ACT Exam to Use IEP/504 Accommodations

 Last week, the ACT Exam announced a change to how they would offer accommodations to students with learning, attention, and other disabilities. They now align with the College Board, which administers the SAT, AP, and other exams, and which implemented changes at the beginning of 2017. The College Board uses a "two question" inquiry for students seeking disability accommodations: 1) does the student's IEP or 504 Plan contain the accommodation they are seeking and 2) has the student used the requested accommodation for school exams?

 As the ACT noted in a press release, "Beginning with the 2021-22 testing year, students who already receive accommodations at their school under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act will automatically be eligible to receive the allowable testing accommodations when they register for the ACT with accommodations."

This means that students no longer need to go through a separate process of providing evidence of their need for accommodations, such as extended time, to the ACT. If a student's school has approved accommodations as part of an IEP or 504 Plan, the ACT will simply require that for "examinees who have a valid, current Individualized Education Program (IEP) or Section 504 Plan (504 Plan) a copy of the IEP or 504 Plan will be sufficient to demonstrate eligibility and need for the same allowable accommodations on the ACT test." 

Note that the ACT still will exercise some oversight into which accommodations they will allow; they discuss certain Guiding Principles, which require that any accommodation should be reasonable and not fundamentally alter what the test is designed to measure. 

This is a welcome change, but it raises some questions. Among these are:

• What about students who don't have an IEP or 504 Plan?

The ACT still will consider the needs of such students for accommodations. The "shortcut" they have announced doesn't change that and they will continue to apply the "reasonable accommodation" standard of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that they have always used. 

• What about students who  have "informal" accommodations?

If students are enrolled in a public school, we urge them to formalize their accommodations via a 504 Plan or even an IEP, if appropriate. For most private schools, a 504 Plan is not an option, but private schools should consider creating a more formalized plan memorializing accommodations they provide. 

Important SAT and ACT Changes on Accommodations

The College Board has announced important changes to they way they determine testing accommodations for students with disabilities, effective January 1, 2017.

The new policy will apply to students who have IEPs or 504 Plans and to private school students with a formal, school-based plan. It requires school testing accommodation coordinators to ask only two questions when submitting most requests for student accommodations:

• Is the requested accommodation(s) in the student’s plan? and
• Has the student used the accommodation(s) for school testing?

If the answer is yes to both questions, eligible students can be approved to receive most accommodations on College Board exams. These exams include the SAT, PSAT, NMSQT, SAT subject tests and AP exams.

The College Board president, David Coleman, noted in an announcement of this change that, “The school staff knows their students best, and we want to cut down on the time and paperwork needed to submit a testing accommodations request.” That may be true, but steps by the U.S. Department of Justice to make sure the testing organizations comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act were undoubtedly also a factor in the College Board decision. We wrote about this back in 2015, including links to the Justice Department guidelines. Earlier in 2016, the Justice Department began an inquiry into testing accommodations following a number of complaints. 

Another policy change by both the College Board and the ACT exam involves students who are English Language Learners (ELL). 

For the first time, the ACT exam will offer accommodations to ELL who are enrolled in a school's ELL program, starting in the fall of 2017. These will include:

• More time on the test: up to time-and-a-half
• Use of an approved word-to-word bilingual glossary (one that has no word definitions)
• Testing in a non-distracting environment (i.e., in a separate room)
• Test instructions provided in the student's native language (including Spanish and a limited number of other languages initially)

Similar accommodations will be made available effective starting in January 2017 (although extended time will not be available until later that year) by the College Board for its exams given to enrolled ELL students taking state funded exams in school. 

Tips for Students

Students, parents, and schools need to keep in mind that these new paths to accommodations are not foolproof. The College Board uses terms like "most" when referring to students with disabilities and the accommodations to be extended. 

Furthermore, as with their prior process for approving accommodations, it is important that these are not just listed in an IEP or 504 Plan, but are used on a regular basis. Students who have extended time on exams, for example, need to utilize this accommodation if they want to have it applied to their standardized testing. 

