ACT Multiple Day Testing

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a SAT/ACT tutor. I have seen some of my students have this multi-day testing. I've only seen it with private schools. I've heard of instances of some public schools which have refused to give it because "we don't do that," which is illegal, but that is another thread. I have not seen a parent get multi-day testing for SAT/ACT in public school (not saying it doesn't happen), but I have seen a student get multi-day testing for school district tests (like finals or PARCC) due to medical issues.

In the few instances, I've seen multi-day ACT testing, the private school has arranged it on successive days with 2 sections max per day. Students taking the essay have been offered the option to take that on a 3rd day. The private school typically has a "learning coordinator" who knows how this is set-up and will provide all the information if you ask -- what days, what times, what breaks, what sections in what order, etc.

Basically, it appears to me that schools have a lot of flexibility to administer the multi-day test in a way they feel is appropriate to the student. They have a certain window within with to complete the testing -- something like 2 weeks-ish. So, if you need something special -- to be allowed a snack or to take in afternoon instead of morning or vice-versa, you should ask (as long as there's some justification).

You definitely should NOT have to take the ACT in addition to a normal school day. If a school suggests this, please complain. That wouldn't be appropriate. Kids are usually wiped afterwards, and doing homework/classwork on top of the ACT is not fair.

OP, can you please post back what your experience is? How did you apply? Are you in private or public? What documentation did you need to have? Did you get it on the first ask? Did you have this accommodation on your IEP/504?

Any details you can share are useful to other LD parents. There are few special ed parents who get this type of testing and it's not the kind of thing parents usually discuss face to face and often school is not helpful. ACT has a fair amount of documentation on their website about how to apply, but not much about test administration. Even though I work with a fair number of LD students over the years, even I have a small sample size from which to draw generalities about test administration. So, if you can pay it forward by sharing after also, that would be a great resource for all!

OP here. Wow! I just checked back in on the thread and saw all of these responses. Thanks!

I'm totally happy to give back; I've learned so much for everyone on this board. We are in public school. We appealed several times to get the ACT accommodations we wanted. First, we did get the multiple day testing and then had to appeal twice to get the extended time, too. Our school was very helpful in working with us and the ACT folks to help us advocate for what we needed. We submitted notes from my daughter's doctors and the counselor also got recommendations from her teachers for the extra time. In each appeal, we added a new piece of information.

Note to anyone requested ACT accommodations: unlike with the SAT you cannot request ACT accommodations until you register for the test. One suggestion may be to register for a test (may not be one you want to take), apply for accommodations, and then reschedule the test for another time when you want to take the test. This is just to get the ball rolling on the accommodations request and give you enough time to get your ducks in a row.

I could not find anything on the ACT website about how schools need to administer the multiday test and I was confused as a friend's child at another school did their multiday testing differently from what our school was proposing. But, it seems that the schools have a lot of leeway with the implementation of that accommodation. I think we worked out with the school a reasonable schedule now, but I was surprised by what they initially proposed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid with ADHD inattentive, and both physical and mental health problems took the ACT with double time over multiple days. He did it at his public school over the summer and went in every day for a week and worked 1:1 with a teacher proctoring. I think he could have taken 2 weeks, but he didn’t need it. There were multiple kids taking it, and the proctor just set it up so each came in at a different time. I don’t know if any kids shared, my kid had accommodations that necessitated 1:1.

We looked into SAT but [b]SAT only offers 2 day testing, and we felt the multi day was better.

Just want to say - the bold is illegal. Who said “they only offer 2 day testing” - the school or the College Board? CB is obliged, just like the school is, to make and independent evaluation of the student’s disability and needs. They can develop a menu of accommodations and offer them and if it fits a students needs, then fine. But, if it doesn’t, then CB is legally obliged to offer a reasonable accommodation that is individualized. They also can’t decline to do so because “it’s expensive”, “it wouldn’t be fair to other kids”, “we don’t have a proctor for that” etc. The fact that ACT manages to do more than 2 day testing means SAT can too.

Please write a letter to the head of CB and point out they are not comiant with federal disability law. These are major money making companies who must and can afford to provide access for the disabled and have a history of not doing so until sued.

While it is true that schools accept the ACT now and you can just choose to use the competitor’s product, there can be advantages to the SAT timeline and the way SAT reports scores, just like there are similar advantages for ACT.

Can you provide a link that backs that up?

The school system is covered by FAPE. They are obligated to do whatever they need to do to provide Free and Appropriate Education.

College Board is not under IDEA. They are under ADA which has a much lower bar. It's quite likely that it's already been decided that the expense of developing a multiday testing protocol is an unfair burden.

Having said that, even if it's true that the CB can be forced to allow multiday testing for specific kids where a case can be made, I don't think I could have made that case. My kid required double time and had a history of taking two exams on one day at school, which with double time comes to more than 3 hours of testing. So, it would have been hard for me to make the case that he couldn't take the 6 hour test over 2 days. However, because the ACT automatically offers multiday testing to students who have double time, he received it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid with ADHD inattentive, and both physical and mental health problems took the ACT with double time over multiple days. He did it at his public school over the summer and went in every day for a week and worked 1:1 with a teacher proctoring. I think he could have taken 2 weeks, but he didn’t need it. There were multiple kids taking it, and the proctor just set it up so each came in at a different time. I don’t know if any kids shared, my kid had accommodations that necessitated 1:1.

We looked into SAT but [b]SAT only offers 2 day testing, and we felt the multi day was better.

Just want to say - the bold is illegal. Who said “they only offer 2 day testing” - the school or the College Board? CB is obliged, just like the school is, to make and independent evaluation of the student’s disability and needs. They can develop a menu of accommodations and offer them and if it fits a students needs, then fine. But, if it doesn’t, then CB is legally obliged to offer a reasonable accommodation that is individualized. They also can’t decline to do so because “it’s expensive”, “it wouldn’t be fair to other kids”, “we don’t have a proctor for that” etc. The fact that ACT manages to do more than 2 day testing means SAT can too.

Please write a letter to the head of CB and point out they are not comiant with federal disability law. These are major money making companies who must and can afford to provide access for the disabled and have a history of not doing so until sued.

While it is true that schools accept the ACT now and you can just choose to use the competitor’s product, there can be advantages to the SAT timeline and the way SAT reports scores, just like there are similar advantages for ACT.

OMG is the bolded ever true. CB just rakes it in. I can't believe how much ap tets cost.

[Anonymous]

OP,

I’m curious whether you had a neurological report with a recommendation on testing when you started? My DC’s IEP will be up for review at the beginning of 9th grade, so I’m thinking ahead about whether we’ll need an updated neuropsych and whether it should include support for these types of testing recommendations. Of course, $$$ is always a consideration.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP,

I’m curious whether you had a neurological report with a recommendation on testing when you started? My DC’s IEP will be up for review at the beginning of 9th grade, so I’m thinking ahead about whether we’ll need an updated neuropsych and whether it should include support for these types of testing recommendations. Of course, $$$ is always a consideration.

We did not have a Neuropsych report since my daughter has a different kind of medical issue that we requested the accommodations for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP,

I’m curious whether you had a neurological report with a recommendation on testing when you started? My DC’s IEP will be up for review at the beginning of 9th grade, so I’m thinking ahead about whether we’ll need an updated neuropsych and whether it should include support for these types of testing recommendations. Of course, $$$ is always a consideration.

If you think your child may need accommodations in college, wait to get any updated testing until after age 16 (still in time for ACT). Colleges will want to see how a student scores on the adult versions of the tests. You do not want to pay for an exam in 9th and again in 11th.