Wall Street Journal on rampant growth in percentage of college students with “disabilities”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are some really horrible people on this thread. God, I hope there are some sock puppets, cause it is hard to believe that so many people feel this way about people with disabilities.

Yes, there are horrible people in this thred bragging about their children cheating the system instead of accepting their snowflakes are a disappointment

Pftt, you're a bumpkin that thinks everything of value summed up by a test. It takes a lot more than a score for anyone to get ahead. If you can't come to terms with that, you've got bigger problems than disabled people getting a fair shake.

DP. Thinking people shouldn't game the system is very different from thinking everything is the sum of a test. In fact the people cheating to get an advantage on the test seem more inclined to believe everything hinges on that test.

[Anonymous]

Reading this thread, it feels like people thing that parents can take their kid to the pediatrician, say their kid has ADHD, get a note, and get SAT/ ACT accommodations. That is just. It the way it works. You are talking about needing extensive, objective testing documenting a disability and a long history of needing and using disability services. It is an expensive, difficult, time consuming process spanning years. Sure, my kid gets extended time on tests in some subjects. But that doesn’t make the class period longer. He gets the test one page at a time, and has to schedule with the teacher to use the extended time during lunch or after school. And needs a paper trail of having done that back through middle school.

The college board is especially harsh on kids who are not diagnosed until high school. We were lucky enough to have a paper trail going back to ES, with annual meetings and regular accommodations usage and testing updated every three years and a school testing coordinator who knew what they were doing. So we got through the process relatively easily. I know kids with a legitimate academic need for testing accommodations who have not been able to get them because they did informal accommodations with no real paperwork until their kid had to be medicated in high school.

Schools vary on how hard they push back on accommodations. I’m sure colleges do too. But the idea that everyone who decides they want SAT/ ACT accommodations gets them is wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are some really horrible people on this thread. God, I hope there are some sock puppets, cause it is hard to believe that so many people feel this way about people with disabilities.

Yes, there are horrible people in this thred bragging about their children cheating the system instead of accepting their snowflakes are a disappointment

Pftt, you're a bumpkin that thinks everything of value summed up by a test. It takes a lot more than a score for anyone to get ahead. If you can't come to terms with that, you've got bigger problems than disabled people getting a fair shake.

DP. Thinking people shouldn't game the system is very different from thinking everything is the sum of a test. In fact the people cheating to get an advantage on the test seem more inclined to believe everything hinges on that test.

What irks me is that people think that just because a kid with accommodations does well on the test, they are somehow gaming the system. My kid was diagnosed with ADHD, slow processing, and anxiety in 2nd grade. He was retested at the end of middle school and the only thing that changed was that his anxiety was gone but ADHD and slow processing consistent with last diagnosis (different doctor). That tells me that the accommodations are working for him. BUT, because he is a straight A student with VERY high standardized test scores, people think that somehow we are gaming the system. Sad that people are so heartless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are some really horrible people on this thread. God, I hope there are some sock puppets, cause it is hard to believe that so many people feel this way about people with disabilities.

Yes, there are horrible people in this thred bragging about their children cheating the system instead of accepting their snowflakes are a disappointment

Pftt, you're a bumpkin that thinks everything of value summed up by a test. It takes a lot more than a score for anyone to get ahead. If you can't come to terms with that, you've got bigger problems than disabled people getting a fair shake.

DP. Thinking people shouldn't game the system is very different from thinking everything is the sum of a test. In fact the people cheating to get an advantage on the test seem more inclined to believe everything hinges on that test.

What irks me is that people think that just because a kid with accommodations does well on the test, they are somehow gaming the system. My kid was diagnosed with ADHD, slow processing, and anxiety in 2nd grade. He was retested at the end of middle school and the only thing that changed was that his anxiety was gone but ADHD and slow processing consistent with last diagnosis (different doctor). That tells me that the accommodations are working for him. BUT, because he is a straight A student with VERY high standardized test scores, people think that somehow we are gaming the system. Sad that people are so heartless.