To be applicable to the SAT and other exams, accommodations must be formalized. An IEP or 504 Plan will do this. So will a private school's formal written plan. But extended time or other accommodations given informally by teachers or even school-wide without a formal plan will not qualify for this streamlined review. 

Likewise, the accommodations offered to ELL do not necessarily apply to all of these students. The College Board will extend its streamlined accommodations process only to ELL taking a state-funded SAT during the school day. It is not clear how this might apply to all ELL. 

New Guidance on Testing Accommodations

Standardized exams -- SAT, ACT, GRE, MCAT, LSAT, and others -- are  "gateways to educational and employment opportunities" and the entities that offer these tests are to required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to offer these exams in a manner accessible to persons with disabilities.

The ADA came into being in 1990 and was amended in 2008 in an effort by Congress to overturn the impact of several judicial decisions that narrowed its intended scope. New Regulations implementing the revised ADA were adopted in 2010.

Despite the revised regulations, there has continued to be resistance on the part of testing agencies, especially the Law School Admissions Council, which oversees the LSAT, to  extending accommodations to students with disabilities. Even where there has been no pattern of resistance to offering accommodations, confusion about what should be offered and to whom has raised questions for schools, testing agencies, and students.

 The Disability Rights Section of the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division has noted that they continue "to receive questions and complaints relating to excessive and burdensome documentation demands, failures to provide needed testing accommodations, and failures to respond to requests for testing accommodations in a timely manner."

In response to these questions and complaints, the Department of Justice has just released new guidelines for testing accommodations.  Among the highlights of this document are the following:

• A person with a history of academic success may still be a person with a disability who is entitled to testing accommodations under the ADA
• Any documentation if required by a testing entity in support of a request for testing accommodations must be reasonable and limited to the need for the requested testing accommodations
• Proof of past testing accommodations in similar test settings is generally sufficient to support a request for the same testing accommodations for a current standardized exam or other high-stakes test
• An absence of previous formal testing accommodations does not preclude a candidate from receiving testing accommodations
• Testing entities should defer to documentation from a qualified professional who has made an individualized assessment of the candidate that supports the need for the requested testing accommodations. A testing entity should generally accept such documentation and provide the recommended testing accommodation without further inquiry

Every student who anticipates taking a standardized test, every educator and administrator who works with such students, and every testing service that administers such tests should take the time to carefully review these guidelines. They are clear, concise, and very specific about what they do -- and do not -- require. 

News You Can Use

Our pile of newspapers and magazines -- paper and digital -- is growing all the time, and we sometimes get the feeling that education news is happening too quickly for us to keep up with it. Here are some items that we think are important to share.

• Hofstra University, the largest college on Long Island, with approximately 6,800 undergraduate and 3,000 graduate students, has announced that they are implementing a "test optional" admissions policy
  
  for students applying for admission for fall 2015. This policy will apply to all but international and home-schooled students. Hofstra is joining more than 800 other colleges and universities that no longer require SAT or ACT tests for admission. Recent research has demonstrated that there is no correlation between high standardized test scores and college success; researchers have found that the greatest predictor of college success is a high GPA in high school. You can find lists of other colleges that do not require standardized testing on the website of the National Center for Fair & Open Testing, Fairtest.
• A new group -- the Coalition for Multiple Pathways to a Diploma, led by our colleagues at Advocates for Children of New York -- is looking at New York's dismal high school graduation rates and at ways to improve these numbers. Check out a report by the coalition and a PowerPoint presentation which presents some stark numbers: New York is well in the bottom half of states in graduation rates, with an overall graduation rate throughout the state of 74%, a rate which falls to less than 45% for students with disabilities. 
• ED, the Magazine of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, has an excellent and lengthy examination of two U.S. Supreme Court cases impacting race and education -- Brown v. Board of Education, the 1954 decision which outlawed segregation in public schools, and Milliken v. Bradley, a 1974 decision which barred most busing across school district lines to achieve racial integration of public schools and left de facto segregation and sharp differences between inner cities and their more affluent suburbs in place. 
  

