WSJ article on more students especially the affluent get extra time on SAT

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why not give all of the test takers extra time. If they finish early, they can leave. If they need the extra time for whatever reason (maybe undiagnosed LD) they will have it along with the test takers who need the additional time.

I agree with this. Our child needs additional time because of diabetes. They need to measure blood sugar and inject insulin if blood sugar is high or eat/drink something if blood sugar is low. My friend's child gets additional time because of epilepsy: their brain sometimes stops working for a few seconds here and there. Therefore it would be unfair to the truly sick kids to disallow the additional time for all. Everybody should be able to take as much time as they need.

We have a friend’s DC who had extra time for the ACT and scored 36 out of 36. DC has diabetes. What should have been given was time in between the sections for the DC to eat and test sugar/insulin levels - not extra time to do a speed based test. DC is now seeking extra time on MCAT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know this sounds crazy, but I don't see how extra time helps. I was smart and affluent and always finished early. I'm a fast reader and extra time wouldn't have helped me.

That is you. Why should my kid w no accommodation be disadvantaged in the math section or the ACT or subject tests or HS/College GPA? Why should my kid who did not game the system not be able to win merit or scholarship money or apply to top schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know this sounds crazy, but I don't see how extra time helps. I was smart and affluent and always finished early. I'm a fast reader and extra time wouldn't have helped me.

It does not help. This is very well documented. People want to believe it would help so they can blame kids with LD's for their kids low scores.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why not give all of the test takers extra time. If they finish early, they can leave. If they need the extra time for whatever reason (maybe undiagnosed LD) they will have it along with the test takers who need the additional time.

I agree with this. Our child needs additional time because of diabetes. They need to measure blood sugar and inject insulin if blood sugar is high or eat/drink something if blood sugar is low. My friend's child gets additional time because of epilepsy: their brain sometimes stops working for a few seconds here and there. Therefore it would be unfair to the truly sick kids to disallow the additional time for all. Everybody should be able to take as much time as they need.

We have a friend’s DC who had extra time for the ACT and scored 36 out of 36. DC has diabetes. What should have been given was time in between the sections for the DC to eat and test sugar/insulin levels - not extra time to do a speed based test. DC is now seeking extra time on MCAT.

There are kids with diabetes that get extra time and are allowed to have snacks in the room with them.

[Anonymous]

My DD has multiple medical and learning disabilities including very slow processing speed, receptive and expressive language disorders and moderate hearing loss. She also has a high IQ and worked extremely hard in school to get a high GPA in honors an AP classes, but always had a 504 for extra time, because that was the single thing that leveled the playing field for her. I think everyone should Have extra time, but please don't assume that students who get the accommodation don't need/deserve it. If you observed how hard my DD works to keep pace, you would have a different view, I think. She used her extra time accommodations on ACT and SAT. Her good scores were consistent with her abilities and the school she chose has been a really good match, but she still has to work very hard, take a slightly smaller class load in order to keep up and manage her medical conditions. She receives accommodations at her university and is aiming for a profession that will be a good fit for her strengths. Accommodations for disabilities were made for students like my DD. I know that there have been abuses, but the remedy is not to question their use when fully warranted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know this sounds crazy, but I don't see how extra time helps. I was smart and affluent and always finished early. I'm a fast reader and extra time wouldn't have helped me.

It does not help. This is very well documented. People want to believe it would help so they can blame kids with LD's for their kids low scores.

If a kid does not finish all of the questions on a test because the time ran out while they were thinking through the questions, yes, it would help.

It is not at all abnormal or unusual for kids to run out of time on these tests.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:College Board approves 94% of requests??? So there is no real investigation? Who ever said it was difficult to get extra time accommodation is full of hog wash. A 94% approval rate is not an indication that it is difficult to get approval.

College board requires proof of diagnosis for accomodations. Once you have a qualified diagnosis, who is the College Board to say that the kid's diagnosis isn't valid? Getting an evaluation to get a diagnosis is an $$$ multiday process. All of you people implying that parents and kids are faking should count your lucky stars that your kid doesn't have a learning disability or other learning challenges.

So you are saying every person getting extra time truly has a learning disability that requires another hour of time to complete the test?

You have no evidence to doubt that they have a "true learning disability". A qualified medical professional has made the diagnosis according to the criteria of their profession and recommended accommodations as appropriate. In most cases the student has accommodations documented at their school in the form of a 504 or IEP, evidence that the school finds the disability compelling. But go ahead believing that all these kids are "fakers" since that's your worldview.

