My son took the SATS in Israel. Beforehand, he submitted an evaluation to the testing committee as required, but was given no accomodations other than a larger-than life answering form. In high school, he had been given extra time and/or oral tests. When I inquired, I was told that the SATS must show if the person is “slow”—that “the colleges want to know” , and so no accomodations could be made.
He took a three month course, took the test, and failed miserably. My question—how would he qualify for accomodations in the US—and does the situation differ from that that I described? How could I ever expect him to try again???
SATS
I’m sorry to hear that other countries are using SATs. In this country, depending on what his evaluation said, he might receive more accomodations. Most accomodations need to have also been given in high school for them to be awarded on the SAT but ADD will easily get 50% more time and extended time is the easiest accomodation to get.
What accomodations are you hoping for would be the question. And where does he want to go to college? In this country, low SATS does NOT keep a student from attending college. We don’t speak of ‘failing SATS’ here. Low scores on the SATSs preclude a student from attending certain colleges but college itself always remains an option regardless of SAT scores.
quick comment
Quickly, I am not sure what the dissability policy is in Israel, but I would assume that it would be similar to the US policy. In the US students with any learning dissability are granted accomodations which almost always include more time to take exams. Perhpas, if your child is interested in attending a US school, s/he could take the SAT in the US? It might be helpful to contact the SAT administrators in the US to enquire.
Secondly though, I wanted to respond to what Sara has just said. While she is somewhat right, an SAT score isn’t something that will keep you from getting accepted to any college, it is important to note that a high score will get you into much better schools. It is never a good idea to simply accept a low SAT score just because it gets you into a college. Aim high and get into the best.
Along those lines, simply saying to the college that the SAT score is low because of ADD will most likely not fly becuase accomodations are offered to compensate for that. If the ADD was diagnosed late in high school and the GPA is low because of grades before diagnosis, and grades after improved as your son used ADD remedies to improve, that is somtheing the school will consider…but it is important to note that if you are claiming a dissability, the only way to have it accepted by institutions is to make use of all the remedies offered you for your dissability- so be sure to follow through with the SAT in the US to see what they will do.
Best of luck.
Re: quick comment on what are the best colleges?
Aim high and get into the best.
How exactly do we determine what are the ‘best’ colleges in America?
Do you really mean to say the most competitive entry colleges? The most competitive entry college would be Harvard of course. Other than the stiff competition to get in, what measures qualify it as the ‘best’?
Is a Lexus really a ‘best’ car or is it a status-based decision to consider it as such? What is the ‘best’ hospital? Are GAP clothes really better made than other clothes or are they simply well marketed and currently popular?
To assume that a school is better than another simply because it is popular or ‘hot’ might be a shallow assumption.
Along those lines, simply saying to the college that the SAT score is low because of ADD will most likely not fly becuase accomodations are offered to compensate for that. If the ADD was diagnosed late in high school and the GPA is low because of grades before diagnosis, and grades after improved as your son used ADD remedies to improve, that is somtheing the school will consider…but it is important to note that if you are claiming a dissability, the only way to have it accepted by institutions is to make use of all the remedies offered you for your dissability- so be sure to follow through with the SAT in the US to see what they will do.
Best of luck.[/quote]
That sounds odd, I was granted extra time X2 on the GRE, so I’d suspect that an SAT as an entrance test would be the same. :?
If you intend to have your child attend a US school you may want to contact the college Undergraduate Dean or Director of the Disability Resource Center directly to ask what their policy or accommodations are.
Will
(As to my GRE… it turned out that the Program and Grad Dept. granted me a waver, so I didn’t need to spin that wheel of fortune. Perhaps the same may work out for you )