the PSAT is on October 21, and 7--9 weeks is needed to process an answer to a request for accomodations. My daughter is on her 3rd request now. I have been told I'll hear something tomorrow. LOL! We sent in the last bunch of info and subtest scores on July 7, and we're still waiting. I think that skipping the test would be fine if you don't think she needs the practice, and if she's not in contention to win an award or be commended. Might avoid some stress. Does her guidance counselor think that she should take it?</p>

<p>tanyanubin-best of luck to your daughter! My parents would not give up until I got the extra time and in the end it paid off after several denials!</p>

<p>well I CC'd the district SPED director- the principal- the counselor when I emailed the college board.
I saw online that the file needed to have been completed on the 13th of sept to take the PSAT in October.
Although I have been on this site for ever- my older daughters school handled everything, and I know little about scheduling tests or asking for accomodations.
I told D that this test was mainly to qualify for merit scholarships, and since it was quite competitive, I thought that she would have to undergo enough testing since I wanted her to take the ACT as well as the SAT ( because some students including her cousin do much better on ACT than SAT)
However, because her friends are probably all taking it and because they are taking it during school, it will be obvious if she * doesn't* take it, so she insists that she wants the practice
So I said fine, but it pSSS's me off that this wasn't brought up last year so the process could have been started.( and I did ask- but because it was brushed off I mistakenly assumed we had plenty of time)</p>

<p>( I also suspect that her counselor- thinks that students with learning disabilities are better off at a 2 year college( and so don't need testing- well it would make his work easier)- I am not arguing that , that they can't be well served at a community college- but I also think that often times, students with disabilities are better served at a 4 year school, where they can be more connected than logistically anyone is able to be at a 2 year college & where more support services are available .</p>

<p>I know that my older daughter for instance, has better coping strategies, than her sister( supported by her private school education), but I think that younger D is just as capable of being successful in college, if not more so, going by observation of the leaps and bounds she has made recently as well as looking back over her history.</p>

<p>And older D graduated from Reed, which isn't known for learning disability support- I think we can find a 4 year college to support younger D, I won't suggest that she attend a 2 year college first unless she wants to.</p>