STANDARDIZED TESTS AND STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES SAT ACT ACCUPLACER

WHAT THE SAT/ACT TESTS MEASURE FOCUSED ON THE SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE AT THE HEART OF EDUCATION. IT MEASURES: WHAT YOU LEARN IN HIGH SCHOOL WHAT YOU NEED TO SUCCEED IN COLLEGE THE BEST WAY TO PREPARE FOR THE TEST IS TO: TAKE CHALLENGING COURSES. DO YOUR HOMEWORK. PREPARE FOR TESTS AND QUIZZES. ASK AND ANSWER LOTS OF QUESTIONS. KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT.

ACCUPLACER TESTS ACCUPLACER TESTS YOUR KNOWLEDGE IN MATH, READING, AND WRITING. OVER 1,500 INSTITUTIONS ADMINISTER ACCUPLACER TESTS AS PART OF THE ENROLLMENT PROCESS. THESE TESTS HELP IDENTIFY STRENGTHS AND NEEDS IN EACH SUBJECT AREA. THEY ARE USED TO DETERMINE FRESHMAN COLLEGE PLACEMENT IN MATH AND READING BASED CLASSES. STUDENTS WHO DO NOT MEET MINIMUM SCORES ARE REQUIRED TO PAY FOR AND TAKE REMEDIAL CLASSES. THESE CLASSES DO NOT EARN COLLEGE CREDITS.

COORDINATE WITH SCHOOL 1. IEP/ USEFUL ACCOMMODATIONS 3. PSAT 8/9 4. RIGOROUS CLASSES 5. EXTEND GRADUATION

IEP- INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PLAN A BLUEPRINT OR PLAN FOR A CHILD’S SPECIAL EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE AT SCHOOL THE INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT(IDEA) THIS IS A FEDERAL SPECIAL EDUCATION LAW FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES. PROVIDES INDIVIDUALIZED SPECIAL EDUCATION AND RELATED SERVICES TO MEET THE UNIQUE NEEDS OF THE CHILD. THESE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED AT NO COST TO PARENTS. THE IEP SETS LEARNING GOALS FOR A CHILD AND DESCRIBES THE SERVICES THE SCHOOL WILL GIVE HER. IT’S A WRITTEN DOCUMENT.

504 PLAN A BLUEPRINT OR PLAN FOR HOW A CHILD WILL HAVE ACCESS TO LEARNING AT SCHOOL. PROVIDES SERVICES AND CHANGES TO THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THE CHILD AS ADEQUATELY AS OTHER STUDENTS. AS WITH IEPS, A 504 PLAN IS PROVIDED AT NO COST TO PARENTS. SECTION 504 OF THE REHABILITATION ACT OF 1973 THIS IS A FEDERAL CIVIL RIGHTS LAW TO STOP DISCRIMINATION AGAINST PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES. THERE IS NO STANDARD 504 PLAN. UNLIKE AN IEP, A 504 PLAN DOESN’T HAVE TO BE A WRITTEN DOCUMENT.

USEFUL ACCOMMODATIONS ACCOMMODATIONS PROVIDE ACCESS TO THE CURRICULUM. THEY DO NOT MODIFY CURRICULUM. MATH DISABILITY- USE OF A CALCULATOR IN NON-CALC PORTION OF SAT DYSLEXIA-USE OF A COMPUTER FOR ESSAYS BLIND- PROVIDE BRAILLE BOOKS, LARGE PRINT TESTS. ADD- REFOCUS AND PROMPT, PROVIDE COPIES OF TEACHERS NOTES. ADHD- EXTRA TIME ON TESTS, EXTRA BREAKS MEMORY IMPAIRMENT- TEST FORMAT CHANGES TO MULTIPLE CHOICE OR WORD BANKS FOR FILL IN THE BLANKS TEST ANXIETY- TEST OUTSIDE OF CLASS, IN A QUIET ENVIRONMENT. CENTRAL AUDITORY PROCESSING- PROVIDE BOOKS ON TAPE, BOOKSHARE OR LEARNING ALLY.

ELIGIBILITY FOR ACCOMMODATIONS ON THE SAT THE COLLEGE BOARD IS COMMITTED TO MAKING SURE THAT STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES CAN TAKE THE SAT, SAT SUBJECT TESTS, PSAT/NMSQT, AND PSAT 10 WITH THE ACCOMMODATIONS THEY NEED. STUDENTS WHO SHOW THAT THEIR DISABILITIES AFFECT PARTICIPATION IN A COLLEGE BOARD EXAM ARE ELIGIBLE TO TAKE THOSE EXAMS WITH ACCOMMODATIONS. ALL REASONABLE REQUESTS ARE CONSIDERED. USING ACCOMMODATIONS NOT APPROVED BY THE COLLEGE BOARD RESULTS IN CANCELLATION OF SCORES. NO ONE IS AUTOMATICALLY APPROVED.

