Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional Math competitions and kids who need extended time

My dysgraphic ds routinely relies on his extended time accommodation on standardized math tests at school because of the combination of his slow handwriting + tendency to make dysgraphic mistakes such as switching numbers/signs/copy errors etc. He's now interested in taking part in math competitions such as AMC - does anyone here know if it's possible to get an extended time on a math competition test? I'm assuming it's not possible.

polarbear

ps - ds does have a 504 plan at school, a professional diagnosis, and an extended history of using extended time

Not at all sure but I'd love to hear the answer. I don't see anything obvious on their website, but I assumed you had already checked there. My son just signed up for the AMC10 on the advice of his pre-calc teacher. My DS doesn't usually need extra time for math tests and it isn't written into his 504. I am only encouraging him to try it for the fun of it & because I am a bit curious how he will do.

We are still considering if we should request extra time on the SAT's for my son. I do know one can request extra time on the SAT & ACT tests, the downside that I'd heard is that it is notated on their scores that extra time was taking.

From the 2014
15th/65th Annual
American Mathematics Competitions
AMC 10/12
TEACHERS’ MANUAL
Instructions and Reporting Forms for School Contest Managers
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Wednesday, February 19, 2014:

"Students with Accommodation Plans (e.g. for Visual or Learning Disabilities)
The AMC 10/AMC 12 time limit set by the CAMC for stu- dents who are visually impaired or learning disabled is 120 minutes. A teacher or a school administrator may read the questions to the student and mark the answers as directed by the student. The braille and large print exams are mailed separately and must be ordered no later than three weeks before the test. It is the responsibility of the school and the contest manager to make arrangements consistent with the student’s accommodation plan. Please contact us at amcinfo@
maa.org for more information."

Well, I have never seen anyone take extended time on the AMC 8 or AMC 10/12 but that just may be because we always took it at a university site and not at a middle or high school. If your DS needs extra time, it certainly can't hurt to ask but you might want to do it ASAP as special arrangements may require a separate room. In our experience, the minute the time is up and papers collected, loud conversations erupt.

I don't remember your DS' age, but it is also possible that he may not need extended time if there are a sufficient number of problems that are beyond his current ability. Try one of the old tests on the AOPS site to see how much timing is an issue. For example, I was surprised that last year for DS, time was not an issue on the AMC 10 even though sometimes he could have used more time on the AMC 8.

Please check with College Board directly-- there hasn't been any asterisk to indicate that accommodations were in place... at least not since about 2000.


But this is a great reminder to parents to have a LONG-standing diagnosis and 504 plan going into that phase of academic life, because there are a lot of unscrupulous people who go diagnosis-shopping come SAT-time, just for the bonus of extra time, which raises MOST scores significantly.