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

[Anonymous]

”...This greatly alarmed the College Board that the population of students receiving accommodation did not mirror the rest of the population.”

I honestly don’t understand why it would alarm anyone that the special needs population doesn’t mirror the rest of the population. Of course they don’t. They receive accommodations specifically because they are unlike the rest of the population. Some special needs kids are brilliant but cannot show what they know without accommodations. Others are severely impaired and their performance on standardized tests falls well below average no matter what accommodations they receive. If your child was neither brilliant nor severely impaired, you probably wouldn’t spend thousands of dollars pursuing accommodations that might not make any significant difference in the college admissions process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:”...This greatly alarmed the College Board that the population of students receiving accommodation did not mirror the rest of the population.”

I honestly don’t understand why it would alarm anyone that the special needs population doesn’t mirror the rest of the population. Of course they don’t. They receive accommodations specifically because they are unlike the rest of the population. Some special needs kids are brilliant but cannot show what they know without accommodations. Others are severely impaired and their performance on standardized tests falls well below average no matter what accommodations they receive. If your child was neither brilliant nor severely impaired, you probably wouldn’t spend thousands of dollars pursuing accommodations that might not make any significant difference in the college admissions process.

+1000 I would consider my DS in the brilliant category, but unfortunately when he succeeds, people automatically assume we are "gaming the system." Honestly, I really don't give a damn.

[Anonymous]

I feel somewhat bad adding this, but it's kind of on topic.

A minority student athlete (who quit shortly after being recruited) who was a good friend of my kid's at a top LAC earned disabled status for anxiety and promptly installed a service animal in his dorm room, a pit bull. This was permitted by the school.

It was discovered shortly thereafter that he was dealing hard drugs out of his room. Because it's a small school with a name it was all covered up, he was only asked to take time off, and he'll still get a chance to complete his degree.

And I want to say that I feel bad adding it because it reinforces negative stereotypes. I had met the young man in question many times, he had even stayed at our home, and I had spoken to him at some length. He said he wanted to transfer because he was having trouble adjusting to the college culture from where he came from, and he just didn't fit in. I was just super sad to hear from my kid and his other friends what had eventually gone on with him. s

I don't think he was a bad kid. But I do think that kids get plucked out of situations and dropped into new ones that they aren't prepared for. In this case, the young man reverted to what he knew. Which was a shame.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you may find this hard to believe but it's not as easy as you think to get accommodations on the ACT and SAT. I'm the PP whose daughter has abnormal eye tracking and low processing. She is in a special program at her high school that provides her with the support she needs to do well in college prep courses.

The program director told us to be prepared to be turned down for ACT/SAT accommodations despite her IEP and other documentation. She said the bar is very high, most get turned down - however, she will then file an appeal and provide additional documentation and we cross our fingers that is is accepted by ACT/SAT.

She felt our daughter has a good chance of getting accommodations on an appeal, but not to count on it for they routinely turn down kids that she feels really should get it. So, rest assured, they are not handing out extra hours like candy to anyone who asks or provides them with a minimum of documentation of a vague problem.

This is true.

+1. My DD who has received accommodations at her high school for ADHD since freshman year was turned down for accommodations on the SAT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you may find this hard to believe but it's not as easy as you think to get accommodations on the ACT and SAT. I'm the PP whose daughter has abnormal eye tracking and low processing. She is in a special program at her high school that provides her with the support she needs to do well in college prep courses.

The program director told us to be prepared to be turned down for ACT/SAT accommodations despite her IEP and other documentation. She said the bar is very high, most get turned down - however, she will then file an appeal and provide additional documentation and we cross our fingers that is is accepted by ACT/SAT.

She felt our daughter has a good chance of getting accommodations on an appeal, but not to count on it for they routinely turn down kids that she feels really should get it. So, rest assured, they are not handing out extra hours like candy to anyone who asks or provides them with a minimum of documentation of a vague problem.

This is true.

+1. My DD who has received accommodations at her high school for ADHD since freshman year was turned down for accommodations on the SAT.

And rightly so. Because they are seeing an increase of kids coming to the party late with diagnoses after middle school. it is very suspicious when people suddenly have a new diagnosis of ADHD. In most cases this is identified in elementary school. I am sure those who are gaming the system are the ones who decide to get evaluated in high school for the first time. Our DS gets accommodations on both SAT and ACT, but he has a strong history of accommodations since 2nd grade.

[Anonymous]

You are so ignorant, but obviously feel that OPINIONS and facts are interchangeable. I know a president that you might like.

Junior year of high school is the second most common age for kids being diagnosed with learning disabilities because when they are not severe, the child can compensate until the material becomes more challenging (i.e., more nuanced, requiring critical thinking). They compensate by, for example, putting in ridiculously long hours completing reading and writing assignments that take other kids 1/4 of the time.

This is a fact and I know because we lived it in our house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you may find this hard to believe but it's not as easy as you think to get accommodations on the ACT and SAT. I'm the PP whose daughter has abnormal eye tracking and low processing. She is in a special program at her high school that provides her with the support she needs to do well in college prep courses.