ELIGIBILITY FOR ACCOMMODATIONS ON THE ACT OBTAINING ACT TESTING ACCOMMODATIONS FOLLOWS A SIMILAR PROCESS TO THAT OF THE SAT. ACCOMODATION PROCESS : %20ACT%20TEST%20-%20NATIONAL%20EXTENDED%20AND%20SPECIAL%20TESTNG.PDF %20ACT%20TEST%20-%20NATIONAL%20EXTENDED%20AND%20SPECIAL%20TESTNG.PDF POLICY STATEMENT: 20DOCUMENTATION-WEB.PDF 20DOCUMENTATION-WEB.PDF

ACCOMMODATION REQUESTS MUST BE DOCUMENTED. MAKE SURE YOUR DOCUMENTATION MEETS THESE SEVEN CRITERIA: 1. DIAGNOSIS CLEARLY STATED 2. INFORMATION CURRENT 3. HISTORY PRESENTED 4. DIAGNOSIS SUPPORTED 5. FUNCTIONAL LIMITATION DESCRIBED 6. RECOMMENDED ACCOMMODATIONS JUSTIFIED 7. PROFESSIONAL CREDENTIALS LISTED

EXAMPLES OF DOCUMENTATION OF DISABILITY STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DISORDERS OR ADHD WILL BE ASKED TO PROVIDE COGNITIVE AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT TESTING. WECHSLER ADULT INTELLIGENCE SCALE OR WECHSLER INTELLIGENCE SCALE FOR CHILDREN WOODCOCK-JOHNSON TESTS OF COGNITIVE ABILITIES STANFORD BINET INTELLIGENCE SCALES (WHEN INDIVIDUALLY ADMINISTERED) KAUFMAN ASSESSMENT BATTERY FOR CHILDREN DIFFERENTIAL ABILITY SCALES REYNOLDS INTELLECTUAL ASSESSMENT SCALES STUDENTS WITH PHYSICAL OR MEDICAL DISORDERS WILL BE ASKED TO PROVIDE DOCUMENTATION FROM A RECENT MEDICAL EVALUATION.

KEY TO SUCCESS REQUEST ACCOMMODATIONS 4-6 MONTHS BEFORE TEST DATE. THE KEY TO OBTAINING APPROPRIATE ACCOMMODATIONS IS TO COORDINATE THE PROCESS WITH THE CHILD STUDY TEAM AND/OR GUIDANCE DEPT. THEY WILL GUIDE THE PROCESS AND ADVISE YOU ON THE DOCUMENTS NEEDED TO BE FORWARDED.

PSAT 8/9 (NEW IN 2016) AS A DIAGNOSTIC TOOL THE PSAT 8/9 IS A TEST THAT WILL HELP BENCHMARK A STUDENT. IT IDENTIFIES WHAT A STUDENT NEEDS TO WORK ON MOST SO THEY WILL BE READY FOR COLLEGE WHEN THEY GRADUATE FROM HIGH SCHOOL. IT TESTS THE SAME SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE AS THE SAT, PSAT/NMSQT, AND PSAT 10 — IN A WAY THAT MAKES SENSE FOR THE GRADE LEVEL. THE PSAT 8/9 ESTABLISHES A BASELINE MEASUREMENT OF YOUR COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS AS YOU ENTER HIGH SCHOOL. IT ALSO GIVES YOU A CHANCE TO PREVIEW THE SAT, PSAT/NMSQT, AND PSAT 10

RIGOROUS HIGH SCHOOL CLASSES STUDENTS SHOULD BE ENCOURAGED TO TAKE THE MOST RIGOROUS CLASSES THAT THEY CAN HANDLE: PROMOTE CRITICAL THINKING SYNTHESIS OF INFORMATION USE OF TECHNOLOGY FOR RESEARCH PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY EXPOSURE TO DEMANDING CONTENT

CONSIDER EXTENDING GRADUATION DATE SOME STUDENTS REQUIRE ADDITIONAL TIME IN HIGH SCHOOL TO PREPARE FOR ALL OF THE CHALLENGES OF COLLEGE. STUDENTS THAT HAVE AN IEP, MAY REMAIN IN SCHOOL UNTIL AGE 21 IF ALL GOALS HAVE NOT BEEN MET. IF THIS SEEMS LIKE A CONSIDERATION FOR YOUR CHILD, BEGIN DISCUSSING THE POSSIBILITY WITH YOUR CASE MANAGER AND DISCUSS IT AT THE IEP MEETING. THIS CONSIDERATION CAN BE DISCUSSED AS PART OF THE STUDENTS TRANSITION PLAN AS EARLY AS AGE 14.

START PLANNING EARLY

BEST PRACTICES BEGIN IN MIDDLE SCHOOL USE STANDARDIZED TESTS TO IDENTIFY STRENGTHS AND AREAS THAT NEED IMPROVEMENT: PSAT, PARCC ANNUAL TESTS, SAT/ACT DIAGNOSTIC TESTS. ENRICHMENT & REMEDIAL SUBJECT TUTORING: PRIVATE TUTORS, NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY, PEER TUTORING. REQUIRE OUTSIDE READING: BOOKS (PAPER & ON TAPE), MAGAZINES, TECHNICAL INSTRUCTIONS IMPROVE ORGANIZATIONAL SKILLS: TIME MANAGEMENT, USE OF A CALENDAR SYSTEM, STRUCTURE HOMEWORK HABITS PROMOTE ADVOCACY SKILLS

DISABILITY SPECIFIC TUTORING IDENTIFY STUDENT LEARNING STYLES AND PREFERENCES USE PROFESSIONAL REPORTS TO IDENTIFY LEARNING DIFFERENCES AND RECOMMENDED STRATEGIES MEET WITH PARENT AND STUDENT TO IDENTIFY TUTORING AND OTHER GOALS ONE TO ONE TUTORING BY A SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER SPECIFIC, DIRECT INSTRUCTION FOR MATH, ENGLISH, WRITING AS APPROPRIATE FOR STANDARDIZED TEST FORMATS STUDENT FOCUS ON USING STRATEGIES TO MITIGATE LEARNING DIFFERENCES, WHENEVER POSSIBLE. STUDENTS LEARN HOW TO USE ACCOMMODATIONS IN SCHOOL TO STRENGTHEN LEARNING AND IMPROVE FOCUS. RESULTS LEAD TO REDUCED ANXIETY AND IMPROVED GRADES AND TEST SCORES..