ACCOMMODATIONS FOR THE REVISED SAT

9/24/15

Context

The SAT will replace the ACT in Michigan in March of 2016. Today’s 11th graders will be the first cohort to

take the SAT this spring. They will still take the WorkKeys assessment

and the M-STEP as part of the MME.

Context

The Preliminary SAT (PSAT) will be made available for grades 8-11. Each test is grade-level specific and

functionally replaces the PLAN/Explore tests provided by ACT.

The 8-10th grade PSATs are used for practice and feedback.

The 11th grade PSAT is also the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), so a good score can result in a scholarship.

Implications

The SAT and 11th grade PSAT/NMSQT are high-stakes tests that affect scholarship money and college admissions.

It is likely that evaluations will be requested for the purpose of obtaining SAT and PSAT accommodations.

The SAT offers the same range of accommodations as the ACT but the two agencies have different ways of determining who gets accommodations.

We should better understand the process so we are able to inform students and parents.

Submitting a Request

To submit a request, someone from the school should make an account with SSD Online (https://www.collegeboard.org/students-with-disabilities/ssd-online/get-access).

SSD Online allows staff to directly scan the student’s files to College Board (SAT Publisher), who will then make a decision on accommodations.

Throughout the process, the SSD Online Coordinator can track the progress of the request and submit additional information.

Requesting Accommodations - Deadlines

March 2016 SAT accommodation request deadlines is February 16, 2016.

All documentation must be received before then.

You can began accommodation requests right now as long as your school has an AI code (a school identifier code within their database).

Requesting Accommodations - Process

The request process can take up to seven weeks, and that is only after all necessary documentation has been received.

If they find during their review process that not all documentation has been submitted, then the seven-week timeline resets after the necessary documentation has been received.

Accommodation request deadlines require you to be very proactive.

Documentation Needed For the student to receive

accommodations, documentation should meet the following seven criteria:

Criterion #1 and #2 have important implications.

Source: screenshot from College Board’s website athttps://www.collegeboard.org/students-with-disabilities/documentation-guidelines/disability-documentation

“The Diagnosis is Clearly Stated”

For physical disabilities, hearing impairments, and vision impairments, the student must be diagnosed by a licensed professional. E.g., ophthalmologist, medical doctor,

otorhinolaryngologist, optometrist For mental disabilities (e.g., ASD, learning

disorders, ADHD, psychiatric disorders), a DSM diagnosis must be made. Thus, a school-based evaluation may be

considered by the reviewer when making a decision about accommodations, but without a formal diagnosis, the student is automatically excluded from accommodations.

Required Credentials Evaluator must be qualified to DIAGNOSE.

SSWs and Ed.S. level school psychologists cannot diagnose – they can only make eligibility recommendations.

SLPs and Ph.D. level psychologists can make diagnoses, though.

Required Credentials Contracting with outside evaluators for some

of these evaluations may be necessary. We have no authority over outside evaluators,

meaning that there is no guarantee that their reports meet the minimum levels of specificity outlined by College Board.

Communicating these requirements is essential.

Required Credentials To assist outside evaluators in writing satisfactory

reports, a detailed description of the documentation needed for each individual disability category can be found here: https://www.collegeboard.org/students-with-disabilities/documentation-guidelines/disability-documentation

This resource is important, because very specific content must be included in the reports, some of which outside evaluators do not always include: Relevant educational, developmental, and medical history as

it relates to the diagnosis. A narrative summary of the evaluation results. Connection between disability and requested

accommodations, specifically addressing reasons why the requested accommodations are needed on the College Board’s Standardized Exams.

Standard scores on subtests.

“Information is Current” Across disabilities, the most recent

evaluation should be no more than five years old.

IQ data is generally not considered valid until the student is eight years old.

Source: screenshot from College Board’s website athttps://www.collegeboard.org/students-with-disabilities/documentation-guidelines/learning-disorders

Other Unusual Caveats – Extended Time

If extended time is desired, the most recent evaluation needs to include both timed and untimed academic achievement subtest(s):

Source: screenshot from College Board’s website athttps://www.collegeboard.org/students-with-disabilities/documentation-guidelines/extended-time

Other Unusual Caveats – Extended Time

These are very specific report requirements that outside evaluators should know when writing their reports.

Source: screenshot from College Board’s website athttps://www.collegeboard.org/students-with-disabilities/documentation-guidelines/adhd

Other Unusual Caveats – IQ Testing

Michigan Special Education evaluation criteria is less stringent than what College Board requires.

In MARSE, IQ testing is not a required component of determining SLD eligibility or OHI eligibility.

College Board requires IQ scores (preferably collected in grade 3 or later) for all students with Specific Learning Disabilities and students with ADHD.

Other Unusual Caveats – College Board Reviewer

When I called customer service, they said that the decision to offer accommodations is up to the reviewer. One reviewer might say no while another might say yes.

Transferability of Accommodations

If an accommodation is approved by College Board, it applies to all College Board tests (i.e., if you qualify for PSAT accommodations you also qualify for SAT accommodations and vice versa).

Approval lasts for all of high school and one year after that. e.g., if a student is approved for accommodations for

the 8th grade PSAT, that student can continue receiving them throughout high school and for a full year after that.

WorkKeys is NOT produced by College Board – it is produced by ACT. Receiving WorkKeys accommodations requires you to

go through the accommodation request process with ACT.

Steps to take for Specific Students

Step 1: Begin the process well ahead of time! To see what documentation is needed for a specific

student, find that student’s disability here: https://www.collegeboard.org/students-with-disabilities/docu

mentation-guidelines/disability-documentation Review that student’s file to see if available records

sufficiently meet College Board’s criteria. If unsure, submit anyway via SSD Online and see

what else they want from you. If more data is needed, seek an evaluation. Share College Board requirements with any outside

evaluator to ensure that the evaluation is satisfactory. Submit via SSD Online and track the status of the

request. If an accommodation request is rejected, you can

always re-apply after obtaining more data.

Key Issue - FAPE

Issue: The SAT is a high stakes test; arguably the most important test that many individuals will ever take. Performance on this test can greatly affect the individual’s life trajectory.

Question: Because this test is so important, are we obligated under FAPE to pay for a comprehensive medical evaluation for a student having or suspected of having a disability if that student’s available information is insufficient for the College Board reviewer to make a determination regarding provision of accommodations?

Key Issue - FAPE

Answer from attorneys: The school/district is not obligated under FAPE to provide, or help the parents get, a medical evaluation for the purpose of obtaining SAT accommodations.

Informing parents of the process is critical though. If the student’s IEP states the need for

accommodations, we have to provide them. However, College Board will not accept the test as valid

if we provide the accommodations without their approval.

Thus, an IEP amendment may need to be made to state that no accommodations for the SAT will be provided.