The Big Tests: The Special Case Of Special Accommodations

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The organizations that administer the SAT and ACT know that some students require special accommodations to overcome challenges that would otherwise impair their performance. Blind or visually impaired students are the most obvious example, but also included are students with other kinds of physical impairments that make it difficult or impossible to complete the test in the standard way. With appropriate documentation submitted in advance by the student’s school, special arrangements can be made to address the student’s needs.

Physical impairments represent just a small percentage of cases seeking such accommodations, however. Most special accommodation requests are for extra time to compensate for learning disabilities that would otherwise make it difficult to perform up to ability. Here, too, documentation of the learning disability satisfactory to the testing agency must be submitted in advance of the test. Accommodations can range from time and a half (the most common) to untimed testing, depending on the severity of the learning disability. Just as an exam in larger typeface may be provided to a student with visual problems, extra time accommodations for learning disabilities are an attempt to level the playing field for otherwise able students.

Traditionally, the College Board noted the use of special accommodations on the student’s score report. “Score flagging,” as it was called, was dropped in 2002 in response to a federal lawsuit filed by a disabled test taker seeking to have the flag removed from another standardized test. At the same time it dropped flagging, however, the College Board began requiring more detailed evidence of a disability before an accommodation was granted so that only those with well-documented disabilities would receive extra time. For years, concern about possible abuse of the system was growing because requests for extra time were coming disproportionately from high schools in wealthy areas, in some cases with questionable documentation.

If your child has a disability that would require special accommodations on the SAT or ACT, you should contact the school’s guidance counselor as early in the student’s high school career as possible to begin documenting the disability following the new guidelines. Unfortunately, a small percentage of families who tried to manipulate the college admissions process to their advantage have made it more difficult for those who truly need accommodations. Planning ahead is crucial in dealing with the more stringent documentation requirements now in effect.