SAT and ACT Accommodations

Independent Educational

Consultants Association

INDEPENDENT EDUCATIONAL CONSULTANTS ASSOCIATION

Many students with disabilities

will signiﬁcantly beneﬁt from

securing testing accommodations

on the SAT or ACT. If you have a

son or daughter with a diagnosed

disability and you are seeking to

secure a testing accommodation,

it is important that you understand

the steps and timelines involved

in this process.

SAT and ACT

Accommodations

Deﬁnition of Disability

Appealing Decisions

Accommodations

Extended Timing

Practicing

Requests

Scores

Documentation

Understanding the Changing

Deﬁnitions of Disability

The accommodations landscape has changed signiﬁcantly in

the past decade. In 2008, Congress updated the Americans with

Disabilities Act (ADA) to broaden both the deﬁnition of disability and

the scope of protections afforded those with disabilities. Then, in

2011, the Department of Justice ruled in a case involving LSAT

accommodations that students have a legal right to speciﬁc

accommodations on standardized tests.

These changes have opened the door to accommodations for many

students who need them, particularly on the ACT. In 2013, ACT, Inc.

approved nearly 90% of its applications for accommodation, granting

special accommodations to almost 5% of students who took the test.

Most (72,202 students, or 4% of all ACT test takers) received extended

time. By contrast, The College Board granted accommodations to only

2.3% of SAT takers in 2013. That’s a rate more than ﬁfty percent below

that of the ACT!

Choosing the Appropriate Accommodation

For students who need them, various types of accommodations are

available for either the SAT or the ACT: a quiet testing room, a reader

or a scribe, enlarged print test booklets and/or answer keys, the use of

a computer, additional or extended breaks, and multiple-day testing

on the ACT. Different clinical diagnoses may warrant the same

testing accommodation. For example, students with ADHD, ﬁne

motor deﬁcits, anxiety disorders or OCD all may receive an extended

time accommodation.

If you are considering applying

for a testing accommodation

for your child, be as speciﬁc as

possible in your request regarding

the type of accommodation that will

be most beneﬁcial. For example, if

your child needs additional break

time, you must be speciﬁc in your

request whether the optimal

accommodation would entail

longer than standard breaks or

supplemental breaks between every

section of the test. At times you may

request one accommodation but

be offered something different,

particularly on the SAT. You have the

right to appeal these decisions.

Extended Timing

One of the most common testing accommodations is 50% extended

time, requested frequently for students suffering from ADHD. The

100% extended time accommodation is generally reserved for students

with disabilities more severe than attentional deﬁcits, such as dyslexia

or severe processing deﬁcits. Both The College Board and ACT Inc.,

grant extended time accommodations, but the manner in which they

do so impacts the efﬁcacy of the accommodation.

On the SAT extended time beneﬁts some, but not all students.

While the ACT allows extended time students to self-pace through the

test, the SAT forces students to remain in each discrete section until

the time is exhausted. For students with attention deﬁcits, waiting

through long intervals before advancing to the next section can impair

performance. Some students simply run out of steam by the conclusion

of the 6.5-hour testing administration. In some cases, a better

accommodation for ADHD students on the SAT is longer or additional

breaks between sections.

In contrast, almost all students who receive extended time on the

ACT beneﬁt from the accommodation. The ACT privileges processing

speed to a greater extent than does the SAT. Many students without

learning differences ﬁnd that the test is difﬁcult, if not impossible, to

ﬁnish with standard timing. Moreover, when students are granted a

50% extended time accommodation on the ACT, they are allowed to

self-pace through the test and ﬁnish sections on their own schedule.

This alone makes the ACT accommodation more valuable than the

SAT accommodation for most students.

Receiving 100% extended time on the ACT is akin to winning the

testing lottery, giving students the optimal scenario to attain their

peak performance. In this format students take a single test section

per school day, frequently in a quiet room, before returning to their

regular classes. Students will have to sustain focus for a maximum of

two hours for the math administration, followed by 90 minutes for

English, and just 70 minutes each for the science and reading sections.