New Research Finds No Correlation Between Standardized Testing and College Success

A new study from the National Association of College Admission Counseling may spell good news for high school students who dread the onslaught of standardized tests associated with college admissions. The research, conducted by Dr. William C. Hiss of Bates College and Dr. Valerie W. Franks of the University of Arkansas, indicates that students who did not submit SAT scores as part of their college applications fared just as well in college as students who performed well on these measures and sent their scores to colleges. A high GPA in high school, the researchers found, was the most important predictor of post-secondary success.

The study selected 33 public and private colleges and universities that all had “test optional” admissions requirements; that is, applicants could submit standardized test results if they wanted to, but these numbers were not required for their consideration as potential students. Drs. Hiss and Franks followed more than 122,000 students over the course of eight years, comparing the cumulative GPAs and graduation rates of students who submitted scores and students who did not. The results indicated virtually no difference between the two groups. Those who earned high GPAs in high school, however, tended to obtain similar results in their college courses.

High grades on high school report cards, postulates Hiss, demonstrate that a student has acquired the kind of discipline, curiosity, and study skills necessary to succeed at the college level. This measure, he believes, is a better indicator of a student’s abilities than the snapshot shown by an SAT or ACT score.

A significant difference between the submitting and non-submitting groups did reveal itself, however: The group that did not submit scores was more diverse, containing more students from low socio-economic backgrounds, students of color, and students with learning disabilities than the group that did send in test scores. Importantly, this group turned out to be just as capable, performing as well in college as its more homogeneous counterpart in terms of grades and graduation rates.

For minority students and exceptional students, groups that tend to perform more poorly on standardized tests, the results of this study could lead to helpful changes in college admissions. If it is true that performance on standardized assessments is a non-critical piece of application packages, more colleges and universities may make testing optional, or perhaps do away with the option of score submission altogether. This would spell good news for students who traditionally underperform on these measures. It’s good news for colleges as well; with updated policies, they can look forward to more diverse student populations.

Until there is a more universal policy of not requiring SAT or ACT tests for college admissions, students, families, and counselors can find searchable lists of schools where these tests are not required for admissions on the nonprofit Fairtest website.

Use Practice Tests to Prepare for Standardized Tests

Casey Konstantin

If you follow trends in education, chances are you've heard about the importance of practice tests. To sum it up: Exciting research about memory has indicated that the best way to learn something is to take practice tests instead of traditional studying. Many education-centered magazines, newspapers, and blogs have been reporting on this idea and, for related content, you can access other posts we've written about this subject:

• Studying for finals
• Using test taking as a study tool 
• Test taking tips from experts, and
• Effective studying techniques

Sometimes, this is easier said than done. Taking practice tests to prepare for run-of-the-mill, in-class exams--such as a biology midterm written by the teacher--can be tricky, since ready-made practice tests don’t typically exist for tests of this kind; in these cases, we encourage students to make their own practice tests. But students preparing for a standardized test can access pre-made tests through a variety of sources. In the old days, students bought books of practice tests from companies like Kaplan, Barron’s, and The College Board. But increasingly, practice tests are available online, often for free.

The quality of free online practice tests varies, but there are some gems out there. For example, The College Board website offers practice questions for the AP exams and practice questions and a full-length, online practice SAT test. Students preparing for the ACT will find The Princeton Review’s full-length practice test useful. And Varsity Tutors has recently launched a very good “one-stop-shop” practice testing site  with access to practice questions, questions of the day, and sample tests for a multitude of exams, including the SAT, ACT, GRE, GED, ISEE, SSAT, and AP. Many of the tests feature a useful content instruction option that explains how to find the answer to several practice questions and problems; students can start here, then move to the flashcards to practice. As an added bonus, it’s possible to create a free account that will track one’s progress through the content.

