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[quote=Anonymous]what if the disproportionate number of white kids getting accommodations is actually the effect of racism in a completely different way? 
To explain:
There's a kind of rule of thumb that 10% of students qualify for IEPs. Long time since I have seen a breakdown, but a (smallish) portion of that is kids with cognitive disabilities ("mental retardation" in IDEA). (that proportion related to the percentage of kids it is expected will take alternate testing when assessing schools' performance).

Some proportion of these IEP kids are going to want to go to college and will take SATs/ACTs. I have no idea what % of kids with disabilities require extended time on tests, but given the potential rage of disablities--not just processing, there's also kids with tics, there's kids with ADHD, there's kids with physical disabilities--I can see where quite a few would need that.

But here's another thing about IDEA--classification. It has long been noted that white kids are more likely to be classified LD or autistic or OHI with the same presentation as kids of color who are classified ED or MR. And I will bet anything that the kids classified ED or MR are going to be less likely to be steered towards college than kids in those other categories.

In other words, the 2.8% of white test takers getting extended time compared to 1.5% overall COULD be a result of other systemic holding back of kids of color (this is not even getting into different SES stats, worse health stats, and whatever else)--as opposed to white having a chance to game the system their own way.

I have NO problem with kids who need accommodations getting them through the post-secondary application and, yes, educational process. Is life different when you're looking at employment? Depending on the specific job, maybe or maybe not. Regardless, disability should not prevent someone from getting the knowledge, regardless of what they do afterwards.

Anyway, nobody gave me EXTRA SAT points for finishing my tests in a third of the time it took other people and having to endure sitting in the testing room with NOTHING to do, no paper to draw on, no book to read.

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