By minimizing the time for sustained focus, this format solves for the

majority of attentional issues. In this format, students also have the

tremendous beneﬁt of being able to prepare the night before each

test section.

How do Accommodations Impact Scores?

Analyzing our company’s dataset of 10,000+ students, it is clear

that extended time is a boon for the majority of test-takers. Our

SAT students who have received extended timing accommodations

commence the testing process with scores that are 106 SAT points

lower than those of their unaccommodated peers; however, they

ultimately attain score increases that are 56 points greater than those

attained by others. Likewise our ACT students with extended time

start 3.2 ACT points behind but attain increases that are 1.6 points

greater than their standard-timed peers. This is evidence that

accommodations are in fact helping to level the playing ﬁeld for

our students with learning differences.

Diagnostic Testing and Documentation

To qualify for accommodations on the SAT or ACT, a student

must present evidence of a professionally diagnosed disability

and document how the student’s limitation impacts both daily

functioning and the ability to take standardized tests. The testing

entities will ﬁrst look to the high school to determine whether a

formal accommodation plan is in place–such as an IEP, 504 Plan,

Response To Intervention (RTI) plan, or other school-generated formal

plan–and determine how long the plan has been in place. If a testing

plan is on ﬁle at the school and there is evidence that the student has

been using the accommodations over a signiﬁcant period of time,

accommodations typically follow without great difﬁculty.

In cases where there is no formal plan for accommodations,

an inadequate history of use of the accommodation, or a recent

diagnosis, the student will be asked to provide full documentation

of the student’s disability. The necessary documentation will vary

based on the type of disability and accommodation requested,

but may range from physician’s reports to teacher’s reports to

neuropsychological or psychoeducational evaluations. The SAT and

ACT websites clearly delineate the required documentation for

each type of accommodation requested.

As parents, you can facilitate the process by maintaining organized

records of your child’s school, testing, and special education needs.

Keep all documentation that may one day be used to make your case.

Save any letters or reports from teachers who have given your child

formal or informal accommodations and observed their positive

impact; these can be particularly powerful in making the case

for accommodations.

When formal psychological testing is mandated, the ACT, Inc.

requires a professional report that is no more than

three years old, while the College Board will

accept a report that is ﬁve years old. LD specialists advocate that

students with disabilities update their testing at 16, using adult-scaled

instruments such as the WAIS. Using adult testing forms within three

years of applying to college will ensure that the updated testing will be

valid both for the college assessments and for college disability ofﬁces.

Private school students will typically pursue private evaluations

from licensed psychologists. Public school students may be able to

secure the appropriate testing though their school system, but in

some cases, they will need to supplement school testing with outside

private evaluations. This will depend upon the resources and policy

of the school system. If a student is close to graduation and has never

requested or received any prior accommodation in the classroom,

the school may deny the request, particularly if the student has

performed well academically.

Making the Request

In most cases the ofﬁcial request for accommodations will come

from your school’s disability coordinator; you, your child’s teachers

and evaluating psychologists may be asked to provide supporting

documentation. The College Board has moved to an online application

process in which your school’s disability coordinator manages the

ofﬁcial request. The ACT, Inc. continues to use a paper-based

application process and requires that you collaborate with your

school to complete the requisite paperwork.

Timing the Request

Students seeking accommodations for the ACT during the fall or

winter of junior year should ideally apply for accommodations in

June preceding junior year, once the coming year’s forms are posted

online. Students will be simultaneously registering for a speciﬁc

test date and applying for accommodations for that test. Students

planning to wait for the spring ACTs can register and apply for

accommodations in September.

The ACT typically processes requests in four weeks. Once the

accommodation is granted, your child will receive a letter containing

a reference number from the ACT which will allow him or her to

need to locate an alternative testing site that offers the speciﬁc

accommodation your child has been granted, as all sites do not offer

all possible accommodations.