Same here pp. I have two dc with disabilities one with dysgraphia only; the other with more complicated disabilities. Both are very smart. Neither "looks" disabled. There was no going to a pediatrician to get a dx of adhd. Both dc had issues noted in elementary. I have spent a fortune on testing and therapies to try to help them. My dc scored well on the sat and can get decent enough grades with accommodations. Without accommodations, these are the kids who hate school and tune out and drop out. We know where they end up. The short sighted views expressed by some of these posters is so ignorant and based on petty jealousy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is going to get worse before it gets better. In 2017, after being sued, the SAT and ACT both automatically accept whatever accommodations are on a 504plan or IEP or whatever plan a private school uses. It really gives an advantage to wealthy parents who pay privately for testing and then threaten to sue the school unless their kid gets a 504 plan if in public. In private school why wouldn't schools want to have as many students as possible get extra time. There average SAT will be higher and their students will get into better colleges. The SAT did a study that showed extra time is beneficial for students who are higher scoring with and without disabilities. So everyone who is doing well to begin with will do better. It doesn't benefit any lower scoring students sho just haven't mastered the material to begin with.

Most of the school systems accross the country are doing an abysmal job of identifying children with disabilities. The process does not work the way you imply. When there is a dispute about a child being identified as needing services, the parents can't "sue" the school system. There is a process, based on federal law, and a parent doesn't go through a civil process like you think. A parent may have to go through a due process hearing which often costs $50k and is very rigged in favor of the schools. Threats of suing over this don't intimidate schools. It just doesn't work that way. Most parents give up when faced with roadblocks from the schools. For most parents with children with disabilities, having an advocate is a must. An advocate is often not a lawyer. I have never in my many decades of dealing with special ed seen a single parent paying for an advocate and fighting a school for anything less than a disability that seriously affected their child's ability to function in school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are some really horrible people on this thread. God, I hope there are some sock puppets, cause it is hard to believe that so many people feel this way about people with disabilities.

Yes, there are horrible people in this thred bragging about their children cheating the system instead of accepting their snowflakes are a disappointment

Pftt, you're a bumpkin that thinks everything of value summed up by a test. It takes a lot more than a score for anyone to get ahead. If you can't come to terms with that, you've got bigger problems than disabled people getting a fair shake.

DP. Thinking people shouldn't game the system is very different from thinking everything is the sum of a test. In fact the people cheating to get an advantage on the test seem more inclined to believe everything hinges on that test.

What irks me is that people think that just because a kid with accommodations does well on the test, they are somehow gaming the system. My kid was diagnosed with ADHD, slow processing, and anxiety in 2nd grade. He was retested at the end of middle school and the only thing that changed was that his anxiety was gone but ADHD and slow processing consistent with last diagnosis (different doctor). That tells me that the accommodations are working for him. BUT, because he is a straight A student with VERY high standardized test scores, people think that somehow we are gaming the system. Sad that people are so heartless.

Same here pp. I have two dc with disabilities one with dysgraphia only; the other with more complicated disabilities. Both are very smart. Neither "looks" disabled. There was no going to a pediatrician to get a dx of adhd. Both dc had issues noted in elementary. I have spent a fortune on testing and therapies to try to help them. My dc scored well on the sat and can get decent enough grades with accommodations. Without accommodations, these are the kids who hate school and tune out and drop out. We know where they end up. The short sighted views expressed by some of these posters is so ignorant and based on petty jealousy.

+1000. It is not easy to parent a 2e kid. It is not easy to be a 2e kid. You are welcome to take the extended test time on the SAT if you also take the social, emotional and academic challenges that go along with being 2e. These are kids who have the potential to be very successful. Or to become depressed, self medicated drop outs. There is not a lot of in between.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are some really horrible people on this thread. God, I hope there are some sock puppets, cause it is hard to believe that so many people feel this way about people with disabilities.

Yes, there are horrible people in this thred bragging about their children cheating the system instead of accepting their snowflakes are a disappointment

Pftt, you're a bumpkin that thinks everything of value summed up by a test. It takes a lot more than a score for anyone to get ahead. If you can't come to terms with that, you've got bigger problems than disabled people getting a fair shake.

DP. Thinking people shouldn't game the system is very different from thinking everything is the sum of a test. In fact the people cheating to get an advantage on the test seem more inclined to believe everything hinges on that test.

