PSAT/NMSQT disqualified due to modifications

<p>Has anyone heard of this happening? </p>

<p>I know a Junior whose school did not receive a score for her from the October testing. They called to inquire why and were told that the modifications she received were not appropriate for her condition (medical) and they will not report her score. </p>

<p>She received a high score as a sophomore and was expected to meet the qualifying score this year in Kansas. She did nothing wrong. She did as the school told her. And in the end the modifications were not used, but were in place in case needed. </p>

<p>They are in shock. The school dropped the ball on this kid big time and they don't know what to do. </p>

<p>Her sister is a freshman in college and was a finalist in Nat'l Merit so they knew the potential and history.</p>

<p>My son had accommodations when he took the PSATs last year and is currently a NMSF. The accommodations where approved by College Board and put in place when he took his first AP test sophomore year.</p>

<p>Did the school give the student modifications without prior approval? If College Board already said “yes” I don’t see how they can withhold the scores. Are they saying that since she did not use the modifications they were inappropriate? Are the scores being reviewed or invalidated?</p>

<p>Mac…have the parents and GC appeal to NMCorp. If the GC will write that the accomodations were not used, then maybe NMCorp will reverse its decision.</p>

<p>I don’t know the specific details as the mom was so upset when she got the news that I didn’t want to pry to hard. But from what I gather her daughter sat in the room with the kids that get the extra testing time. </p>

<p>I’m not sure if she had her own time keeper or what, but she did not use extra time and that was not her modification. She is diabetic and if there was an emergency, she needed to be able to have the clock stopped to eat/administer meds etc. In the end, none of that was needed, she took the test in the normal time frame as the rest of the kids (besides the ones in her room). Why she didn’t sit with the regular kids I’m not sure, and I’m not sure how it was handled last year.</p>

<p>She had accommodations as a Sophomore and there wasn’t an issue. I asked the mom if the school had pre-approved the accoms with NMCorp prior to testing and she said they had. She mentioned the GC saying something about NMCorp saying there was a discrepancy between the accom checked on the test and what actually happened. I think they called the school to confirm exactly what her accom was and the answer given apparently, was not what it should have been. I personally think there was a breakdown in communication between the school and NMCorp. I don’t know.</p>

<p>From what she was told by the GC the test was invalidated. There is no review. She does not get a score. I told her to call and talk to the College Board personally at this point.</p>

<p>She needs to find out if she can take a SAT test and have them use that.</p>

<p>My son got accommodations from College Board for the SAT and was sent a specific letter outlining what they were. The letter said that the accommodations were good for all future tests. He showed the letter when he showed up. He and the other students in the same boat were administered the test in a separate room.</p>

<p>If the letter was presented correctly at the time of the test, there should not have been a problem and the mother should definitely protest to the College Board.</p>

<p>A parent chiming in here, with a lesson learned the hard way for a student in my family – accommodations aren’t always provided during the test. The student went into the test, accommodations letter in hand, with the parent even standing there and asking a cursory “are accommodations noted?”. Assured everything was good to go. Turns out, it was not. Student didn’t receive materials in the alternate format, didn’t get placed in separate room. Student didn’t raise hand immediately to correct situation, didn’t even mention to parents until weeks later. Lesson = a parent not only asks “do you have accommodations listed?” but asks “exactly how/where will happen, what do what is the testing room, etc.” then makes sure student is proactive when walking into the testing room. We’ve heard of other stories, where the test proctors/givers don’t think it’s a big deal. Stay on it – don’t worry about the appearance of helicoptering.</p>

<p>Wow, SoccrPlayr, that’s bad! I agree - it’s not helicoptering to make sure your child gets what s/he’s supposed to!</p>

<p>OK, finally got the bottom line on my original post. Although I don’t know all the fine details the ballpark is, the daughter was placed in the room with the kids who get extra test time. She actually DID get the extra test time which was not her accommodation therefore they disqualified her. </p>

<p>The mother has been in contact with College Board as she feels it was still the schools part. She did not helicopter over the school to ensure it was administered correctly as the school is small and knows her daughter, her family, her situation. The mom confirmed that they had approved the accommodations with College Board, prior to test taking, and they confirmed they did. It was just on test day, the teacher in charge just put her in the wrong room to test, and the daughter didn’t speak up because she just did as the teacher her directed her and did not want to question authority. </p>

<p>College Board is somehow going to take into consideration her SAT in April, however that test isn’t quite the same so it would be hard to make a comparison between the two.</p>

<p>Lesson learned the hard way…the kids have to know their OWN situation and they have to be proactive in advocating for themselves and speak up if they think something isn’t right, before the test begins. Something so hard for many kids to do.</p>