All students are different, with their own needs and strengths, and they do not all benefit from the same standards within education. Some students need accommodations to have the same educational access as their peers; Congress has recognized this, and so systems of accommodation are mandated by law. Test companies have recognized this as well, and so the SAT and ACT both provide additional options for students who need them. Of course, sometimes things aren’t this simple, and high schools do not always want to provide the accommodations students need. In this article, we’re going to discuss how and why this happens, the ramifications it can have for students, and what you can do if you are in this situation. Let’s jump right in!
The Trouble With Providing Accommodations
The problems we discuss here are variable by school and district, and stem mostly from how schools receive their funding. Not every school district will experience these problems, but we are going to provide a general overview of how things work when they do crop up. Note that your own school or district may have its own peculiarities.
In some districts, there is a set amount of money per school that may be spent on offering accommodations. These often take some money; paying for additional resources for students, or getting alternative testing setups. If schools do not use all of this money, however, they may spend it on other things that they need, such as new textbooks or other supplies.
This creates an incentive in some schools to offer de facto rather than de jure accommodations. Students may have an arrangement where they receive extra time on tests, or take physical versions instead of digital, but this is not an official IEP or 504 plan, and does not count towards the school’s total, nor come out of their budget.
This makes sense for the school, and seems fine for students, at least at first. After all, what matters is how they do on the tests, not what they are officially labeled as. The problems crop up when it comes time to apply for accommodations for the SAT and ACT however. These organizations look to see if students are already receiving any kind of accommodations from their high schools, and use these as a benchmark for what accommodations they should be expected to provide.
Thus when the testing organizations ask students for examples of their current accommodations, students are empty handed, and left to scramble for reports from psychologists. This can lead to denials from the testing services, for accommodations students legitimately need.
Each group here is acting in their own best interests, but the incentives placed on schools create a problem for students. If schools are not given sufficient funding and support at the district level, they often do not have the resources to properly support their students, leading directly to situations like this one. How likely this is to occur depends on how your district sets funding priorities for schools; we know from experience that this is a common concern in Texas, but it is hardly alone there.
How to Advocate for Accommodations
While this situation is understandable from a school’s perspective, that doesn’t make it any better to be caught in as a student or parent. Luckily, there are some things you can do about it; in this section we’re going to go through what those are, and the order in which you should do them.
The first step is something you should do before you apply for accommodations at all. If you are in a position where you think your student needs accommodations, then you should begin by getting them officially tested by a medical professional. They can then give you recommendations for what accommodations would best support your student, and these requests will have more weight if they have an expert’s opinion behind them.
When you request accommodations, there will be a meeting between you, the counselor, the school administration, and possibly one or more of your student’s teachers. This will be where things either go well, or start to go wrong. In ideal situations, schools will see the recommendations from the medical professional, and acquiesce, giving the student the accommodations they need via an official plan. If they quibble instead, that’s when things get exciting.
There are two different ways schools commonly choose to not acquiesce to requests. The first is simpler, in that they simply disagree that the student needs the requested accommodations. This isn’t any fun, but is straightforward to approach. In these cases, you want to determine why exactly they denied your claim; maybe they felt that your child’s needs didn’t warrant accommodations, or maybe they felt the evidence provided wasn’t sufficient.
In some cases, schools will differ from the opinion of psychiatrists. When this happens, getting a second opinion and reapplying can be your best bet. If you are not receiving the accommodations a student is legally entitled to, then a complaint to the Office for Civil Rights with the US Department of Education may be your next step.
Note that even if schools do grant accommodations, they might not be the exact ones you think are best. This is something which can be negotiated, though parents are not allowed to be part of drawing up these plans directly. Here as well, if you think a school is discriminating against your child for the reason of disability, your last resort is the OCR.
In other cases, schools may offer unofficial accommodations, in consultation with a student’s teachers. In some ways, this is very good, as it gives the students the support they need immediately. In other ways, it is far less helpful, as it provides no evidence of these accommodations when it comes time to apply for them with the SAT or ACT, and without the legal backing of a 504 plan or IEP, there is no enforcement mechanism for these accommodations.
For these, you will need to negotiate with schools directly, to understand why they don’t want to offer these accommodations. The reasons are likely to be budgetary, which is unfortunate; many schools are indeed underfunded. In these circumstances however, if negotiating fails, you may also need to resort to OCR complaints.
