Streamlined Accommodations Processes for SAT and ACT

By Jed Applerouth, CEO Applerouth Tutoring

Changes are afoot in the word of testing accommodations, with both the College Board and ACT streamlining their accommodations request processes. Because of these changes, more of your students will be able to take the SAT and ACT tests with accommodations and will have an easier time gaining access to those accommodations.

The testing giants are making these bold moves in response to changes in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and increased scrutiny from the Department of Justice (DOJ), enforcers of the ADA. Signaling a new era of enforcement against testing companies, DOJ’s Civil Rights Division became involved in a lawsuit against the creators of the law school admissions test (LSAT). As a result of the suit, which alleged widespread and systemic discrimination under the ADA, the LSAT’s creators eventually agreed to make comprehensive reforms to their accommodations process and to pay $7.73 million in penalties and victim compensation.

Because more students are taking state-sponsored SAT and ACT tests than at any time in history and because the government is taking an increasingly active enforcement role, ensuring fair access to all students is more important than ever.

The Amended ADA and Revised DOJ Regulations

In 2008, Congress passed amendments to the ADA to affirm that the term disability should be broadly construed under the law. In August 2016, DOJ published updates to its corresponding regulations, reflecting the amended ADA and outlining new guidance for testing companies.

Testing companies are now on notice that they must remove burdensome procedures and other obstacles to seeking and receiving testing accommodations. Documentation of evidence for a disability, if required, should be reasonable and limited, and “repeated costly testing” should be minimized. Proof of past testing accommodations should suffice for securing similar accommodations on other high-stakes tests. In addition, testing agencies must expedite the submission and decision process for accommodations.

Perhaps the most noteworthy aspect of the new guidance is the focus on school-based accommodations as a potential determining factor for high-stakes testing companies. Students who receive testing accommodations in their high school (under an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or a Section 504 Plan for public school students and under formal plans in private schools) should “generally receive the same testing accommodations for a current standardized exam or high-stakes test” (See www.ada.gov/regs2014/testing_accommodations.pdf for more information). Students with disabilities who have never had a formal testing plan but have received informal school-based accommodations may also be eligible to receive accommodations on high-stakes tests.

DOJ estimates that tens of thousands of additional students will be eligible to receive testing accommodations because of these new guidelines.

The SAT and ACT Respond

In summer 2016, even before DOJ published its updated regulations, ACT overhauled its accommodations system, shifting to an online model and placing the high school’s test accommodations coordinator at the center of the process. Shortly after DOJ published its updated regulations, both the College Board and ACT announced updated policies for accommodations. In November, ACT, announced streamlined accommodations for designated English language learners (as defined by the Every Student Succeeds Act), who can apply through their high school counselor’s office to automatically receive testing supports for the ACT test, including extended time, language supports, and testing in a separate room.

In December, the College Board matched all the accommodations that ACT offered to English language learners and made a sweeping change for students with disabilities: beginning January 1, 2017, for the SAT, PSAT, APs and SAT subject tests, the College Board will automatically approve testing accommodations for the majority of students who are approved for and use testing accommodations in their schools. The College Board is moving to a greatly simplified “two-question” process:

1. Is the requested accommodation(s) in the student’s plan?

2. Has the student used the accommodation(s) for school testing?

According to a College Board press release on 12/1/16, the answers to these two questions will determine whether the requested accommodations will be granted:

If the answer is yes to both questions, eligible students can be approved to receive most accommodations on College Board exams. This new process is expected to reduce the approval time for an overwhelming majority of accommodation requests.

This shift is a clear signal that the College Board intends to conform to DOJ’s new guidance. If the high school grants the accommodation, the College Board will effectively fall in line. A public school student who receives accommodations through a current IEP or 504 Plan can typically expect to have the same accommodations approved for the SAT, PSAT, SAT Subject Tests, and AP exams. This same policy applies to private school students with formal school-based plans that meet College Board criteria. This approach should streamline the entire process, minimize the need for submission of additional documentation, and save resources for all involved.

Implications

As we move forward, more students are going to receive testing accommodations and the process will be quicker and less cumbersome. Some questions remain, but we expect many of them to be resolved in ways that make the process less burdensome. Will ACT follow the direction of the College Board and move toward a “two-question” process that largely defers to what the school has already implemented? How long must a school-based plan be in place before the testing giants will defer to that plan? The College Board has given priority to students who have at least four months of school-based accommodations, whereas ACT has given priority to students who have a full year of documented school accommodations. Will those time frames change in this new era of enhanced accessibility?

Another issue is how recent a student’s psychological and educational testing must be. The College Board has previously required that such testing be no more than five years old, while the ACT wanted testing conducted within the last three years. Under the College Board’s new two-question system, will the recentness of testing be a factor? And will ACT adopt a more liberal policy and allow older testing?

Even as the finer details come into focus, one thing remains clear: for your students who have formal testing plans in place at their high schools, things should be getting a whole lot easier this year, particularly for students applying for accommodations on College Board tests. We are moving to a new model where the center of power is shifting, for better or for worse, to the high schools and away from a distant panel of reviewers. We must encourage our students to work closely with their school’s disability office and seek accommodations on high school tests as soon as a disability is identified, as well as encourage their self-advocacy in this process.

Jed Applerouth can be reached at [email protected].

[From IECA’s Insights newsletter, February/March 2017]