[Anonymous]

College Board can fix a lot of this ....
All scores get sent - they are either cancelled immediately with no visibility to score OR they are part of your record. No options for ... let me see.

Colleges can help -
no super scoring


I would love to see in the financial records for College Board.

[Anonymous]

And we come back around to the question of why the tests are tightly-timed to begin with, when time is not particularly g-loaded. The testing agencies need to differentiate between students somehow, but apparently, making the tests harder does not fit their agenda.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know this sounds crazy, but I don't see how extra time helps. I was smart and affluent and always finished early. I'm a fast reader and extra time wouldn't have helped me.

It does not help. This is very well documented. People want to believe it would help so they can blame kids with LD's for their kids low scores.

It isn't well documented. Stop making stuff up

[Anonymous]

Didn't read the article but did they take into account some kids may be in private because they need smaller classrooms or have a learning disability? Happened to my nephews, the one with the LD fell through the cracks in public and ended up drinking and on drugs in MS. They had to put him in private for a more nurturing environment. Took a few years and counseling to get him back on track. The head of school lived near them and use to walk him to school sometimes for one on one time. Meanwhile, his brother who was a straight A student, opted for public because he liked the size.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DD has multiple medical and learning disabilities including very slow processing speed, receptive and expressive language disorders and moderate hearing loss. She also has a high IQ and worked extremely hard in school to get a high GPA in honors an AP classes, but always had a 504 for extra time, because that was the single thing that leveled the playing field for her. I think everyone should Have extra time, but please don't assume that students who get the accommodation don't need/deserve it. If you observed how hard my DD works to keep pace, you would have a different view, I think. She used her extra time accommodations on ACT and SAT. Her good scores were consistent with her abilities and the school she chose has been a really good match, but she still has to work very hard, take a slightly smaller class load in order to keep up and manage her medical conditions. She receives accommodations at her university and is aiming for a profession that will be a good fit for her strengths. Accommodations for disabilities were made for students like my DD. I know that there have been abuses, but the remedy is not to question their use when fully warranted.

i mean kudos to your daughter for working hard, but how is this even possible? what does it mean to have a high IQ if your processing speed is very low?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know this sounds crazy, but I don't see how extra time helps. I was smart and affluent and always finished early. I'm a fast reader and extra time wouldn't have helped me.

It does not help. This is very well documented. People want to believe it would help so they can blame kids with LD's for their kids low scores.

If a kid does not finish all of the questions on a test because the time ran out while they were thinking through the questions, yes, it would help.

It is not at all abnormal or unusual for kids to run out of time on these tests.

It's also not abnormal or unusual for kids with extra time to run out of time on the test.

Studies show that kids don't score higher. If a kid is missing 10-20 questions because of time, they most likely have a learning disability. If they are missing 5 or less, it will not greatly affect their score.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD has multiple medical and learning disabilities including very slow processing speed, receptive and expressive language disorders and moderate hearing loss. She also has a high IQ and worked extremely hard in school to get a high GPA in honors an AP classes, but always had a 504 for extra time, because that was the single thing that leveled the playing field for her. I think everyone should Have extra time, but please don't assume that students who get the accommodation don't need/deserve it. If you observed how hard my DD works to keep pace, you would have a different view, I think. She used her extra time accommodations on ACT and SAT. Her good scores were consistent with her abilities and the school she chose has been a really good match, but she still has to work very hard, take a slightly smaller class load in order to keep up and manage her medical conditions. She receives accommodations at her university and is aiming for a profession that will be a good fit for her strengths. Accommodations for disabilities were made for students like my DD. I know that there have been abuses, but the remedy is not to question their use when fully warranted.

i mean kudos to your daughter for working hard, but how is this even possible? what does it mean to have a high IQ if your processing speed is very low?

you don't understand that going fast does not mean you are smart?

http://everyday-learning.org/fast-but-slow-processing-speed-and-the-gifted-child/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know this sounds crazy, but I don't see how extra time helps. I was smart and affluent and always finished early. I'm a fast reader and extra time wouldn't have helped me.

It does not help. This is very well documented. People want to believe it would help so they can blame kids with LD's for their kids low scores.

It isn't well documented. Stop making stuff up

give your kid the test timed, then untimed... compare the score.. your child is not going to magically become a genius with a few extra minutes.