The program director told us to be prepared to be turned down for ACT/SAT accommodations despite her IEP and other documentation. She said the bar is very high, most get turned down - however, she will then file an appeal and provide additional documentation and we cross our fingers that is is accepted by ACT/SAT.

She felt our daughter has a good chance of getting accommodations on an appeal, but not to count on it for they routinely turn down kids that she feels really should get it. So, rest assured, they are not handing out extra hours like candy to anyone who asks or provides them with a minimum of documentation of a vague problem.

This is true.

+1. My DD who has received accommodations at her high school for ADHD since freshman year was turned down for accommodations on the SAT.

And rightly so. Because they are seeing an increase of kids coming to the party late with diagnoses after middle school. it is very suspicious when people suddenly have a new diagnosis of ADHD. In most cases this is identified in elementary school. I am sure those who are gaming the system are the ones who decide to get evaluated in high school for the first time. Our DS gets accommodations on both SAT and ACT, but he has a strong history of accommodations since 2nd grade.

This is true for affluent families in modern times. It's not true for lower-middle-class/working-class families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you may find this hard to believe but it's not as easy as you think to get accommodations on the ACT and SAT. I'm the PP whose daughter has abnormal eye tracking and low processing. She is in a special program at her high school that provides her with the support she needs to do well in college prep courses.

The program director told us to be prepared to be turned down for ACT/SAT accommodations despite her IEP and other documentation. She said the bar is very high, most get turned down - however, she will then file an appeal and provide additional documentation and we cross our fingers that is is accepted by ACT/SAT.

She felt our daughter has a good chance of getting accommodations on an appeal, but not to count on it for they routinely turn down kids that she feels really should get it. So, rest assured, they are not handing out extra hours like candy to anyone who asks or provides them with a minimum of documentation of a vague problem.

This is true.

+1. My DD who has received accommodations at her high school for ADHD since freshman year was turned down for accommodations on the SAT.

And rightly so. Because they are seeing an increase of kids coming to the party late with diagnoses after middle school. it is very suspicious when people suddenly have a new diagnosis of ADHD. In most cases this is identified in elementary school. I am sure those who are gaming the system are the ones who decide to get evaluated in high school for the first time. Our DS gets accommodations on both SAT and ACT, but he has a strong history of accommodations since 2nd grade.

We had an easy time getting accommodations, but we had a 7th grade diagnosis and medication, and psychoeducational testing with a 20 page report, and continuous use of accommodations, and annual teacher notes that he had needed and used accommodations, and 10th grade retesting. And he uses an EF coach. Their records went in. Psychiatrist records went in. Plus, our kid had been diagnosed as ADHD by his pediatrician in 3rd grade, and an “informal” 504 in ES. We never applied and got the approval, but we had records of meeting with the ES twice a year, and being given small group testing for SOLs. We just didn’t pursue medication and a formal plan until we had to. Which was MS, when he suddenly had 7 classes, instead of one teacher each year who the school had placed him with because they did well with 2e. And we had all his ES records. And the pediatricians records. It was a half an inch of paperwork going back 7 years before we applied to the college board. That’s what it takes to get accommodations. If you want your kid to get a higher score, it is much, much cheaper, easier and less time consuming to hire a 1:1 SAT tutor. Which we are not doing, because we have to pay for the EF coach. If you do all this with your kid over a period of years, you have quite a long term grift going on that fools a couple dozen people. Or, maybe, your kid has an issue that needs accommodations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are so ignorant, but obviously feel that OPINIONS and facts are interchangeable. I know a president that you might like.

Junior year of high school is the second most common age for kids being diagnosed with learning disabilities because when they are not severe, the child can compensate until the material becomes more challenging (i.e., more nuanced, requiring critical thinking). They compensate by, for example, putting in ridiculously long hours completing reading and writing assignments that take other kids 1/4 of the time.

This is a fact and I know because we lived it in our house.

I think this is true. I have the kid diagnosed in 7th. Kids compensate with varying degrees of success. Girls usually compensate much better than boys because they tend to have better executive functioning. The start of MS and changing classes and increased expectations is another big diagnosis point, because ADHD boys often can’t handle the expectations coming from 7 places at once. I know 3-4 boys who crashed and burned in 7th grade. Carson said that going through the 504 or IEP process then for the first time was very common. But, affluent educated parents, and a very academically demanding MS.

The problem with a junior diagnosis is no paper trail. So it can be super legit, but it’s hard to tell that. I imagine a good psychoeducational testing report helps a lot. But that is out of reach financially for many people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you may find this hard to believe but it's not as easy as you think to get accommodations on the ACT and SAT. I'm the PP whose daughter has abnormal eye tracking and low processing. She is in a special program at her high school that provides her with the support she needs to do well in college prep courses.

The program director told us to be prepared to be turned down for ACT/SAT accommodations despite her IEP and other documentation. She said the bar is very high, most get turned down - however, she will then file an appeal and provide additional documentation and we cross our fingers that is is accepted by ACT/SAT.