Some online practice tests include a timer function. While this is not essential, it can be very helpful as students get a sense of their work pace in anticipation of a timed exam. One feature that is essential, however, is access to thoughtful explanations for correct answers. It’s important that students know more than whether they were right or wrong, and good practice sites will explain why the right answer is the best choice. Very good sites will even explain why the wrong answers are incorrect, tempting though some of them may be.

To make the most out of practice tests, students should keep the following points in mind:

• Make sure the format of your practice test matches the format of the actual test. If you’ll be testing on paper, print out the practice test and take it with a pencil. Signed up for a computer-based test? Taking it on the screen is fine. 
• Take the test under time constraints – at some point. For students who are nervous testers or those first encountering the test format, it may be a good idea to start out with an untimed practice round to test the waters. Students should be sure to take the test at least once under the time constraints they’ll face on the actual test day, though; it’s important that they know whether their natural pace is appropriate, and working under simulated pressure will help them feel more comfortable when taking the real test.
• Make sure practice conditions match test conditions as closely as possible. Don’t curl up on the couch with a laptop to prepare for a computer-based test; sit at a table or desk in a quiet, distraction-free space instead. Have scratch paper ready if the test allows it. Don’t snack or drink while working. It’s important to gain familiarity with testing conditions, not just the test format and content.

An Experiment in Being "Test Flexible"

We've written before about the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, usually referred to as Fairtest. Fairtest's website includes lists of colleges that are SAT/ACT optional and can be a helpful resource for students who believe that their scores on these exams don't reflect their real abilities.

Brandeis University in Massachusetts, one of the schools on the Fairtest list, has taken an interesting approach to what they call being "test flexible". As described by the University, students applying to Brandeis can choose to submit a combination of scores in subject tests, or an academic portfolio that includes a sample of analytical writing and an additional teacher evaluation. However, even students who don't submit traditional SAT/ACT tests will be asked for these scores after they matriculate. After two years, the Brandeis Senate will decide, based upon the success of the text flexible admitted students, whether to change, expand, or eliminate this program.

Brandeis University, by Hannah Rosen

Andrew Flagel, who heads up student enrollment at the school, is quoted in a Brandeis newsletter as noting, “This is an evolutionary change, since we already strive to de-emphasize the role of standardized tests in our admissions decisions through the careful evaluation of high school program and grades, recommendation letters, interview reports, and other ‘non-cognitive’ factors.” He further noted that this research based approach to test flexible admissions allows the University to maintain its high academic standards while giving students control over how their application will be evaluated. 

We will be interested to see how this experiment in having students decide how to best "package" themselves for admission will turn out. 

When Should College Planning Begin?

An article in today's New York Times looks at the different approaches to beginning college preparation taken by traditional, nonprofit private high schools and their newer, for-profit counterparts. As the Times article asks, " Is it better to get a jump on the process but risk turning high school into a staging ground for college admission? Or is it preferable to start later, when students are more developmentally prepared but perhaps missing opportunities to plan hobbies, choose classes and secure summer internships?"

We think there is another perspective that needs to be considered -- that of students with learning, attention, and related difficulties who receive support services in high school and who anticipate needing accommodations in college. For these students, the process of getting ready for college simply can't wait until their junior year. They need to begin preparing for college almost as soon as they begin high school. This doesn't mean that they have to decide where to apply, just that there are decisions they need to make and skills they need to acquire long before they are almost ready to graduate. These include:

Self-Advocacy

Students with learning issues need to use their time in high school to learn about their challenges, to be able to express how they learn best and to develop strategies for handling the increasing workload of high school (and then college). They need to be able to ask for help when they need it and to negotiate for themselves. These skills are crucial to college success, when it will fall upon them -- not their college and not their parents -- to arrange for accommodations and to make sure they are implemented. Ideally, they need to learn about the Americans with Disabilties Act, which provides the legal basis for the accommodations that will help them succeed after high school.

