Managing Accommodations Appeals with ACT and College Board

 BARBARA SAMS  Director of College Counseling  Special Testing Coordinator  Saint Louis Priory School  RUSSELL HYKEN, Ph.D.  Licensed Personal Counselor  School Clinical Consultant, Saint Louis Priory School

 Presentation particularly aimed at schools/students who do not have or use an IEP  At Saint Louis Priory School  Approximately 15 – 20% of our students have a formal diagnosis (ie, have gone to an appropriate professional and completed full battery of tests)  Only accommodations we provide are extended time on exams, and in a limited number of cases, a waiver of Latin III requirement (substitute Classical Cultures Course)  This year for the first time, EVERY one of our ACT applications were declined the first time around and 2 students were denied accommodations by College Board

 Incomplete Application  If you don’t use IEPs, you must issue a letter stating what accommodations your school provides. This should be done at the beginning of each school year.  Insufficient Documentation  Poorly Supported Testing (will discuss momentarily)  Because sometimes they are right—the student’s condition does not warrant accommodations

 Remember the Length of Time it takes to process an appeal (a minimum of six weeks in most cases)  Provide a Cover Letter  Letter should highlight why you believe the student should be approved, that is, you highlight the testing results that led to the diagnosis  Letter should try to provide something new, such as teacher comments, doctor’s letter of support

 “The scores reported in the evaluation are within normal limits. Scores that are in the average range do not establish that a student has a ‘substantial limitation’...as required for a designation of an ADA disability.”  “Our consultants were unable to detect a substantial limitations [sic]...as required by ADA.”

 Average Person Standard of ADA = any score below 88.  Also consider if there is standard deviation of more than 1.5 SDs between appropriate scores. (include percentages).

 What is a good evaluation? - Historical information - Proper test selection (ie, quantitative data) - Written observations (ie, qualitative data) - Tested by an “established” professional

 WISC/WAIS – Processing Speed Index  WAIT/WJ III – Fluency  Other Tests - Rate

 Yearly documentation  DSM Diagnosis AXIS I 314 – ADHD Mathematics Disorder AXIS II None AXIS III Defer AXIS IV V62.89 Educational Problems AXIS V GAF 55 (GAF)  Test every three years