She felt our daughter has a good chance of getting accommodations on an appeal, but not to count on it for they routinely turn down kids that she feels really should get it. So, rest assured, they are not handing out extra hours like candy to anyone who asks or provides them with a minimum of documentation of a vague problem.

This is true.

+1. My DD who has received accommodations at her high school for ADHD since freshman year was turned down for accommodations on the SAT.

And rightly so. Because they are seeing an increase of kids coming to the party late with diagnoses after middle school. it is very suspicious when people suddenly have a new diagnosis of ADHD. In most cases this is identified in elementary school. I am sure those who are gaming the system are the ones who decide to get evaluated in high school for the first time. Our DS gets accommodations on both SAT and ACT, but he has a strong history of accommodations since 2nd grade.

This attitude is just another way of privileging wealthy kids. Oftentimes it's the kids who are already disadvantaged or whose parents didn't/could't push for private testing in elementary whon't get diagnosed until they are older. It also ends up also penalizing those parents who decided to not push for testing, who decided to try to let their kids struggle a bit to see if they can learn without accommodation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you may find this hard to believe but it's not as easy as you think to get accommodations on the ACT and SAT. I'm the PP whose daughter has abnormal eye tracking and low processing. She is in a special program at her high school that provides her with the support she needs to do well in college prep courses.

The program director told us to be prepared to be turned down for ACT/SAT accommodations despite her IEP and other documentation. She said the bar is very high, most get turned down - however, she will then file an appeal and provide additional documentation and we cross our fingers that is is accepted by ACT/SAT.

She felt our daughter has a good chance of getting accommodations on an appeal, but not to count on it for they routinely turn down kids that she feels really should get it. So, rest assured, they are not handing out extra hours like candy to anyone who asks or provides them with a minimum of documentation of a vague problem.

This is true.

+1. My DD who has received accommodations at her high school for ADHD since freshman year was turned down for accommodations on the SAT.

And rightly so. Because they are seeing an increase of kids coming to the party late with diagnoses after middle school. it is very suspicious when people suddenly have a new diagnosis of ADHD. In most cases this is identified in elementary school. I am sure those who are gaming the system are the ones who decide to get evaluated in high school for the first time. Our DS gets accommodations on both SAT and ACT, but he has a strong history of accommodations since 2nd grade.

This is true for affluent families in modern times. It's not true for lower-middle-class/working-class families.

We are upper or higher middle MC, and one kid has been diagnosed since 4 years old. Had accommodations through whole education. DD wasn't diagnosed until sophomore HS. High IQ, and I always suspected she had ADHD, social and hyper, but thought it was my duty as a parent to provide her with activities and social interactions. There was no need to diagnosis until it started to affect her whole life, which started in HS. ADHD and other diagnosis can mess up future employment opportunities, especially if you need a clearance, I don't see why anyone would want fake ADHD or anxiety in their kids. I would give anything for my kids not to have these issues, it is so difficult seeing your child fail a class because she does all the work and constantly forgets to turn it in,(even with teachers and parents and therapist trying to give extra chances), have a student in college who refuses to admit he needs accommodations because his anxiety won't let him. But, I have seen many HS students who are gaming the system, especially those with rich parents who are involved in high level HS sports. So, it makes sense that they are doing it in college too. All of a sudden half the team is on concerta, and usually calm kids are acting like they are on drugs, because they are. That is the effect stimulants have on kids who don't have ADHD. And in private schools, many athletes are held back. So, while I don't understand how parents can drug their kids for sports or academic improvement, or tell their kids they have a learning disability when they don't, I have seen it happen over and over during the last 6 or more years. Apart from helping my DD turn homework in, she has no other accommodations at all in her HS, so I am not sure how all these students are getting accommodations approved. It is very hard getting extra time allowed.

[Anonymous]

Most parents get their kids tested because they SEE them struggling, not before that happens. It is not a decision made quickly or easily.

Yes, this "advantages" upper SES families. That is a deep flaw in our system, not something awful that those families are doing to get an edge on lower income kids. They have more resources to help their children. No crime there.

[Anonymous]

The problem of gaming the system would be solved quickly and easily if there was a designation on the score report when a student tested with accommodations. Then only those who truly need it would be willing to accept the accommodations and send that info on to colleges.
If a student is receiving accomodations in school, and will receive accommodations in college, why the need to hide that there were accomodations on testing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most parents get their kids tested because they SEE them struggling, not before that happens. It is not a decision made quickly or easily.

Yes, this "advantages" upper SES families. That is a deep flaw in our system, not something awful that those families are doing to get an edge on lower income kids. They have more resources to help their children. No crime there.

Agree. However, with such high percentages of students "needing" accommodations, there must be more than a few who are abusing the system - akin to "Disney" accommodations. The system was vigorously changed once it became obvious that certain people at Disney did not need the accommodations, after all. You can say the situation is different, but it really is analogous.

[Anonymous]

Because it is illegal to discriminate against people with disabilities.

And if you don't think many people bear negative misconceptions about people who need testing accommodations (i.e. those with learning disabilities), read the previous posts in this thread.