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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Truly - what is the harm of accommodations? What is one single example of an accommodated kid gaining an unfair advantage? I am asking this and my kids are accommodation free. These kids may not fit into the box they are dealt with but this has nothing to do with intellect, ideas or ability to innovate. Sure - perhaps there are some careers where they may not be properly suited but that’s between them and their employer.

This starts at high school and at my private, kids come up w diagnosis near SAT time and get extra time to improve scores esp SAT subject tests. The it continues in college, to get the better grades that allow one to get scholarships and better internships etc. I think the fairest method is to give everyone extra time. Then there will be no advantage to those gaming the system and we should see a decline and to those who really need the accommodation, they get it.

I think it starts way before HS.

My DS (currently in early elementary) has documented fine-motor delays that absolutely mean that he will be at a disadvantage in a hand-written test. However, I'm currently not planning to accept accomodations that would extend testing time. I think it's important for him to learn about his limitations, within reason. He gets a lot of support to work on his handwriting and focus; but I believe that at testing time, he should just do what everyone else does.

Best of luck to you on this, but once the stakes are higher, you will likely regret not putting accommodations in place -- even if you don't need to use them -- early on. I know that every kid is different, so our experience with this may not apply.

We did not know that DD had ADD and EF disorder until the end of her sophomore year. Her grades through elementary and half of middle school were As and Bs. Once she hit high school, and the workload and expectation level was higher, her grades dropped. We had her tested, and while her IQ was high, her working memory and processing speed were significantly lower.

Had we known this earlier, we could have supported her better throughout the years when grades did not count as much.

I want my child to be supported, but I am not focused on grades. If my child has poor working memory and processing speed, then he'll get low scores on standardized tests. And go into some other field of study that doesn't require that kind of testing.

[Anonymous]

There's little debate about whether a person is deaf or blind or needs glasses.

[Anonymous]

At Pomona, students pledge "honor" on their mostly take-home (dorm room) tests. Now you have to wonder about these take-home tests. If 20% are allowed extra time, how honorable would the rest of the suckers be?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At Pomona, students pledge "honor" on their mostly take-home (dorm room) tests. Now you have to wonder about these take-home tests. If 20% are allowed extra time, how honorable would the rest of the suckers be?

The right solution would be to just give everyone the extra time.

[Anonymous]

OP you really can't judge a book by its cover. There are many forms of disabilities. Our son has a chronic condition that is invisible to others but will probably necessitate a single room because he requires a lot of extra sleep and has to go to bed early to stay functional and well. Kids with this condition/illness back when I was in college wouldn't have even been able to attend because of the lack of treatment , so we're grateful for accommodations and like other posters will encourage our son take that into consideration when looking at colleges. Nevertheless, you would never ever guess our son is as ill as he is unless you visited him when he is immobilized in bed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP you really can't judge a book by its cover. There are many forms of disabilities. Our son has a chronic condition that is invisible to others but will probably necessitate a single room because he requires a lot of extra sleep and has to go to bed early to stay functional and well. Kids with this condition/illness back when I was in college wouldn't have even been able to attend because of the lack of treatment , so we're grateful for accommodations and like other posters will encourage our son take that into consideration when looking at colleges. Nevertheless, you would never ever guess our son is as ill as he is unless you visited him when he is immobilized in bed.

This is the crux of the issue. OP seems to think disabilities OP can see and experience are ok, but those they can't are not. This is the way everyone used to think about disabilities until better sense prevailed. The student with irritable bowel syndrome, the student with profound hearing loss and the student with dyslexia are all people who should go as far and do as well in school as they can. We want ALL students to learn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP you really can't judge a book by its cover. There are many forms of disabilities. Our son has a chronic condition that is invisible to others but will probably necessitate a single room because he requires a lot of extra sleep and has to go to bed early to stay functional and well. Kids with this condition/illness back when I was in college wouldn't have even been able to attend because of the lack of treatment , so we're grateful for accommodations and like other posters will encourage our son take that into consideration when looking at colleges. Nevertheless, you would never ever guess our son is as ill as he is unless you visited him when he is immobilized in bed.

This is the crux of the issue. OP seems to think disabilities OP can see and experience are ok, but those they can't are not. This is the way everyone used to think about disabilities until better sense prevailed. The student with irritable bowel syndrome, the student with profound hearing loss and the student with dyslexia are all people who should go as far and do as well in school as they can. We want ALL students to learn.

