Extra time on tests

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Schools don't have accommodations policies; it is federal law that they provide accommodations to diagnosed individuals!

Not private schools. I assume that's what this thread is about.

[Anonymous]

Psychologists have a vested interest in finding a learning disability after a parent has paid thousands of dollars. Almost everyone who has had 10 plus hours of testing will come up with a pattern of strengths and weakness. Test enough and some subtest(s) will be low. Creative, crafty psychologists can write up a report in a way that the recommendation is often extra time. No parent wants to hear that their kid is a B/C student who is working up to their ability or is not willing to put in the hours required to get an A in an AP class. Studies have shown that many kids run out of time on the SAT and do better when given extra time. I am not talking about a kid who scores 500 in Math. Extra time won't probably help much. I am talking about going from a 650 in Math to a 750, which makes a big difference in college admissions.
I hated working as a school psychologist in an affluent area because I received so many requests from parents to assess their B student who was in honors/AP classes. The parents got outside testing and students who didn't have any history of struggling or having attention problems in elementary or middle school ended up with accommodations and a diagnosis of ADHD and/or LD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You realize that students with LDs or ADHD can be very smart, right?

Sure. I'm questioning the need for extra time in some cases.

It's not your job to question it, and frankly, it's none of your business.

It is my business when my DC comes home and wonders why some kids, who act/appear/perform similarly to my DC, get extra time. One way or another, they know who the kids are that need extra time, and it's on me to explain why that's fair.

"Fair" does not mean "equal". My kindergartener understands something so basic. Not sure why it's so difficult for you and your children to understand. Explain to them that some people need accommodations that others don't, and unless the children in question choose to share the reasons they need accommodations, IT'S NOT THEIR BUSINESS.

Or as my own mother used to say, "Worry about yourself, not everyone else."

It's really not that hard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Psychologists have a vested interest in finding a learning disability after a parent has paid thousands of dollars. Almost everyone who has had 10 plus hours of testing will come up with a pattern of strengths and weakness. Test enough and some subtest(s) will be low. Creative, crafty psychologists can write up a report in a way that the recommendation is often extra time. No parent wants to hear that their kid is a B/C student who is working up to their ability or is not willing to put in the hours required to get an A in an AP class. Studies have shown that many kids run out of time on the SAT and do better when given extra time. I am not talking about a kid who scores 500 in Math. Extra time won't probably help much. I am talking about going from a 650 in Math to a 750, which makes a big difference in college admissions.
I hated working as a school psychologist in an affluent area because I received so many requests from parents to assess their B student who was in honors/AP classes. The parents got outside testing and students who didn't have any history of struggling or having attention problems in elementary or middle school ended up with accommodations and a diagnosis of ADHD and/or LD.

Very interesting!

[Anonymous]

Herein lies the rub.

Some students have genuine learning disabilities which actually require special testing accommodations in school, while other students feign or purport to have a learning disability to obtain special testing accommodations in school. And often you cannot distinguish one from the other.

My brother is a psychiatrist specializing in child counseling. Without delving into specifics, he has told me that he increasingly encounters "helicopter" parents who subtly try to pressure him into making a learning disabilities diagnosis for their children who are taking all AP classes. He suspects this is for the purpose of special testing accommodations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do schools publish their accommodations policies in the school handbook? Parents of kids with disabilities need to know that information.

Yes, typically they do, including what kind of accommodations they do and do not provide.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Psychologists have a vested interest in finding a learning disability after a parent has paid thousands of dollars. Almost everyone who has had 10 plus hours of testing will come up with a pattern of strengths and weakness. Test enough and some subtest(s) will be low. Creative, crafty psychologists can write up a report in a way that the recommendation is often extra time. No parent wants to hear that their kid is a B/C student who is working up to their ability or is not willing to put in the hours required to get an A in an AP class. Studies have shown that many kids run out of time on the SAT and do better when given extra time. I am not talking about a kid who scores 500 in Math. Extra time won't probably help much. I am talking about going from a 650 in Math to a 750, which makes a big difference in college admissions.
I hated working as a school psychologist in an affluent area because I received so many requests from parents to assess their B student who was in honors/AP classes. The parents got outside testing and students who didn't have any history of struggling or having attention problems in elementary or middle school ended up with accommodations and a diagnosis of ADHD and/or LD.

This sounds pretty uninformed. You do know that highly intelligent people van mask LD's for a long time, right? Even dyslexia can be masked and compensated for for many years, particularly in large classes where teaches don't really get to know them. Also, many gifted girls with ADD inattentive type are diagnosed late because they aren't disruptive.