You are hereSeeking Accommodations on the SAT and ACT
Seeking Accommodations on the SAT and ACT
Seeking Accommodations on the SAT and ACT
Prepared by Arlyn Roffman, Ph.D. Member, LDA of America Professional Advisory Board 2008
Every year, about two million high school students take SAT exams, and almost as many take the ACTs. Most take the PSAT during the fall of their junior year to prepare for the SAT, which focuses on verbal, mathematical, and writing skills.
Many colleges require one or more subject tests in addition to the SAT or ACT and consider them for admissions and course placement. Students should review the catalogs and Internet sites of schools of interest to them to determine whether SAT Subject Test scores are required for admission. If so, taking them just after completing the relevant courses, while the material is still fresh, is generally advantageous.
The responsibility generally falls on school guidance counselors to help students register for the PSAT or the PLAN, which is the equivalent warm-up examination for the ACT. When students’ LD documentation supports the need to take these tests with accommodations based on the nature and severity of their disability, their counselor and special education teachers should encourage application for approval so they can perform to the best of their ability.
Accommodations may be made to how test materials are presented (e.g., large-print, by a reader), how responses are recorded (e.g. computer), how tests are timed (extended time, extra breaks), or to the general testing environment. Although many of the above require in-school testing, some – e.g. “time and a half” extended testing period; extended breaks; additional breaks - can be offered in nonstandard testing rooms at test centers.
The College Board requires that any accommodation request in excess of 100 percent additional time, or any request for multiple-day testing be accompanied by a copy of the student’s IEP or 504 Plan. The school psychologist or the private diagnostician who wrote the report should be sure that the disability documentation is complete and be prepared to provide written verification of the need for alternative testing arrangements. The College Board also has a process whereby the student’s high school can supplement older testing with teacher observations on the student’s use of accommodations in the classroom. The documentation guidelines prepared by Educational Testing Service (ETS) that provide guidance to parents, consumers, and educational testing professionals about the type of documentation necessary to verify accommodation requests for test takers with learning disabilities or attention deficit disorders can be found at www.ets.org/disability.
The College Board recommends that students apply for any needed accommodations before they submit their registration for the tests and only register after receiving their Eligibility Approval Letter stating which accommodations have been approved. Students needing accommodations on either of the tests must complete a Student Eligibility Form, available from their guidance counselors. When students seek accommodations they receive in high school, their school must fill out one section of the form.
The College Board suggests submitting the form the spring before they take their first College Board test (PSAT/NMSQT, AP, or SAT) to ensure enough time to process their application. Once students have been approved for accommodations via an Eligibility Approval Letter, they can register online, using the SSD Code located on their letter. Those who choose to mail in their registration should complete the form and send payment along with their Eligibility Approval Letter. More information about the process is available at www.collegeboard.com/ssd.
It’s important that students take note of the dates associated with this process. The eligibility application dates are earlier than the SAT registration deadlines. There is also a seven-week deadline for review of requests that are made with documentation from sources other than the school.
Many students with learning disabilities who enroll in post-secondary education start by spending a year or two at their local community college, which do not require applicants to take the SAT or ACT. Even those who prefer to attend more competitive colleges may not have to take these exams, as there are increasing numbers of post-secondary institutions that do not require SAT or ACT scores at all. Fairtest (www.fairtest.org) provides a list of more than 700 colleges and universities that do not require SAT or ACT scores for admission.
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