For every situation, we advise letting the school know prior to submitting a complaint to the OCR; in many cases they may back down. You may also negotiate for fewer accommodations than you were originally asking for, but enough that your student is still getting the support they need. Also note that OCR complaints only cover whether a school is following the law, and do not get into the details of a 504 plan.
Accommodations, Testing, and You
Many students are ashamed to ask for accommodations, especially those who manage to achieve very high grades. After all, they have As in all their classes, so what need do they have for anything more? The truth is, however, that many students are able to succeed in spite of their circumstances, and that high grades alone do not mean a student is undeserving of accommodations.
This is especially true as some issues become more apparent when the stakes are higher. A student with anxiety may be able to handle it well on a regular chemistry test, but encounter more serious concerns when faced with the SAT, far outside their usual milieu. This isn’t weakness on the part of the student, but a natural reaction, and one they deserve support for.
Standardized tests are meant to be an objective ruler against which students can be measured and compared, and doing this requires a level playing field. Accommodations exist in order to level that playing field, and to make sure that students are assessed in a way that accurately tests their capabilities.
What accommodations are required depend on the student, and should be assessed by licensed medical professionals. The SAT and ACT are willing to meet students where they are, but do require evidence for this, especially after the Varsity Blues scandal. This is where high schools come in, as a confirmation that students really need and benefit from the accommodations they are requesting.
Final Thoughts
We hope that you found this article helpful in understanding why schools may be reticent on occasion to grant accommodations, and what your options are when such things happen. School administrations and bureaucracy can be a major pain to deal with, but knowing how the system works, and what your rights are within it, can go a long way towards making your life easier.
Of course, even with the accommodations you need, these tests can still be a real pain, both to prepare for and to succeed on. That’s where Ivy Scholars can help. We have a plethora of excellent test prep mentors, who are well experienced at helping students prepare for every aspect of standardized tests, from mastering content to working through their test anxiety. Don’t wait, schedule a free consultation today to see how we can help you. The students we work with see score increases of 180 points on the SAT on average, and we can’t wait to help you achieve the success you are capable of.
All students are different, with their own needs and strengths, and they do not all benefit from the same standards within education. Some students need accommodations to have the same educational access as their peers; Congress has recognized this, and so systems of accommodation are mandated by law. Test companies have recognized this as well, and so the SAT and ACT both provide additional options for students who need them.
Of course, sometimes things aren’t this simple, and high schools do not always want to provide the accommodations students need. In this article, we’re going to discuss how and why this happens, the ramifications it can have for students, and what you can do if you are in this situation. Let’s jump right in!
The Trouble With Providing Accommodations
The problems we discuss here are variable by school and district, and stem mostly from how schools receive their funding. Not every school district will experience these problems, but we are going to provide a general overview of how things work when they do crop up. Note that your own school or district may have its own peculiarities.
In some districts, there is a set amount of money per school that may be spent on offering accommodations. These often take some money; paying for additional resources for students, or getting alternative testing setups. If schools do not use all of this money, however, they may spend it on other things that they need, such as new textbooks or other supplies.
This creates an incentive in some schools to offer de facto rather than de jure accommodations. Students may have an arrangement where they receive extra time on tests, or take physical versions instead of digital, but this is not an official IEP or 504 plan, and does not count towards the school’s total, nor come out of their budget.
This makes sense for the school, and seems fine for students, at least at first. After all, what matters is how they do on the tests, not what they are officially labeled as. The problems crop up when it comes time to apply for accommodations for the SAT and ACT however. These organizations look to see if students are already receiving any kind of accommodations from their high schools, and use these as a benchmark for what accommodations they should be expected to provide.
Thus when the testing organizations ask students for examples of their current accommodations, students are empty handed, and left to scramble for reports from psychologists. This can lead to denials from the testing services, for accommodations students legitimately need.
Each group here is acting in their own best interests, but the incentives placed on schools create a problem for students. If schools are not given sufficient funding and support at the district level, they often do not have the resources to properly support their students, leading directly to situations like this one. How likely this is to occur depends on how your district sets funding priorities for schools; we know from experience that this is a common concern in Texas, but it is hardly alone there.