Curriculum Decisions

All students need to take and pass specific courses to graduate from high school. But students with learning differences need to make sure that modifications they are granted by their high school, most commonly a waiver of the requirement that they take a certain number of foreign language credits, don't preclude their acceptance at a particular school which they hope to attend. Most colleges want their applicants to have taken a foreign language for admission and many also require that a student take a foreign language in order to graduate. Waivers and substitutions are possible, but not guaranteed. And not every major at a college may have a language requirement. Students who are offered a modified high school program without a foreign language, or students who attend a specialized high school which does not offer foreign languages, should be prepared to deal with the consequences when applying to college.

Testing

Students who have an IEP and receive special education services are required to be re-tested every three years, a process called a triennial review. Sometimes, especially when a student has had an IEP in place for a number of years and all is going well, the school and/or the parents may not seek to have full testing done for each triennial review. But the SAT/ACT exams require up-to-date testing as part of their process for granting accommodations (such as extended time), and college disability services offices do as well. Testing during the 10th grade year -- or as soon as a student turns 16 and can be tested with the adult version of the most common IQ test, the WAIS-IV-- is ideal. Colleges want to see the WAIS, rather than the WISC, the version of the IQ exam given to children under the age of 16. Keeping this information in mind during the earliest years of high school will help make both the SAT/ACT accommodation process and the college application process go more smoothly.

These are only a few of the issues that college bound bound students with learning and other difficulties need to start working on in high school. However ideal it may be for students to focus only on the immediacy of high school issues and to forgo planning ahead until college application deadlines loom, this may not be the best path for students with learning challenges.

Photo used under Creative Commons by Stewart Black (modified)

New Federal Report on Testing Accommodations

A review of the role of federal agencies in enforcing compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by private testing agencies was recently released by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. We think the report provides a good overview of the subject of testing accommodations and makes interesting reading for those with an interest in this subject.

The review was prompted by concerns that organizations that administer such high stakes tests as the SAT, ACT, GRE, MCAT, and certification exams such as USMLE and MPRE operate without sufficient oversight by federal agencies charged with making sure they comply with the ADA. The testing organizations are required by the ADA to provide reasonable accommodations -- modifications such as extended time, use of special technologies, or special testing locations -- to enable students with documented disabilties to have full access to their tests. 

The GAO interviewed or obtained written information from most testing organizations except the Law School Admission Council (which administers the LSAT), which refused to cooperate. We don’t know why they declined to participate, but we are disappointed that they were not willing to discuss their approach to disability accommodations. The GAO also interviewed officials from a representative array of colleges and high schools, and reviewed complaints to the Departments of Justice, Education, and Health and Human Services, all of which (but primarily Justice) have some oversight of this issue.

The report noted that about two percent of the students taking high stakes examinations last year did so with testing accommodations -- some 179,000 of the 7.7 million individuals who took such tests. Of this number, about one-half were students with learning disabilities and one-quarter were students with ADD or ADHD. By far, the most frequently requested and granted accommodation was 50 percent extended time to take the exam.

The report concludes that the Department of Justice needs to take steps to better analyze the data it has available on complaints, to reach out to testing agencies, and to coordinate with other agencies such as the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services. In a statement included in the report, the Justice Department agreed with these recommendations and laid out steps they will be taking to implement such improvements.

Another Look at SAT and ACT Issues

We've been getting a new wave of questions about the relative merits of the SAT versus ACT exams and about what to do when a student has difficulties with both of these tests. A quick review of our blog history (which can be accessed on the right side of this page) reveals that we haven't written in depth about these subjects for over two years. So, at the risk of repeating ourselves, we want to summarize the key issues that students and their families need to know.

