Too little is being done to ensure that students with disabilities receive appropriate accommodations on the SAT, ACT and other standardized tests, according to a new government report.
Despite requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act that students with disabilities receive accommodations like extra time or altered test formats, the report from the Government Accountability Office found that those with disabilities often face significant barriers.
Students complained that testing companies asked for too much documentation to prove their special needs and many were frustrated because they were denied supports that they were used to receiving at school.
For their part, testing companies told GAO investigators that they struggle to ensure that tests remain fair for all students while providing appropriate accommodations for those with legitimate needs.
About 2 percent of test takers received accommodations based on diagnoses ranging from autism to learning disabilities, GAO found. Meanwhile, a much larger proportion of Americans — about 12 percent — are estimated to have disabilities.
Currently, the U.S. Department of Justice — which is responsible for enforcing ADA compliance in testing situations — considers complaints on an individual basis, an approach that the government report found to be inadequate.
“Without a systematic approach to reviewing complaints that it receives, Justice cannot assure that all complaints are consistently considered and that it is effectively targeting its limited resources to the highest priority enforcement activities,” the report indicated.
The GAO report, which was commissioned by U.S. Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., and U.S. Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., was released publicly in late December. Now, the lawmakers are calling on Attorney General Eric Holder to take action.
“The current system of applying for and obtaining testing accommodations — and seemingly haphazard enforcement — are barriers to students with disabilities,” wrote Miller and Stark in a letter to Holder. “These barriers cause unnecessary delays to their careers and impose additional financial burdens on students who have already struggled and overcome challenges to reach this point.”
Another problem I’ve discovered when my son was attending an Independent Charter High School in LAUSD: His sophomore year flyers were put up all over the campus advertising testing dates to qualify for Advanced Placement (AP) courses and clearly stated (against the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act laws) that the tests would be timed. There was no mention that a student with disabilities would be allowed, as per their Individual Education Plan (IEP) any accommodations for extended time if needed. I brought it to the attention of the principal and district personnel, but the flyer was not changed. The school did not WANT students with disabilities to participate in those classes out of ignorant and misplaced fears that it would “slow” the other students down.
As for those SAT,ACT and other tests – all students should boycott them. It’s a money-making scheme by test-taking industries and many universities aren’t even considering them as seriously as in the past. Students of wealth and means have access to expensive tutoring prep and books while a good student of poverty does not have that same ability. It’s just an indicator of that one day and we should look at other ways to have students demonstrate ability by looking at the history of their K-12 experience instead.
Many families don’t realize they need to specify in the IEP what accommodations are needed for each test or they cannot be used. Just because classroom modifications/accommodations are included in the written document doesn’t necessarily mean that they can be used in a test situation. I cannot insert links, but if you go to the California Department of Education and type in “test matrix cde” in the search, it will take you to a list where you can look for “2012 Testing Variations, Accommodations, and Modifications Matrix” which shows what types of accommodations/’modifications are allowed for the different types of tests offered.
I’m finding a lack of support in colleges as well for students who are high-functioning, academically brilliant, but in need of extra support socially due to the lack of maturity (my son’s social/emotional leve; tests out at middle school – would you send a 12 year old to college on his own?).
The extra involvement parents have with IDEA is not available under ADA and it’s difficult to expect a student with disabilities to be social on a campus or ask for peer support in a meaningful way (lunch buddy) when he does not know to initiate friendships. Social skills opportunities need to be available as well as professors who understand the need for a little extra consideration. If not for advanced meetings at the Student Disability Services Center to determine “disability-friendly” professors before signing up for classes – I don’t know if my son would do as well.
There’s a bigger issue than the testing. If/when these students get to a college or university, is that institution willing to do what’s needed to help the student thrive? There will only be more of these kids going to college. Better diagnosis, better and earlier intervention has allowed these students to excel where in the past they would’ve been institutionalized or failed without supports. The education system needs to adapt. The students do enough and deal with plenty of stress just to “fit in”. Society should be more accepting, understanding and able to provide a welcoming environment with supports in college, too.