There are many forms of disability, but how many require academic accommodation? I seriously doubt it's 25% of students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP you really can't judge a book by its cover. There are many forms of disabilities. Our son has a chronic condition that is invisible to others but will probably necessitate a single room because he requires a lot of extra sleep and has to go to bed early to stay functional and well. Kids with this condition/illness back when I was in college wouldn't have even been able to attend because of the lack of treatment , so we're grateful for accommodations and like other posters will encourage our son take that into consideration when looking at colleges. Nevertheless, you would never ever guess our son is as ill as he is unless you visited him when he is immobilized in bed.

This is the crux of the issue. OP seems to think disabilities OP can see and experience are ok, but those they can't are not. This is the way everyone used to think about disabilities until better sense prevailed. The student with irritable bowel syndrome, the student with profound hearing loss and the student with dyslexia are all people who should go as far and do as well in school as they can. We want ALL students to learn.

There are many forms of disability, but how many require academic accommodation? I seriously doubt it's 25% of students.

PP with son with invisible disabilities - I didn't mention he also has ADHD but maybe wouldn't need accommodations for that. However, if he fell ill while at college he would definitely need deadlines extended/tests rescheduled without advance notice due to the unpredictable nature of his illness. As far as the 25%, autism is exploding when you talk to professionals in special ed. ADHD does get more accommodations than the parents of these kids did, plus advances/new treatments for illnesses like my son's, plus epilepsy, and so on mean these kids can now go to college. That could well add up to 25%. Sure there are some cheaters as there always are and will be but I don't know that's increased a lot. However the professor's story means it might.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Truly - what is the harm of accommodations? What is one single example of an accommodated kid gaining an unfair advantage? I am asking this and my kids are accommodation free. These kids may not fit into the box they are dealt with but this has nothing to do with intellect, ideas or ability to innovate. Sure - perhaps there are some careers where they may not be properly suited but that’s between them and their employer.

This starts at high school and at my private, kids come up w diagnosis near SAT time and get extra time to improve scores esp SAT subject tests. The it continues in college, to get the better grades that allow one to get scholarships and better internships etc. I think the fairest method is to give everyone extra time. Then there will be no advantage to those gaming the system and we should see a decline and to those who really need the accommodation, they get it.

I think it starts way before HS.

And here we are with more ignorance. To receive accommodations for the SAT and ACT, you have to have a diagnosis and a history of needing accommodations in school. You can't go out the night before and get a piece of paper saying you need more time and be allowed more time. It just doesn't work that way. Students have to have a medical evaluation between 1 and 3yrs before the SAT date and an IEP or 504 that has been in place before the appeal.

You obviously don’t have experience with wealthy prep kids. It is not the night before but by sophomore year there will Ben a diagnosis to make sure the DCs have extra time for school and upcoming PSAT/SAT/ACT tests. Look at the college board studies - when college board no longer could indicate on the scores that extra time was given, the # of kids needing time accommodations shot up. There are genuine cases but there is also rampant cheating especially among the rich prep families. To equalize the playing field for those not in the know or have money to fork over for a diagnosis, give every kid the same time accomodations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What concerns me from a related article is the statement that wealthier students are more likely to receive accommodations than poor students.

What happens when these kids graduate college? Is an employer going to give a person who takes twice as long to do something the same salary as someone who meets deadlines?

The student is going to find a field appropriate to their strengths and weaknesses. Like we all do. How is this so shocking?

My dyslexic sibling takes longer to read and synthesize information than his non-dyslexic coworkers. Should he be fired? He has other strengths in his job that compensate for the time he needs to take to read information, and he deliberately chose a line of work where reading information isn't terribly time sensitive so he can spread it out and make sure he's not missing critical information.

No, he shouldn't be fired. But that's not the question here. The question is whether somehow 25% of the population suddenly has learning disabilities; whether those students benefit from accommodations; whether those accommodations are legitimate or not. Arguably, an accommodation just stops the student from learning where their proper niche is. In high school or elementary school it might be more appropriate; but college IMO is where they start needing to face their abilities and disabilities in the real world.

So a blind person should not go to college because their acccommodations just stops them from learning where their niche is? What about a deaf person? We should stop people from wearing glasses too, because that gives them too much advantage. A person with an LD just needs a different way to access the material in school. It does not change the fact that they have to learn that material.

No, it's different for someone with a bona fide physical disability. And in any event - yes, they do have to find a niche as well. They're likely not going to go for a career in air traffic control.

