Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional Seething at situation re: College Board + LEA

Yes, exactly.

The problem is that a system in which "testing with no accommodations" is a Gaussian distribution and in which "testing with accommodations" is BI-modal...

there is a problem with what a particular result means-- because those two cohorts are not mirror images of one another, and to compare scores across that divide, they must be.

That is to say that I understand completely why College Board has made it hard-hard-hard to get accommodations (extra time), but is ignoring the fact that they didn't NEED to do this for people who aren't seeking that particular accommodation. The other thing is that they are avoiding the ONE thing that could put a stop to this nonsense for real... and that is asking about household incomes.

{sigh} It'll never happen, of course, but the documentation ought to be VERY significant for that highest SES group in particular... since they are the only group which has been repeatedly implicated in fraudulent practices with respect to College Board's tests. I realize that sounds harsh, and frankly, my household might well be caught in such a net, but I am so fine with that if it means that it's fairer and easier for families making half what we do to simply get their kids the accommodations that they NEED in order to take the SAT on a level playing field. {SIGH}

The College Board does not look at grades.

Here is the information I had to give the College Board when asking for accommodations for my homeschooled son:

--Identifying information
--The name of diagnosed disability
--The requested accommodations (in his case, double time for reading, written language expression, and math calculations; a word processor for essays; small group testing; and writing answers in the test booklet instead of filling in a bubble sheet)
--The documentation from the person who diagnosed the disability

None of this contained anything about his grades or what sort of student he is.

He got all of the accommodations that we requested except for the double time. They gave him time and a half instead.

Right-- because the committee that makes decisions about accommodations could see that everything on your wish list matched everything on their "menu" for the diagnosis, which they have experience with.

If you're in a situation where you have multiple disabilities, or if your disability is unusually severe, then you have trouble. Often a lot of trouble.

Also-- physical disabilities, they simply do NOT understand. Nor will they admit that they don't. I was told not to worry... that committee is "an expert on ALL disabilities."

(Yes, seriously.)

Back to the original post, though-- Kai and I both face the problem of finding a local educational agency that will seat our kids to test with their accommodations.

THAT, College Board has said they won't help us with. It's up to us to convince/persuade/grovel/plead to make it so.

Complete shot in the dark, but I wonder if you contact a local disability rights group and ask if they have a school they can recommend? Give them a two second rundown on your situation and tell them you're looking for a sympathetic school/principal/counselor that can assist you. Maybe one will be immediately obvious to them, or they'll spring to action and help find a situation that works for her.

I think it's completely discriminatory that it's up to YOU to figure out who will agree to let her test there. Not everyone fits in the box, it's that simple. You would think there would be a procedure for the "what if"s. I'm sorry, I know how emotionally and physically exhausting a fight like this can be.

When requesting extended time you do need to provide recent achievement testing like the WJ or WIAT showing a significant discrepancy btwn untimed and fluency (timed) sections as well as IQ scores showing a processing speed difference from other subtests and a diagnosis that explains the cause of the discrepancy. The achievement and IQ scores will probably make it pretty clear that the kid is gifted.

Absolutely. But being gifted doesn't always equate with stellar grades, especially for a 2E kid.

I want to thank all of you for discussing and posting about this. I don't know what we will be needing when our time comes as we still have much to sort out but this discussion has been truly enlightening to read. I really appreciate the heads up about what may be ahead. I will be hoping and praying that somehow the efforts of those of you ahead of us break through the barricades at College Board and bring about the change that is clearly needed. No child, no family should be put through that wringer to get safe and appropriate testing for college. Thanks for sharing your struggles so openly.

Absolutely. I'm a big believer in paying it forward. I've learned from others over the years, so I try to share as much as I can.

Good news-- Ms. Cranky Stressbunny has found us a proctor for DD-- so she gets to take the SAT!! YAY!!


Of course, she could still mess with us by tweaking the time to something outrageous... but I think it will be okay. WHEW!!