Claiming a disability on the SAT/ACT - have people been gaming the system?

[Anonymous]

It doesn't end in high school, folks. Every university that I have attended or worked at has an “Office of Disabilty Services.” A huge part of what they do is providing those types of allowances. But it gets worse. At every school I’ve been associated with, there is NO requirement for the student to provide any substantiation for their supposed “condition.” No doctor report, nothing. All it takes is a five minute interview at that office, and the kid gets extended or unlimited time, calculator and notes when none are allowed for the rest of the class, etc. As the faculty member, I receive a notice of what the students “accomodaton” is from that office, and I have to comply - I have no say in the matter.

The whole thing’s a racket, and it is well known among the students. My biggest surprise is that more students don’t take advantage of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It doesn't end in high school, folks. Every university that I have attended or worked at has an “Office of Disabilty Services.” A huge part of what they do is providing those types of allowances. But it gets worse. At every school I’ve been associated with, there is NO requirement for the student to provide any substantiation for their supposed “condition.” No doctor report, nothing. All it takes is a five minute interview at that office, and the kid gets extended or unlimited time, calculator and notes when none are allowed for the rest of the class, etc. As the faculty member, I receive a notice of what the students “accomodaton” is from that office, and I have to comply - I have no say in the matter.

The whole thing’s a racket, and it is well known among the students. My biggest surprise is that more students don’t take advantage of it.

We are navigating this with my kid and you are full of crap. You need a full neuropsych evaluation that is less than three years old to even start the process of college accommodations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's hard to know how many are gaming the system because there is no uniform requirement for testing--at least not that I am aware. My DS did what is considered "the gold standard" a neuropych. test, full language test, and it included IQ and achievement testing. He was re-evaluated 2.5 years later, and will be re-evaluated again prior to high school.
We use accommodations that we feel are the least extreme- in his case, he tests in a less distracting environment. We don't use additional time because, while it would raise his writing scores (he has ADHD and a speech and language impairment), he's managed well without it.
Here is what happens OP (someone mentioned this earlier)-- exceptionally bright kids (mine has an IQ in the mid 140s) mask learning disabilities until high school- at that time, the volume and complexity of work exceeds their ability to compensate. What this means, is that many of these kids (mine included) can work at a higher level than 99% of the population if they are given more time. That is not the same as gaming the system. Everyone does better with more time but the kids with learning issues may jump massive percentage points with even a little more time.
Case in point, my DS's teacher accidentally gave him extra time on the language portion of his ERB a few years ago. His score went from the 7th stanine in independent schools to the 9th stanine, 99th percentile with just 15 or so extra minutes. While there are typical, smart kids who might raise their scores slightly or even by a lot, I will bet that you likely wouldn't see such a dramatic change in comprehension. That's how "real" learning issues work--my DS's scores in language abilities look above average on a standardized test without extended time- but they are not. He was reading Orwell in the 5th grade, winning word masters contests for his entire school, writing poetry, etc.

My kid’s score would jump to 800 on the math portion if he had extra time also. He just didn’t have time to go through all the questions and got a 760. He knew the material.

Congratulations. Please feel comforted that my DC was rejected from almost every school (and only one reach) with a 35 ACT and a lifetime of pretty cool achievements. I hope my child's failure to secure admissions makes you feel vindicated and superior.

Your kid applied to almost every school? There are thousands of colleges in this country.

Thank you for pointing out my error. It should read "DC was rejected from almost every school they applied to." You sound pissed off people are not happy with how learning institutions are breaking the law. Maybe you should spend your energy working on compliance or changing the law. Best wishes.

You clearly misjudged where to apply. Get off DCUM and go apply to those with rolling admissions. Someone will take them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It doesn't end in high school, folks. Every university that I have attended or worked at has an “Office of Disabilty Services.” A huge part of what they do is providing those types of allowances. But it gets worse. At every school I’ve been associated with, there is NO requirement for the student to provide any substantiation for their supposed “condition.” No doctor report, nothing. All it takes is a five minute interview at that office, and the kid gets extended or unlimited time, calculator and notes when none are allowed for the rest of the class, etc. As the faculty member, I receive a notice of what the students “accomodaton” is from that office, and I have to comply - I have no say in the matter.

The whole thing’s a racket, and it is well known among the students. My biggest surprise is that more students don’t take advantage of it.

We are navigating this with my kid and you are full of crap. You need a full neuropsych evaluation that is less than three years old to even start the process of college accommodations.

Agree racket pp is making this up. Absolutely must have full evaluation less than three years old to even start the process at every school DD looked at.

[Anonymous]

My DD has medical accommodations for college for a chronic disorder. Can do more absences for illnesses or doctor appointments and has the ability to make up tests she may have missed owing to either. She got a letter from her doctor, which was required.

She has had to undergo numerous procedures during school semesters but will graduate on time with a 3.9 GPA in a STEM major thanks to the accommodations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It doesn't end in high school, folks. Every university that I have attended or worked at has an “Office of Disabilty Services.” A huge part of what they do is providing those types of allowances. But it gets worse. At every school I’ve been associated with, there is NO requirement for the student to provide any substantiation for their supposed “condition.” No doctor report, nothing. All it takes is a five minute interview at that office, and the kid gets extended or unlimited time, calculator and notes when none are allowed for the rest of the class, etc. As the faculty member, I receive a notice of what the students “accomodaton” is from that office, and I have to comply - I have no say in the matter.

The whole thing’s a racket, and it is well known among the students. My biggest surprise is that more students don’t take advantage of it.

We are navigating this with my kid and you are full of crap. You need a full neuropsych evaluation that is less than three years old to even start the process of college accommodations.