First, there are differences between these two standardized college admissions tests. As we have noted, each was designed to measure somewhat different kinds of college readiness. The SAT exam was designed to measure "aptitude," that elusive, inherent quality that was once -- but no longer -- thought to correlate with college performance. The ACT is more focused on the body of knowledge that a student would generally need to have accumulated during high school to be successful in college. We have looked at these differences in more depth before and still stick by our recommendation that for students who are undecided about which test to take, trying a few practice exams from both testing companies may be the best way to decide.

Second, we want to remind students and parents that testing accommodations -- extended time, use of a computer for essays, and other accommodations that are designed to mirror the kinds of support that students with learning or attention issues may have been receiving in high school and which are necessary for such students to properly demonstrate their abilities -- require lots of time to arrange. The testing organizations need documentation, sometimes more than one round of documents, to make their determinations, and families want to leave time to appeal from a denial of accommodations. Students who need accommodations for these tests should apply at least several months in advance to allow time for this process to work.

We always urge students to check out the sections of the websites for the SAT and ACT that outline the procedures and generally available accommodations for students with learning and other challenges for the most up to date information, but to make sure that they allow plenty of time to complete the accommodations application. Students planning to take the PSAT or PLAN, the early versions of the two tests, should keep in mind that taking such pre-tests without accommodations may have a negative impact on the decision of the testing organizations to provide accommodations. Once you have shown that you can take the tests without accommodations, even if you could do much better when using the accommodations you are used to getting in high school, you have weakened your argument that such accommodations are truly necessary.

Finally, students who decide that neither of these tests will work for them, or who have taken one or both of these tests and have done poorly, need not lose heart. As we have recommended in the past, the nonprofit organization FairTest lists numerous colleges, many of them nationally recognized, that do not require standardized tests for admission.

Thursday Links

• The Way You Learned Math is so Old School (NPR)
• Apple exploring advanced system for educating students with disabilities (Apple Insider)
• 5 Reasons to Consider Test Optional Colleges (U.S. News & World Report)
• RFBD Comes To iPads, iPods, and iPhones (LD Resources)
• How Sports May Focus the Brain (New York Times)

Photo used under Creative Commons from mschub

A Dose of Their Own Medicine

A recent settlement announced by the U.S. Department of Justice with the US Board of Medical Examiners highlights some of the issues faced by students taking standardized tests, such as the SAT, the ACT, or the US Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE).

All of these high stakes exams are governed by the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) which requires that private entities such as the College Board or the National Board of Medical Examiners must offer their exams in an accessible place and manner to individuals with disabilities.

The regulations to the ADA explain that modifications to such exam can include things like extended time or the manner in which the exam is given. The regulations also give examples of what they call "auxiliary aids and services" such as Brailled or large print questions and answer sheets, or transcribers for individuals with manual impairments.

In the recent settlement, Frederick Romberg, a medical student, was denied test accommodations for the first part of his medical licensing examination (called Step 1) on the basis of dyslexia, a learning disability. The denial was based on the test organization's finding that Romberg failed to demonstrate that he was disabled within the meaning of the ADA, which requires that an individual be "substantially limited in a major life activity". Although this dispute was resolved by settlement, it is clear from its terms that the Justice Department did not accept the NBME position on how to determine whether a person is entitled to accommodations. In addition to the requirements that this settlement imposes on the NBME, other private testing organizations -- the College Board (SAT) and the ACT folks included -- can consider themselves reminded about what they need to do when faced with an application for disability accommodations.

The agreed-to terms of the settlement in the Romberg case include:

• The Board must limit its request for documentation to what is reasonable to demonstrate a disability
• Documentation should be focused on whether and how the applicant's ability to take the exam under standard conditions is impacted
• The Board must carefully consider the recommendation of qualified professionals who have observed the applicant in a clinical setting
• The Board needs to consider whether applicant's ability to read (since this was a dyslexia case) is restricted compared to the ability of most people
• Where, as here, an individual did not have his learning disability diagnosed until later in life, the Board must consider reasonably supported explanations, academic records, and other evidence about the applicant's reading ability
• Considerable weight must be given to past accommodations, such as in an IEP or 504 Plan

As for Mr. Romberg -- he was given a separate testing area and double the standard testing time for the first two parts of his medical licensing exam. In addition to providing the basis for the Justice Department to remind testing organizations of their responsibilities, we suspect this settlement will result in Mr. Romberg changing his title to Dr. Romberg within the next few years.

