This summer I began the paperwork to get Ryan officially registered for accommodations for his College Board tests. I had heard scary things about the College Board being very tough on students and forcing their parents/advocates to jump thru flaming hoops to receive the necessary help. I dislike both flames AND jumping, so I sent off my chunk of paperwork fully expecting to have it returned and rejected. I was thrilled when the letter read he could have double time on all tests for his high school career. PSAT, SAT, ACT and any AP tests he might take. Almost immediately I realized I probably didn't ask for enough since it came through that easily....but right now it is ok.
Overall, there is a misconception about accommodations for kids who need them. There are educators and parents who feel that they give an unfair advantage to those receiving them. In fact, there is no advantage to giving extra time to regular learners, Students who have been diagnosed with a reading disorder increase their scores substantially (e.g., 13th percentile to 76th percentile) with extra time, typical readers when given extra time on exams barely increase their scores (82nd percentile to 83rd percentile).* It will be interesting to see how Ryan does. He took a practice ACT last March and scored a 15 - not one part was complete, he ran out of time on ALL the parts.
School is no different. Many teachers simply do not understand how to make the necessary accommodations for their students. Most are fairly simple. Let students listen to recorded textbooks and novels. Allow the child with dysgraphia to type his writing assignment instead of writing it by hand - even the first draft. A student with processing issues can do a timed math test - but instead of grading it, have them draw a double line where they were when time was up and encourage them to get farther the next time. Give the child with auditory processing issues ( or the kid who can't.stop.talking. to save his life) his own phonics phone for reading and spelling. Parents and advocates, make a list of what your child needs and be prepared to negotiate hard to get them! LDOnline is a great resource for parents to educate themselves about this topic.
Here is my favorite guy, Rick Lavoie, talking about FAIRNESS and LD modifications.
* M. K. Runyan, The Effects of Extratime. In S. Shaywitz & B. Shaywitz, eds., Attention Deficit Disorder Comes of Age: Toward the 21st Century; Austin, Texas: Pro-Ed, 1992.
Overall, there is a misconception about accommodations for kids who need them. There are educators and parents who feel that they give an unfair advantage to those receiving them. In fact, there is no advantage to giving extra time to regular learners, Students who have been diagnosed with a reading disorder increase their scores substantially (e.g., 13th percentile to 76th percentile) with extra time, typical readers when given extra time on exams barely increase their scores (82nd percentile to 83rd percentile).* It will be interesting to see how Ryan does. He took a practice ACT last March and scored a 15 - not one part was complete, he ran out of time on ALL the parts.
School is no different. Many teachers simply do not understand how to make the necessary accommodations for their students. Most are fairly simple. Let students listen to recorded textbooks and novels. Allow the child with dysgraphia to type his writing assignment instead of writing it by hand - even the first draft. A student with processing issues can do a timed math test - but instead of grading it, have them draw a double line where they were when time was up and encourage them to get farther the next time. Give the child with auditory processing issues ( or the kid who can't.stop.talking. to save his life) his own phonics phone for reading and spelling. Parents and advocates, make a list of what your child needs and be prepared to negotiate hard to get them! LDOnline is a great resource for parents to educate themselves about this topic.
Here is my favorite guy, Rick Lavoie, talking about FAIRNESS and LD modifications.
* M. K. Runyan, The Effects of Extratime. In S. Shaywitz & B. Shaywitz, eds., Attention Deficit Disorder Comes of Age: Toward the 21st Century; Austin, Texas: Pro-Ed, 1992.
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