How to Advocate for Accommodations
While this situation is understandable from a school’s perspective, that doesn’t make it any better to be caught in as a student or parent. Luckily, there are some things you can do about it; in this section we’re going to go through what those are, and the order in which you should do them.
The first step is something you should do before you apply for accommodations at all. If you are in a position where you think your student needs accommodations, then you should begin by getting them officially tested by a medical professional. They can then give you recommendations for what accommodations would best support your student, and these requests will have more weight if they have an expert’s opinion behind them.
When you request accommodations, there will be a meeting between you, the counselor, the school administration, and possibly one or more of your student’s teachers. This will be where things either go well, or start to go wrong. In ideal situations, schools will see the recommendations from the medical professional, and acquiesce, giving the student the accommodations they need via an official plan. If they quibble instead, that’s when things get exciting.
There are two different ways schools commonly choose to not acquiesce to requests. The first is simpler, in that they simply disagree that the student needs the requested accommodations. This isn’t any fun, but is straightforward to approach. In these cases, you want to determine why exactly they denied your claim; maybe they felt that your child’s needs didn’t warrant accommodations, or maybe they felt the evidence provided wasn’t sufficient.
In some cases, schools will differ from the opinion of psychiatrists. When this happens, getting a second opinion and reapplying can be your best bet. If you are not receiving the accommodations a student is legally entitled to, then a complaint to the Office for Civil Rights with the US Department of Education may be your next step.
Note that even if schools do grant accommodations, they might not be the exact ones you think are best. This is something which can be negotiated, though parents are not allowed to be part of drawing up these plans directly. Here as well, if you think a school is discriminating against your child for the reason of disability, your last resort is the OCR.
In other cases, schools may offer unofficial accommodations, in consultation with a student’s teachers. In some ways, this is very good, as it gives the students the support they need immediately. In other ways, it is far less helpful, as it provides no evidence of these accommodations when it comes time to apply for them with the SAT or ACT, and without the legal backing of a 504 plan or IEP, there is no enforcement mechanism for these accommodations.
For these, you will need to negotiate with schools directly, to understand why they don’t want to offer these accommodations. The reasons are likely to be budgetary, which is unfortunate; many schools are indeed underfunded. In these circumstances however, if negotiating fails, you may also need to resort to OCR complaints.
For every situation, we advise letting the school know prior to submitting a complaint to the OCR; in many cases they may back down. You may also negotiate for fewer accommodations than you were originally asking for, but enough that your student is still getting the support they need. Also note that OCR complaints only cover whether a school is following the law, and do not get into the details of a 504 plan.
Accommodations, Testing, and You
Many students are ashamed to ask for accommodations, especially those who manage to achieve very high grades. After all, they have As in all their classes, so what need do they have for anything more? The truth is, however, that many students are able to succeed in spite of their circumstances, and that high grades alone do not mean a student is undeserving of accommodations.
This is especially true as some issues become more apparent when the stakes are higher. A student with anxiety may be able to handle it well on a regular chemistry test, but encounter more serious concerns when faced with the SAT, far outside their usual milieu. This isn’t weakness on the part of the student, but a natural reaction, and one they deserve support for.
Standardized tests are meant to be an objective ruler against which students can be measured and compared, and doing this requires a level playing field. Accommodations exist in order to level that playing field, and to make sure that students are assessed in a way that accurately tests their capabilities.
What accommodations are required depend on the student, and should be assessed by licensed medical professionals. The SAT and ACT are willing to meet students where they are, but do require evidence for this, especially after the Varsity Blues scandal. This is where high schools come in, as a confirmation that students really need and benefit from the accommodations they are requesting.
Final Thoughts
We hope that you found this article helpful in understanding why schools may be reticent on occasion to grant accommodations, and what your options are when such things happen. School administrations and bureaucracy can be a major pain to deal with, but knowing how the system works, and what your rights are within it, can go a long way towards making your life easier.
Of course, even with the accommodations you need, these tests can still be a real pain, both to prepare for and to succeed on. That’s where Ivy Scholars can help. We have a plethora of excellent test prep mentors, who are well experienced at helping students prepare for every aspect of standardized tests, from mastering content to working through their test anxiety. Don’t wait, schedule a free consultation today to see how we can help you. The students we work with see score increases of 180 points on the SAT on average, and we can’t wait to help you achieve the success you are capable of.