Link Roundup

Teens are Still Reading for Fun (Washington Post)
Death to the SAT (Fortune)
White House Takes Stand Against School Bullying (NPR)
Skip Parent-Teacher Conference, Go to Jail? (Time Healthland)
How to Raise a Creative Genius (CNN)



Photo Credit

SAT vs. ACT

We often encounter students with learning differences who are concerned about how to manage their SAT exam. Many students, particularly in the eastern part of the country, don't automatically consider taking an alternate test that is accepted at virtually all colleges, the ACT.

There are a number of differences between the two tests that all students should consider when deciding which to take. Start by checking the website and admissions materials for the colleges to which you are interested in applying. Some colleges  may have specific requirements; for example, that students taking the ACT take the newer version of the test, which includes a writing section. Next, consider whether you will need to take SAT II Subject Tests for the colleges to which you would like to apply. These are offered in the categories of English, history, mathematics, science, and language, with several choices and levels in most categories. Every college website will specify what their requirements are for these, including what subject areas they want to see. Some schools require SAT II tests if you are submitting SATs but not if you are submitting ACT scores, since the ACT exam is based on four distinct subject areas: English, mathematics, reading, and science. Since the SAT II Subject Tests are administered by the College Board, just like the SAT, the requirements for accommodations are the same. If a student is granted testing accommodations for the SAT, she will have the same accommodations on the SAT Subject Tests.

The basic ACT is strictly multiple choice. There is an optional writing section which some schools require, but the basic test has no writing. This is a substantial difference from the SAT, where although two sections, mathematics and critical reading (formerly “verbal”) are multiple choice, the writing section is part of the basic exam and is not optional. Students for whom the physical act of writing is difficult or whose learning disabilities impact organizing written work might want to stick with the basic ACT exam, especially if they have difficulty obtaining the kinds of test accommodations they would like. Those students with disorders that result in impulsive behaviors may do better on the ACT where their scores will not be lowered if they guess on problems where they are not sure. The SAT deducts a quarter of a point for wrong answers, although there is no deduction for failing to answer a question.

Another difference between the ACT and SAT is the nature of the questions. As we have mentioned, the ACT focuses on subject matter content, so that students can study each area to improve their score. The SAT may have dropped the word “aptitude” from its name, but it still measures general reasoning and problem solving skills more than specific subject content. Students whose learning issues make them less comfortable with complex reasoning may find they are more comfortable with the ACT, whereas bright students who have not applied themselves to the content of their high school courses might do better on the SAT, where knowledge of specific course content is not as important.

The SAT is longer – 3 hours and 35 minutes (including the writing section), for those who take it without extended time. The ACT is only 2 hours and 55 minutes, but will last another 30 minutes if you need to take the optional writing section. Students with poor attention may find that they do better on the standard ACT.

One way of deciding which test works best for you is to try them both. Since this can involve signing up for both tests, applying separately to the College Board and ACT for the accommodations you may require, paying for two different tests, and actually taking them both, a far better way to evaluate which is right for you is to take practice tests.
There are real differences between the SAT and ACT that might make on or the other test a better fit for a particular student. Students with learning disabilities who will require testing accommodations should look at both tests, and possibly take one or more practice tests of each, to determine which test will best meet their needs.

You will be able to find much more information on this and other subjects in a book by our own Susan Yellin, Esq. and Christina Bertsch, entitled Life After High School: A Guide for Students with Disabilities and their Familes due out in spring 2010 from Jessica Kingsley Publishers. More information will appear on later blogs.