SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS

This page gives some basic information about requesting extra time and other accommodations on the ACT or SAT.  Each testing agency has firm guidelines that need to be followed.  Here they are in a nutshell:

• First of all, test accommodations are given only to students with significant physical or learning impairments.  Mild to medium ADD/ADHD rarely qualifies a student for accommodations. Students with physical impairments may request appropriate accommodations, while students with learning impairments usually request extra time.
• In order to determine eligibility based on learning impairment, your son/daughter would need to have formal evaluations done by a psychiatrist or psychologist that show two things: intellectual abilities, and current level of achievement.  If there is a significant difference between the student's ability and level of learning, that might help convince the test agency that extra time is warranted.
• Second, the evaluations must show also that there is some kind of condition (like a reading disorder, significant ADD, or another learning disability) that is causing the gap between your child's ability and his/her achievement.
• Once those evaluations are done, they are sent to the test agency along with a description of the testing accommodations he/she may have received here at school.  ACT/SAT uses all this info to decide whether to give extra time.  It takes 4 to 5 weeks after they receive the paperwork for a decision to be made.

Eric Neiswender (429-6133) helps parents and students gather the necessary documents and supply them to ACT or SAT.

ACT & SAT prefer the following diagnostic tests, though others are accepted:

Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (I or II)
The Woodcock-Johnson (R or III)
Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement
Peabody Individual Achievement Test.
 

ACT information is at http://www.act.org/aap/disab/index.html  (319) 337-1851
SAT information is at http://www.collegeboard.com/ssd/student/index.html

Please call if you have questions.
Eric Neiswender
Counselor
429-6133