Agree racket pp is making this up. Absolutely must have full evaluation less than three years old to even start the process at every school DD looked at.

I’ve been doing this for 35 years. What’s your experience?

You should know better than to call someone a liar when you have absolutely no knowledge about their experiences that they are relating.

Notice that I didn’t call you a liar, even though what claim is different from my own experience. Why? Because I have no basis to challenge what you are saying, just as you have no basis to challenge what I’m saying.

Shame on you. . .

[Anonymous]

The whole point of standardized tests is that they're supposed to be exactly that - standardized. If students get accommodations then their results should AT LEAST be flagged as such.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It doesn't end in high school, folks. Every university that I have attended or worked at has an “Office of Disabilty Services.” A huge part of what they do is providing those types of allowances. But it gets worse. At every school I’ve been associated with, there is NO requirement for the student to provide any substantiation for their supposed “condition.” No doctor report, nothing. All it takes is a five minute interview at that office, and the kid gets extended or unlimited time, calculator and notes when none are allowed for the rest of the class, etc. As the faculty member, I receive a notice of what the students “accomodaton” is from that office, and I have to comply - I have no say in the matter.

The whole thing’s a racket, and it is well known among the students. My biggest surprise is that more students don’t take advantage of it.

We are navigating this with my kid and you are full of crap. You need a full neuropsych evaluation that is less than three years old to even start the process of college accommodations.

Agree racket pp is making this up. Absolutely must have full evaluation less than three years old to even start the process at every school DD looked at.

I’ve been doing this for 35 years. What’s your experience?

You should know better than to call someone a liar when you have absolutely no knowledge about their experiences that they are relating.

Notice that I didn’t call you a liar, even though what claim is different from my own experience. Why? Because I have no basis to challenge what you are saying, just as you have no basis to challenge what I’m saying.

Shame on you. . .

So you have no evidence and are left screaming, “How dare you call me a liar??”

In any case, why should anyone care about some random instructor’s opinion about a student’s disabilities?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My niece got unlimited time at the SAT over the course of 2 days in a private room with ADD and Anxiety. I had never heard of that!

Yeah, that's exactly what Singer got for his clients. It is really unusual and not even in the standard list of accommodations available on the CB website.

Her SAT scores were not the kind anyone would pay for..though she is successfully enrolled in college.

She forgot to pay for the "get someone else to take the test" accommodation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I posted on the other thread about my DS who scored a 35 on the ACT using time and a half. He had accommodations since 2nd grade when he was diagnosed with ADHD and slow processing. In summer prior to 8th grade, he was tested again, and the same diagnosis held, but with the processing speed improving slightly. He continued with his accommodations through 8th grade and high school. He had time and a half to take the ACT in February of his junior year and scored a 35 -- one and done. He has always been a strong test taker and very intelligent, so it did not come as a huge surprise, and we were thrilled. That summer, in preparation for possibility of need for accommodations in college, he had his third neuro-psych test. This test actually showed a very strong improvement in processing speed. Apparently this is something that can improve as the brain develops. We were thrilled to see this improvement and realized then that perhaps the accommodations he had for the ACT may not have been needed because of the stark improvement in processing speed. Perhaps that explains the high score. We will never know, but in our case, I would not say we "gamed the system." We just got lucky.

Actually you weren’t lucky but u gamed the system and u did it early so your kid had history that helped him later.

U don’t sound that bright lady no wonder ur kid is getting rejected everywhere and ur lookin 4 someone 2 blame

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It doesn't end in high school, folks. Every university that I have attended or worked at has an “Office of Disabilty Services.” A huge part of what they do is providing those types of allowances. But it gets worse. At every school I’ve been associated with, there is NO requirement for the student to provide any substantiation for their supposed “condition.” No doctor report, nothing. All it takes is a five minute interview at that office, and the kid gets extended or unlimited time, calculator and notes when none are allowed for the rest of the class, etc. As the faculty member, I receive a notice of what the students “accomodaton” is from that office, and I have to comply - I have no say in the matter.

The whole thing’s a racket, and it is well known among the students. My biggest surprise is that more students don’t take advantage of it.

We are navigating this with my kid and you are full of crap. You need a full neuropsych evaluation that is less than three years old to even start the process of college accommodations.

Agree racket pp is making this up. Absolutely must have full evaluation less than three years old to even start the process at every school DD looked at.

I’ve been doing this for 35 years. What’s your experience?

You should know better than to call someone a liar when you have absolutely no knowledge about their experiences that they are relating.

Notice that I didn’t call you a liar, even though what claim is different from my own experience. Why? Because I have no basis to challenge what you are saying, just as you have no basis to challenge what I’m saying.

Shame on you. . .

So you have no evidence and are left screaming, “How dare you call me a liar??”

In any case, why should anyone care about some random instructor’s opinion about a student’s disabilities?

No screaming on my part. You’re the one getting all worked up.

Do you always believe that your experience must necessarily be the only possible experience? If so, that’s a very strange attitude.

[Anonymous]

How will all these kids with “disabilities” actually work a job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How will all these kids with “disabilities” actually work a job.

That's what I want to know! My guess is that mommy and daddy will give the kid enough money to not worry about anything but a play job. All just to keep up appearances.

It's all so incredibly pathetic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The whole point of standardized tests is that they're supposed to be exactly that - standardized. If students get accommodations then their results should AT LEAST be flagged as such.

EXACTLY

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DD has medical accommodations for college for a chronic disorder. Can do more absences for illnesses or doctor appointments and has the ability to make up tests she may have missed owing to either. She got a letter from her doctor, which was required.

She has had to undergo numerous procedures during school semesters but will graduate on time with a 3.9 GPA in a STEM major thanks to the accommodations.

Awesome! You must be proud!