What irks me is that people think that just because a kid with accommodations does well on the test, they are somehow gaming the system. My kid was diagnosed with ADHD, slow processing, and anxiety in 2nd grade. He was retested at the end of middle school and the only thing that changed was that his anxiety was gone but ADHD and slow processing consistent with last diagnosis (different doctor). That tells me that the accommodations are working for him. BUT, because he is a straight A student with VERY high standardized test scores, people think that somehow we are gaming the system. Sad that people are so heartless.

That's because processing speed is one thing that timed tests are actually designed to measure. so he is gaming the system. doesn't mean he's not intelligent, but he is getting an advantage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Reading this thread, it feels like people thing that parents can take their kid to the pediatrician, say their kid has ADHD, get a note, and get SAT/ ACT accommodations. That is just. It the way it works. You are talking about needing extensive, objective testing documenting a disability and a long history of needing and using disability services. It is an expensive, difficult, time consuming process spanning years. Sure, my kid gets extended time on tests in some subjects. But that doesn’t make the class period longer. He gets the test one page at a time, and has to schedule with the teacher to use the extended time during lunch or after school. And needs a paper trail of having done that back through middle school.

The college board is especially harsh on kids who are not diagnosed until high school. We were lucky enough to have a paper trail going back to ES, with annual meetings and regular accommodations usage and testing updated every three years and a school testing coordinator who knew what they were doing. So we got through the process relatively easily. I know kids with a legitimate academic need for testing accommodations who have not been able to get them because they did informal accommodations with no real paperwork until their kid had to be medicated in high school.

Schools vary on how hard they push back on accommodations. I’m sure colleges do too. But the idea that everyone who decides they want SAT/ ACT accommodations gets them is wrong.

+1 on this. My niece has had her reading-associated disability documented since early middle school. She gets testing accommodations for some in-school exams and most standardized testing. I have no idea if its true but my sister said College Board's extra time bar is hard to clear that they are not even bothering; instead my niece will just prep for the ACT. I didnt ask if ACT is easier than SAT or if its the burden of satisfying two sets of paperwork (i would think there are efficiencies). Anyway, the $$ my sister has spent over the years would have paid for extensive one-on-one SAT/ACT prep many times over; that would have been a much easier path.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are some really horrible people on this thread. God, I hope there are some sock puppets, cause it is hard to believe that so many people feel this way about people with disabilities.

Yes, there are horrible people in this thred bragging about their children cheating the system instead of accepting their snowflakes are a disappointment

Pftt, you're a bumpkin that thinks everything of value summed up by a test. It takes a lot more than a score for anyone to get ahead. If you can't come to terms with that, you've got bigger problems than disabled people getting a fair shake.

DP. Thinking people shouldn't game the system is very different from thinking everything is the sum of a test. In fact the people cheating to get an advantage on the test seem more inclined to believe everything hinges on that test.

What irks me is that people think that just because a kid with accommodations does well on the test, they are somehow gaming the system. My kid was diagnosed with ADHD, slow processing, and anxiety in 2nd grade. He was retested at the end of middle school and the only thing that changed was that his anxiety was gone but ADHD and slow processing consistent with last diagnosis (different doctor). That tells me that the accommodations are working for him. BUT, because he is a straight A student with VERY high standardized test scores, people think that somehow we are gaming the system. Sad that people are so heartless.

That's because processing speed is one thing that timed tests are actually designed to measure. so he is gaming the system. doesn't mean he's not intelligent, but he is getting an advantage.

??? Processing speed is not his only issue. I think I did mention ADHD. He is NOT gaming the system. And interestingly, processing speed alone will not get any kid extra time. It is the ADHD diagnosis that allowed that. So you see, you are wrong about your assessment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are some really horrible people on this thread. God, I hope there are some sock puppets, cause it is hard to believe that so many people feel this way about people with disabilities.

Yes, there are horrible people in this thred bragging about their children cheating the system instead of accepting their snowflakes are a disappointment

Pftt, you're a bumpkin that thinks everything of value summed up by a test. It takes a lot more than a score for anyone to get ahead. If you can't come to terms with that, you've got bigger problems than disabled people getting a fair shake.

