Anonymous wrote:OP here. To be honest, I am not worried about DS and his future. He has these accommodations, but would he do fine without them? Yes. Instead of a 36, he might get a 34 or maybe even a 35. That's the beauty of having high intelligence along with a disability.


How is there "beauty" in getting accommodations for a kid who doesn't need them, despite being "entitled" to them?

My child has ADHD. He took the ACT one time (no prep, no accommodations, one practice test), and got a 34. Really, most people would be happy with that. If he wanted another point or two (he doesn't), I would suggest that he prep for it and take it again rather than trying to get him 6 or 7 hours to take the test. That would drive him crazy to spend that much time testing. Like most kids, he would likely do better with an extra 5 or 10 minutes per section to check his answers, but that's not how the test is designed.

Well good for your son...that is a great score for a kid with ADHD and no extra time. I am glad he is satisfied. Perhaps my DS would have done the same without the accommodations, however, we have a different approach...that is the approach to strive for perfection. It just so happens DS is entitled to the accommodations (has been since 2nd grade) and utilized them as he has done on all standardized tests over the years. It also just so happens that he did a lot of prep for the ACT. He was striving for a perfect score and achieved it. How about instead of trying to compare your kid to mine, you just be happy with your situation and congratulate my DS. I certainly am very proud to say he is part of the .136% of test takers who got a 36. It will open more doors for him and also make it easier for him to get into his target schools.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If this kid really can only work well with unlimited time, the elite college you are hoping for is likely going to send your kid into a spiral of defeat and depression. The real world does not provide accommodations.

Not necessarily true. I am a college professor that has taught at an elite school, SLAC and state school. In the last 10-15 years, the number of students that require accommodations has significantly increased. Universities expect us to meet the students' needs to allow equal access to the course material/ability to succeed in the class. In my experience, the kids do well and don't seem defeated or depressed.

Yes, but how do they do once they are in the real world? Employers don’t hire or keep employees that can’t keep deadlines.

I don't know, but someone will probably research this issue soon. I never had a job where I had to take a test in 50 minutes, so I don't think it matters. Deadlines on projects usually happen over a longer period of time. I do agree that there are some jobs that require quick thinking/turnaround times that wouldn't be a good fit for some students.

I guess it depends. We have a lot of "quick-turn-around" projects/requests. Most with due date of COB same day.

So, let me get this straight. If a kid is born with good intelligence and no disabilities and they work their ass off and get a B+ average, they apply to colleges looking like they are “behind” all of these students who get accommodations so that they can have straight As and perfect test scores (because that is all confidential), and then they have to take a backseat to everyone who has a disability and gets accommodations for the rest of their lives? Employers have to settle for employees who can’t keep up because they can’t discriminate?

Am I the only one who sees the flaw in this system?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If this kid really can only work well with unlimited time, the elite college you are hoping for is likely going to send your kid into a spiral of defeat and depression. The real world does not provide accommodations.

Not necessarily true. I am a college professor that has taught at an elite school, SLAC and state school. In the last 10-15 years, the number of students that require accommodations has significantly increased. Universities expect us to meet the students' needs to allow equal access to the course material/ability to succeed in the class. In my experience, the kids do well and don't seem defeated or depressed.

Yes, but how do they do once they are in the real world? Employers don’t hire or keep employees that can’t keep deadlines.

The universities expect you to do this because they are required to comply with the ADA. It isn't an act of benevolence and it isn't optional.

In the real world, people with disabilities will find jobs that fit their profile, and if they need accommodations at work the employer must provide them too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If this kid really can only work well with unlimited time, the elite college you are hoping for is likely going to send your kid into a spiral of defeat and depression. The real world does not provide accommodations.

Not necessarily true. I am a college professor that has taught at an elite school, SLAC and state school. In the last 10-15 years, the number of students that require accommodations has significantly increased. Universities expect us to meet the students' needs to allow equal access to the course material/ability to succeed in the class. In my experience, the kids do well and don't seem defeated or depressed.

Yes, but how do they do once they are in the real world? Employers don’t hire or keep employees that can’t keep deadlines.

I don't know, but someone will probably research this issue soon. I never had a job where I had to take a test in 50 minutes, so I don't think it matters. Deadlines on projects usually happen over a longer period of time. I do agree that there are some jobs that require quick thinking/turnaround times that wouldn't be a good fit for some students.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If this kid really can only work well with unlimited time, the elite college you are hoping for is likely going to send your kid into a spiral of defeat and depression. The real world does not provide accommodations.