You are saying that dyslexia is not a bone fide disability? Really? Wow

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What concerns me from a related article is the statement that wealthier students are more likely to receive accommodations than poor students.

What happens when these kids graduate college? Is an employer going to give a person who takes twice as long to do something the same salary as someone who meets deadlines?

The student is going to find a field appropriate to their strengths and weaknesses. Like we all do. How is this so shocking?

My dyslexic sibling takes longer to read and synthesize information than his non-dyslexic coworkers. Should he be fired? He has other strengths in his job that compensate for the time he needs to take to read information, and he deliberately chose a line of work where reading information isn't terribly time sensitive so he can spread it out and make sure he's not missing critical information.

No, he shouldn't be fired. But that's not the question here. The question is whether somehow 25% of the population suddenly has learning disabilities; whether those students benefit from accommodations; whether those accommodations are legitimate or not. Arguably, an accommodation just stops the student from learning where their proper niche is. In high school or elementary school it might be more appropriate; but college IMO is where they start needing to face their abilities and disabilities in the real world.

So a blind person should not go to college because their acccommodations just stops them from learning where their niche is? What about a deaf person? We should stop people from wearing glasses too, because that gives them too much advantage. A person with an LD just needs a different way to access the material in school. It does not change the fact that they have to learn that material.

No, it's different for someone with a bona fide physical disability. And in any event - yes, they do have to find a niche as well. They're likely not going to go for a career in air traffic control.

You are saying that dyslexia is not a bone fide disability? Really? Wow

Again, did 15% of Pomona enrollees (one of the most selective SLACs) suddenly get dyslexia? I don't think so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's little debate about whether a person is deaf or blind or needs glasses.

But the same accomodations work for a person who is dyslexic as those that are for a person that is blind. Why discriminate against one disability and not the other.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's little debate about whether a person is deaf or blind or needs glasses.

But the same accomodations work for a person who is dyslexic as those that are for a person that is blind. Why discriminate against one disability and not the other.

The question is whether the disability REQUIRES the accommodation to access the regular curriculum. If we're trying to boost everyone onto a level playing field regardless of their intelligence and ability, then what's the point of evaluation at all? We might as well just go to ungraded colleges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What concerns me from a related article is the statement that wealthier students are more likely to receive accommodations than poor students.

What happens when these kids graduate college? Is an employer going to give a person who takes twice as long to do something the same salary as someone who meets deadlines?

The student is going to find a field appropriate to their strengths and weaknesses. Like we all do. How is this so shocking?

My dyslexic sibling takes longer to read and synthesize information than his non-dyslexic coworkers. Should he be fired? He has other strengths in his job that compensate for the time he needs to take to read information, and he deliberately chose a line of work where reading information isn't terribly time sensitive so he can spread it out and make sure he's not missing critical information.

No, he shouldn't be fired. But that's not the question here. The question is whether somehow 25% of the population suddenly has learning disabilities; whether those students benefit from accommodations; whether those accommodations are legitimate or not. Arguably, an accommodation just stops the student from learning where their proper niche is. In high school or elementary school it might be more appropriate; but college IMO is where they start needing to face their abilities and disabilities in the real world.

So a blind person should not go to college because their acccommodations just stops them from learning where their niche is? What about a deaf person? We should stop people from wearing glasses too, because that gives them too much advantage. A person with an LD just needs a different way to access the material in school. It does not change the fact that they have to learn that material.

No, it's different for someone with a bona fide physical disability. And in any event - yes, they do have to find a niche as well. They're likely not going to go for a career in air traffic control.

You are saying that dyslexia is not a bone fide disability? Really? Wow

Again, did 15% of Pomona enrollees (one of the most selective SLACs) suddenly get dyslexia? I don't think so.

Are we not reading the article? The large percent comes from mental health diagnoses. It's not that 12%-15%, in addition to the 8% with what we usually consider disabilities, was classified as well. It's that schools are classifying those with mental illness within disabilities when asked about the percent of students given accommodations.

I'm surprised the percent is as low as it is- I'd guess that some 40-50% of students deal with some sort of mental illness in college. Perhaps not all of them need accommodations academically, but for those who do, that does explain the 20-25% figure we're seeing.

[Anonymous]

I have to agree that this is distasteful. These are very difficult schools to get into. They turn away many applicants who could do the work and succeed there. I see no reason why they should be accepting disproportionately wealthy students whose parents have gamed the system to get their children extra time on exams. Any of our kids could improve their scores with extra time.