DP. Thinking people shouldn't game the system is very different from thinking everything is the sum of a test. In fact the people cheating to get an advantage on the test seem more inclined to believe everything hinges on that test.

What irks me is that people think that just because a kid with accommodations does well on the test, they are somehow gaming the system. My kid was diagnosed with ADHD, slow processing, and anxiety in 2nd grade. He was retested at the end of middle school and the only thing that changed was that his anxiety was gone but ADHD and slow processing consistent with last diagnosis (different doctor). That tells me that the accommodations are working for him. BUT, because he is a straight A student with VERY high standardized test scores, people think that somehow we are gaming the system. Sad that people are so heartless.

That's because processing speed is one thing that timed tests are actually designed to measure. so he is gaming the system. doesn't mean he's not intelligent, but he is getting an advantage.

ACT and SAT are not speeded tests.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are some really horrible people on this thread. God, I hope there are some sock puppets, cause it is hard to believe that so many people feel this way about people with disabilities.

Yes, there are horrible people in this thred bragging about their children cheating the system instead of accepting their snowflakes are a disappointment

Pftt, you're a bumpkin that thinks everything of value summed up by a test. It takes a lot more than a score for anyone to get ahead. If you can't come to terms with that, you've got bigger problems than disabled people getting a fair shake.

DP. Thinking people shouldn't game the system is very different from thinking everything is the sum of a test. In fact the people cheating to get an advantage on the test seem more inclined to believe everything hinges on that test.

What irks me is that people think that just because a kid with accommodations does well on the test, they are somehow gaming the system. My kid was diagnosed with ADHD, slow processing, and anxiety in 2nd grade. He was retested at the end of middle school and the only thing that changed was that his anxiety was gone but ADHD and slow processing consistent with last diagnosis (different doctor). That tells me that the accommodations are working for him. BUT, because he is a straight A student with VERY high standardized test scores, people think that somehow we are gaming the system. Sad that people are so heartless.

That's because processing speed is one thing that timed tests are actually designed to measure. so he is gaming the system. doesn't mean he's not intelligent, but he is getting an advantage.

ACT and SAT are not speeded tests.

The ACT is very tightly timed. Many, many students run out of time, and extra time is a huge benefit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are some really horrible people on this thread. God, I hope there are some sock puppets, cause it is hard to believe that so many people feel this way about people with disabilities.

Yes, there are horrible people in this thred bragging about their children cheating the system instead of accepting their snowflakes are a disappointment

Pftt, you're a bumpkin that thinks everything of value summed up by a test. It takes a lot more than a score for anyone to get ahead. If you can't come to terms with that, you've got bigger problems than disabled people getting a fair shake.

DP. Thinking people shouldn't game the system is very different from thinking everything is the sum of a test. In fact the people cheating to get an advantage on the test seem more inclined to believe everything hinges on that test.

What irks me is that people think that just because a kid with accommodations does well on the test, they are somehow gaming the system. My kid was diagnosed with ADHD, slow processing, and anxiety in 2nd grade. He was retested at the end of middle school and the only thing that changed was that his anxiety was gone but ADHD and slow processing consistent with last diagnosis (different doctor). That tells me that the accommodations are working for him. BUT, because he is a straight A student with VERY high standardized test scores, people think that somehow we are gaming the system. Sad that people are so heartless.

That's because processing speed is one thing that timed tests are actually designed to measure. so he is gaming the system. doesn't mean he's not intelligent, but he is getting an advantage.

ACT and SAT are not speeded tests.

The ACT is very tightly timed. Many, many students run out of time, and extra time is a huge benefit.

Absolutley. And just about any kid could get diagnosed for anxiety.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are some really horrible people on this thread. God, I hope there are some sock puppets, cause it is hard to believe that so many people feel this way about people with disabilities.

Yes, there are horrible people in this thred bragging about their children cheating the system instead of accepting their snowflakes are a disappointment

Pftt, you're a bumpkin that thinks everything of value summed up by a test. It takes a lot more than a score for anyone to get ahead. If you can't come to terms with that, you've got bigger problems than disabled people getting a fair shake.

DP. Thinking people shouldn't game the system is very different from thinking everything is the sum of a test. In fact the people cheating to get an advantage on the test seem more inclined to believe everything hinges on that test.