If you are seeking accommodations for your child’s junior PSAT or

fall SATs, you should submit the request in the spring of sophomore

year. The College Board will respond seven weeks from the last piece

of documentation submitted. The clock resets if a single document is

submitted late. If an accommodation is granted, your child will receive

a Services for Students with Disability (SSD) number from the College

Board, good for accommodations on all College Board tests, including

the PSAT, SAT, and AP exams.

If you are able to secure accommodations for the sophomore

PLAN or PSAT, you will have a greatly expedited process of securing

accommodations for the SAT or ACT.

Appealing a Decision

Frequently your initial request for accommodation will be answered

with a letter requesting additional documentation on the grounds that

submitted ﬁles provide insufﬁcient evidence for the accommodation.

The testing organization will generally explain what new information

is required. This may consist of a more detailed letter from your

school’s disability coordinator explaining why the request is reasonable,

or the reviewers may request additional testing. At other times the

reviewers may ﬁnd conﬂicts or inconsistent ﬁndings from the

psychological testing. In these cases, your child’s evaluating

psychologist will need to address those issues and write a letter

emphasizing how the disability affects your child and why the

accommodation is necessary. A well-crafted response from the

psychologist will often make the difference in whether the appeal

is successful.

The odds of a preliminary rejection are higher if your child’s

disability was diagnosed later in his or her academic career. If your

child has a late-diagnosed disability, you may need to provide

additional supporting evidence to justify why the disability wasn’t

picked up earlier or how your child was able perform effectively

in school in light of this disability.

The primary challenge with the appeals process is working within

the time constraints of junior year. If you need to schedule an

additional round of testing with a psychologist, await the results and

then resubmit the request, precious time will have elapsed. I have seen

parents go through several rounds of appeals, and sometimes the clock

simply runs out. Begin the process early to build in time for an appeal.

Should your child seek SAT

or ACT accommodations?

If you want to determine whether to apply for a testing

accommodation for your child on the SAT or ACT or both tests,

there are two principal approaches you can take. You could

apply for accommodations from both the College Board and ACT

Inc., and then evaluate the differences in granted accommodations to

determine which test will best serve your child. Alternately, you could

use practice tests to gauge the impact of the accommodation on your

child in advance of going through the application process. Your

child could take a timed practice SAT or ACT test with the

desired accommodation to determine the degree to which the

accommodation positively affects the scores. By comparing the

results from an extended time practice ACT and SAT, you can

quickly make an evaluation regarding the better assessment for

your child.

Preparing for the Ofﬁcial Tests

Once granted an accommodation, your child should approach

all preparatory activities in light of that accommodation. If your

daughter will receive 50% or 100% extended time on the assessments,

she should carry out all homework and practice tests replicating the

testing conditions that she will experience on the ofﬁcial test.

Concluding Thoughts

If you are contemplating securing accommodations for your child,

it is important that you commence the process as soon as possible.

Advocate for necessary testing and be sure to save all educational

records going back through the years. This process may be time and

resource intensive, but I’ve seen ﬁrsthand the profound impact of a

student receiving the proper accommodations. It can be life-changing,

and it’s well-worth the investment.

Written by Jed Applerouth, Applerouth Tutoring Services, LLC,

for the Independent Educational Consultants Association

An IECA member educational

consultant can help ﬁnd the college

that will meet your child’s unique

learning proﬁle. IECA members have

extensive knowledge of colleges

and their available support services.

They visit and evaluate hundreds

of options in order to provide

appropriate recommendations.

To learn more and to ﬁnd an IECA

member near you, contact the

IECA national ofﬁce at 703-591-4850

or go to www.IECAonline.com

and click on ‘Find an Independent

Educational Consultant’

3251 Old Lee Highway • Suite 510

Fairfax, Virginia 22030

703-591-4850

www.IECAonline.com

info@IECAonline.com

Independent Educational

Consultants Association