Students with disabilities will soon have an easier time requesting test accommodations from the College Board.
Starting on Jan. 1, most students who use testing accommodations at their schools through an individualized education program or a 504 plan will have those same accommodations automatically approved for taking a range of College Board tests, including the SAT, the Preliminary SAT, SAT Subject Tests, and Advanced Placement exams.
The College Board announced the changes鈥攁nd that it would begin to provide additional testing supports to some English-language learners who are taking the SAT鈥攅arlier this month, following criticism for its testing practices regarding students with disabilities.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Justice鈥檚 civil rights division began to look into the College Board鈥檚 and ACT Inc.'s practices after hearing persistent complaints that they reject many requests for accommodations that are routinely provided by schools, such as extra time or frequent breaks. Students who are used to having testing accommodations at school typically have to take the exams without them and risk a compromised performance, or, in some states, they can take the tests with their usual accommodations but not receive a certified 鈥渃ollege-reportable鈥� score.
This has posed challenges for students with disabilities, particularly those in the states that require high school students to take either the SAT or the ACT. Beginning in January, school testing accommodation coordinators will have to answer two questions affirmatively to have most students鈥� requests be approved: 鈥淚s the requested accommodation(s) in the student鈥檚 plan?鈥� and 鈥淗as the student used the accommodation(s) for school testing?鈥� This change is expected to reduce the approval time for a vast majority of accommodation requests, the College Board said.
鈥楾heir Best Work鈥�
The accommodations that will be automatically approved under this new policy include extended time, extra or extended breaks, the use of a computer to type essays or short-answer responses, the use of a four-function calculator, and the use of a reader or a scribe, said Zachary Goldberg, a spokesman for the College Board.
If a student requests the use of assistive technology, such as a screen reader, the College Board 鈥渕ay follow up to determine what the technology is, that it functions appropriately with our assistive technology test form, and that it doesn鈥檛 violate test construct,鈥� Goldberg said in an email.
He added that there will be rare instances where a student might not receive a requested accommodation after review鈥攆or example, when theaccommodation would compromise test construct or validity. A student requesting to see the test in advance would fall under that category.
鈥淗owever, our primary objective is to ensure that students receive the accommodations they need to show their best work on our assessments,鈥� Goldberg said.
Lingering Concerns
When Robbi Cooper, a parent in Austin, Texas, who is involved in the state chapter of the parent-led grassroots group Decoding Dyslexia, heard the news, she was 鈥渃autiously grateful.鈥� She has been advocating for a fairer process for testing accommodations for months now.
Her son, Ben, who has dyslexia, is in 10th grade and uses a screenreader daily in his public school. His initial request to the College Board to use a screen reader on the PSAT and AP exams was denied.
Frustrated with what she felt was a systemic problem that puts students with disabilities at a disadvantage, Cooper filed a complaint with the Justice Department鈥檚 civil rights division. She also started a petition calling for the College Board to allow screen readers on tests for students with dyslexia.
Cooper also appealed the College Board鈥檚 decision, and her son was ultimately allowed to use a screen reader on his PSAT鈥攂ut she said the process was expensive and time-consuming. The College Board鈥檚 new policy, she said, should help students who don鈥檛 have the resources to go through that process. 鈥淭his changes the dynamic 180 [degrees] for kids with disabilities, for families, and for schools,鈥� Cooper said. But she鈥檚 still waiting to see exactly how the College Board will judge assistive technology accommodations鈥攎any of which, she said, are standard in schools and needed.
鈥淯ntil I see those clearly written down, I鈥檓 not ready to celebrate quite yet,鈥� she said.
Supports for English-Learners
Also starting Jan. 1, English-learners who take a state-funded SAT during the school day will receive test instructions in their native language, and will be able to use an approved word-to-word bilingual glossary.
Spanish, Arabic, Mandarin, and other widely used languages willbe among the first to be offered, the College Board鈥檚 Goldberg said.
In the fall, ELL students taking a state-funded SAT during the school day can also receive extended time on the exam (up to time-and-a-half) and will be able to take the test in a room with fewer distractions.
Only a handful of states fund the SAT during the school day: Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, plus the District of Columbia. The College Board expects to expand its ELL-testing supports to students taking the SAT in all states soon, Goldberg said.
This change comes just a few weeks after ACT Inc. announced it would start providing the same accommodations for English-learners in the fall of 2017.