What irks me is that people think that just because a kid with accommodations does well on the test, they are somehow gaming the system. My kid was diagnosed with ADHD, slow processing, and anxiety in 2nd grade. He was retested at the end of middle school and the only thing that changed was that his anxiety was gone but ADHD and slow processing consistent with last diagnosis (different doctor). That tells me that the accommodations are working for him. BUT, because he is a straight A student with VERY high standardized test scores, people think that somehow we are gaming the system. Sad that people are so heartless.

That's because processing speed is one thing that timed tests are actually designed to measure. so he is gaming the system. doesn't mean he's not intelligent, but he is getting an advantage.

Here’s the thing. You may believe that. The college board and the ACT, and the colleges that ask for their tests do not. Colleges that are test optional often do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are some really horrible people on this thread. God, I hope there are some sock puppets, cause it is hard to believe that so many people feel this way about people with disabilities.

Yes, there are horrible people in this thred bragging about their children cheating the system instead of accepting their snowflakes are a disappointment

Pftt, you're a bumpkin that thinks everything of value summed up by a test. It takes a lot more than a score for anyone to get ahead. If you can't come to terms with that, you've got bigger problems than disabled people getting a fair shake.

DP. Thinking people shouldn't game the system is very different from thinking everything is the sum of a test. In fact the people cheating to get an advantage on the test seem more inclined to believe everything hinges on that test.

What irks me is that people think that just because a kid with accommodations does well on the test, they are somehow gaming the system. My kid was diagnosed with ADHD, slow processing, and anxiety in 2nd grade. He was retested at the end of middle school and the only thing that changed was that his anxiety was gone but ADHD and slow processing consistent with last diagnosis (different doctor). That tells me that the accommodations are working for him. BUT, because he is a straight A student with VERY high standardized test scores, people think that somehow we are gaming the system. Sad that people are so heartless.

That's because processing speed is one thing that timed tests are actually designed to measure. so he is gaming the system. doesn't mean he's not intelligent, but he is getting an advantage.

ACT and SAT are not speeded tests.

The ACT is very tightly timed. Many, many students run out of time, and extra time is a huge benefit.

Absolutley. And just about any kid could get diagnosed for anxiety.

Sure. But you don’t get extra time on these tests for “anxiety”.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Reading this thread, it feels like people thing that parents can take their kid to the pediatrician, say their kid has ADHD, get a note, and get SAT/ ACT accommodations. That is just. It the way it works. You are talking about needing extensive, objective testing documenting a disability and a long history of needing and using disability services. It is an expensive, difficult, time consuming process spanning years. Sure, my kid gets extended time on tests in some subjects. But that doesn’t make the class period longer. He gets the test one page at a time, and has to schedule with the teacher to use the extended time during lunch or after school. And needs a paper trail of having done that back through middle school.

The college board is especially harsh on kids who are not diagnosed until high school. We were lucky enough to have a paper trail going back to ES, with annual meetings and regular accommodations usage and testing updated every three years and a school testing coordinator who knew what they were doing. So we got through the process relatively easily. I know kids with a legitimate academic need for testing accommodations who have not been able to get them because they did informal accommodations with no real paperwork until their kid had to be medicated in high school.

Schools vary on how hard they push back on accommodations. I’m sure colleges do too. But the idea that everyone who decides they want SAT/ ACT accommodations gets them is wrong.

You are ignoring the data and facts: if no one was gaming and extended time did not matter, then the curve of the results sb bell curve. My DCs go to a prep school when’re the annual cost is over $45k and there are many many wealthy families who have connections and the money to get the accomodations needed.


http://pointsandfigures.com/2011/06/21/gaming-the-...tandardized-tests-for-college/

“Hypothetically, if you distributed the scores of all students sitting for the SAT on a curve, with or without accommodation, it should approximate the normal curve (a.k.a. the “bell-curve”). When the College Board plotted the 2005 results of students taking the test with accommodations, the results yielded not a bell-curve but rather a bi-modal distribution (meaning the distribution was top and bottom heavy with a disproportionate number of low scoring and high scoring students rather than a tendency toward the mean). This greatly alarmed the College Board that the population of students receiving accommodation did not mirror the rest of the population.”