Not necessarily true. I am a college professor that has taught at an elite school, SLAC and state school. In the last 10-15 years, the number of students that require accommodations has significantly increased. Universities expect us to meet the students' needs to allow equal access to the course material/ability to succeed in the class. In my experience, the kids do well and don't seem defeated or depressed.

Yes, but how do they do once they are in the real world? Employers don’t hire or keep employees that can’t keep deadlines.

Anonymous wrote:If this kid really can only work well with unlimited time, the elite college you are hoping for is likely going to send your kid into a spiral of defeat and depression. The real world does not provide accommodations.

Not necessarily true. I am a college professor that has taught at an elite school, SLAC and state school. In the last 10-15 years, the number of students that require accommodations has significantly increased. Universities expect us to meet the students' needs to allow equal access to the course material/ability to succeed in the class. In my experience, the kids do well and don't seem defeated or depressed.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. To be honest, I am not worried about DS and his future. He has these accommodations, but would he do fine without them? Yes. Instead of a 36, he might get a 34 or maybe even a 35. That's the beauty of having high intelligence along with a disability.


How is there "beauty" in getting accommodations for a kid who doesn't need them, despite being "entitled" to them?

My child has ADHD. He took the ACT one time (no prep, no accommodations, one practice test), and got a 34. Really, most people would be happy with that. If he wanted another point or two (he doesn't), I would suggest that he prep for it and take it again rather than trying to get him 6 or 7 hours to take the test. That would drive him crazy to spend that much time testing. Like most kids, he would likely do better with an extra 5 or 10 minutes per section to check his answers, but that's not how the test is designed.

I'm not OP. I'm not sure the fact that your kid didn't want to put more time and effort into preparing for the ACT & didn't want to bother taking it again is something to be bragging about. What "beauty" do you find in that? Fine that he's happy with a 34 (which is a good score) but there's nothing wrong with people taking advantage of what's available to them to do better, as long as they're not cheating (I'm assuming OP's child got the accommodations legitimately). Athletic recruits get into schools they wouldn't normally get into based on academics. Is there something wrong with that? Students of certain race get into schools they might not. Is there something wrong with indicating your race on the application? Legacies are given an edge. Is it wrong to indicate that you're a legacy? In fact, compared to all of these advantages I listed, I would think accommodations on SAT/ACT is more warranted/legitimate/fair than any of them. If your child is happy with a 34, then be happy. It's a great score. I'm not sure why you're so sour about someone else's accommodations.

If this kid really can only work well with unlimited time, the elite college you are hoping for is likely going to send your kid into a spiral of defeat and depression. The real world does not provide accommodations.

OP here. To be honest, I am not worried about DS and his future. He has these accommodations, but would he do fine without them? Yes. Instead of a 36, he might get a 34 or maybe even a 35. That's the beauty of having high intelligence along with a disability.


How is there "beauty" in getting accommodations for a kid who doesn't need them, despite being "entitled" to them?

My child has ADHD. He took the ACT one time (no prep, no accommodations, one practice test), and got a 34. Really, most people would be happy with that. If he wanted another point or two (he doesn't), I would suggest that he prep for it and take it again rather than trying to get him 6 or 7 hours to take the test. That would drive him crazy to spend that much time testing. Like most kids, he would likely do better with an extra 5 or 10 minutes per section to check his answers, but that's not how the test is designed.

Did he get to take the test home with him or did he need to stay in the facility?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What a weird thread. Your son achieved a 36 with accommodations. Hooray?

Let's be honest, the vast majority of people couldn't get a 36 given unlimited time on the test.

Er, my 34 ACT kid would have easily scored a 36 with unlimited time.

So your child in the 99th percentile could have scored even higher in the 99th percentile if given unlimited time. Gotcha. Not really relevant to what I was saying though. Could the kid with a 24 score a 36 with unlimited time?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What a weird thread. Your son achieved a 36 with accommodations. Hooray?

Let's be honest, the vast majority of people couldn't get a 36 given unlimited time on the test.

Er, my 34 ACT kid would have easily scored a 36 with unlimited time.

Really? Alrighty then!!

The ACT’s timing limitations are one of the most difficult aspects of the test. Unlimited time? Good Lord.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Well the results are finally in. DS got a 36. We are pretty thrilled.

Right. Total bullshit unless you post a dated photo of the test score sheet.

Not sure how to post an image...does this work?

Well that worked well...here is link to photo.

https://ibb.co/jkHXLH

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Well the results are finally in. DS got a 36. We are pretty thrilled.

Right. Total bullshit unless you post a dated photo of the test score sheet.

Not sure how to post an image...does this work?