Re: College Boards

[Guest guest]

How do you go about doing this Mark?

Lori

College Boards

 

My son just received his approval letter for accommodations from the College

Board. Too late for his PSAT so we will have to see what his scores are without

accommodation, but at least we know he will have them when it comes time for

SAT's and ACT's!

Mark

[Guest guest]

Mark,

Excellent news! I work in a high school and support the guidance counselor for

juniors and seniors. The PSAT is really a good practice, so if he does well

without the accommodations then with them his scores will probably be higher.

So many parents don't realize what their rights are for their children.

Accommodations for ACT still requires the input of the school guidance counselor

in addition to supporting documents.

For SAT you/your student can make requests directly through

www.Collegeboard.com, but you must have supporting documentation for the

physical accomodations you are requesting (or for the learning disability if

appropriate.) These accommodations are not granted easily from what I've heard.

[Guest guest]

and Lori,

I was very surprised that it came back as it did. I fully expected it to be

denied, and was very pleasantly surprised that it came back approved. He gets 1

1/2 times the allowed time on each of the three sections, and it included the

PSAT, SAT, and ACT.

We learned about the accommodations at our annual IEP meeting. You need a letter

from a doctor, and we were not going to Dr Shy until August and this was May, so

we are late in doing it. His Case Worker and Guidance Counselor did seem to be

pushing us, and said to get that letter to us as soon as you get it. I gave it

to the guidance Counselor at Back-To-School night, and that is about when we

were signing up for the PSAT. You really need to start this months in advance if

you want the accommodations any time soon. Zack could have taken the PSAT last

year as a sophomore, but we were not thinking - denial? First child?

We probably signed something at the IEP review meeting, then gave them Dr. Shy's

letter in Sept, and the Guidance Dept did everything else. So it took from

mid-Sept until we received this letter, which was dated November 11th.

Lori, again, we probably had it easier to get the accommodations because we have

an IEP vs the 503 (or whatever it is, I am blank at the moment...).

Mark

>

> Mark,

>

> Excellent news! I work in a high school and support the guidance counselor

for juniors and seniors. The PSAT is really a good practice, so if he does well

without the accommodations then with them his scores will probably be higher.

>

> So many parents don't realize what their rights are for their children.

>

> Accommodations for ACT still requires the input of the school guidance

counselor in addition to supporting documents.

>

> For SAT you/your student can make requests directly through

www.Collegeboard.com, but you must have supporting documentation for the

physical accomodations you are requesting (or for the learning disability if

appropriate.) These accommodations are not granted easily from what I've heard.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Just so you are clear, once you are approved for accommodations for the PSAT,

you automatically receive those accommodations for the SAT, because the same

corporation owns both tests. If your needed accommodations changes, then you

will have to get those approved.

(I think you need to be aware that the PSAT is REAL, and has money attached to

it through National Merit. Colleges seriously look at the PSAT score. So, it

might be worth rescheduling, depending on your child's circumstances. It is

definitely NOT simply a 'practice' test.)

However, you will still need to go through the entire process of requesting

accommodations, and supplying documentation, for the ACT test, because it is

owned by a different corporation.

Also, if you do not want to go through your school, you don't have to. Just read

the instructions carefully, and make sure your doctor knows exactly what to

write in his letter, etc., and then submit it directly to The College Board

and/or ACT, bypassing the school entirely. Going through the school is a bit

less of a headache, however.

The reason why accommodations are not easily granted, is because The College

Board/ACT do not fully understand the law, and want to impose their list of

accommodations on test takers, rather than allowing the person with a

disability to define fully what accommodations are needed by them. But that's

what happens in this Alice-In-Wonderland world where you have

psychologists/social workers making these decisions rather than legal staff.

>

> Mark,

>

> Excellent news! I work in a high school and support the guidance counselor

for juniors and seniors. The PSAT is really a good practice, so if he does well

without the accommodations then with them his scores will probably be higher.

>

> So many parents don't realize what their rights are for their children.

>

> Accommodations for ACT still requires the input of the school guidance

counselor in addition to supporting documents.

>

> For SAT you/your student can make requests directly through

www.Collegeboard.com, but you must have supporting documentation for the

physical accomodations you are requesting (or for the learning disability if

appropriate.) These accommodations are not granted easily from what I've heard.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Augold,

Wow - I never meant to upset you. The fact is absolutely, that PSAT is a real

test and can result in National Merit money if students score really, really,

really well. The majority of students do not, and therefore it is viewed as a

great practice resource for SAT. Also, I never said or implied that

accommodations wouldn't roll over from PSAT to SAT, what I said was ACT is a

different beast and requires it's own eligibility process.

This is directly from college board:

" In order to use accommodations on College Board tests, accommodations must be

approved by the College Board's Services for Students with Disabilities. Use of

accommodations without prior approval will result in the cancellation of test

scores.

With limited exceptions, once approved for accommodations, students remain

approved and do not have to apply again when they apply for another College

Board test. This includes the SAT, AP and PSAT/NMSQT programs.

Note that the use of accommodations in school, or inclusion on an Individual

Education Program (IEP) or 504 Plan, does not qualify a student for

accommodations on College Board tests.

For more information regarding eligibility for accommodations on College Board

tests, see Eligibility and Review. "

I clearly stated that students can apply for accommodations on their own,

however, it is very helpful for parents to utilize the school to make sure all

the i's are dotted and t's are crossed...counselors do this for a living.

College Board has been known to kick back applications for accommodations for

very minute things. A second pair of eyes never hurts.

I've noticed a trend here of people kind of skimming through an email and

responding without having completely read the information...then we respond and

upset people....wow...I thought we were here to support and assist one another?

I feel insulting psychologists/social workers is out of line on this forum.

Many good deeds are done by both fields and guidance counselors. There is no

Alice in Wonderland World in their eyes...they see the harsh reality of what

people deal with every single day...A little kindness goes a long way.

> >

> > Mark,

> >

> > Excellent news! I work in a high school and support the guidance counselor

for juniors and seniors. The PSAT is really a good practice, so if he does well

without the accommodations then with them his scores will probably be higher.

> >

> > So many parents don't realize what their rights are for their children.

> >

> > Accommodations for ACT still requires the input of the school guidance

counselor in addition to supporting documents.

> >

> > For SAT you/your student can make requests directly through

www.Collegeboard.com, but you must have supporting documentation for the

physical accomodations you are requesting (or for the learning disability if

appropriate.) These accommodations are not granted easily from what I've heard.

> >

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

,

You seem to be fighting with yourself, as I was not upset with you, or anyone

else here. I was just offering my perspective/information.

As for my professional/personal experiences with psychologists/social workers

vis a vis legal disability issues, I will admit I am decidedly not impressed.

And yes, I read your entire posting here. ;-) Perhaps you should consider

carefully returning the favor. ;-)

> > >

> > > Mark,

> > >

> > > Excellent news! I work in a high school and support the guidance

counselor for juniors and seniors. The PSAT is really a good practice, so if he

does well without the accommodations then with them his scores will probably be

higher.

> > >

> > > So many parents don't realize what their rights are for their children.

> > >

> > > Accommodations for ACT still requires the input of the school guidance

counselor in addition to supporting documents.

> > >

> > > For SAT you/your student can make requests directly through

www.Collegeboard.com, but you must have supporting documentation for the

physical accomodations you are requesting (or for the learning disability if

appropriate.) These accommodations are not granted easily from what I've heard.

> > >

> > >

> > >

> >

>