Requesting Accommodations on College Board Exams
By Jill Green, The College Board
When you are applying to college, you may take the SAT or other College Board tests. In order to use a sign language interpreter, extended time, or other testing accommodations, you will need to request approval to receive accommodations. Understanding the accommodations requests process and starting early will ensure that all needed test materials are ready for you on test day.
The College Board is a mission-driven not-for-profit organization dedicated to clearing a path for all students. It produces a variety of exams that are used in college admissions, including the SAT Suite of Assessments (SAT, PSAT/NMSQT, PSAT 10, and PSAT 8/9), SAT Subject Tests, and Advanced Placement (AP) exams. The College Board is committed to making sure that students with disabilities can test with the accommodations they need.
Testing accommodations are available for all College Board tests. Accommodations for certain tests (SAT, PSAT 10, PSAT/NMSQT, SAT Subject Tests, and AP exams) must be approved by the College Board’s Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD). Once approved, with limited exceptions, accommodations remain in effect until one year after your high school graduation. You do not need to apply again when taking another College Board exam.
Request Process
The fastest and most efficient way to request accommodations is to work with your high school’s SSD coordinator. Your school’s SSD coordinator can submit accommodation requests online. Well before taking a College Board test, speak to your SSD Coordinator to discuss which accommodations will be needed.
In January 2017 the College Board implemented a new, streamlined process for reviewing requests for accommodations. This simplified process makes it easier for eligible students to access the accommodations they need. When a student has an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), 504 Plan, or Qualified Formal School Plan, most accommodation requests will be approved if:
- The requested accommodation is included in the plan;
- The student is using the requested accommodation for classroom tests; and
- The request is submitted by the student’s school online.
If you are home-schooled or if you wish to request accommodations without the assistance of your school, you can request accommodations using a paper accommodations request form (also called a Student Eligibility Form). Download the form from the College Board website. See https://www.collegeboard.org/students-with-disabilities/request-accommodations/submitting-requests-without-your-school.
Documentation
In some cases, you will be asked to provide documentation for the College Board’s review. For example, documentation may be requested if you request extensive amounts of extended time or if you are not receiving accommodations in school. Documentation is always required when a paper Student Eligibility Form is used.
Documentation guidelines vary, depending on the disability and requested accommodations. If you are asked to provide documentation, send in a statement from your school or doctor confirming that you are deaf or hard of hearing. While there are various ways to document a need for accommodations, the most useful documentation for students who are hard of hearing includes:
- A current audiogram
- Information on the onset of the hearing loss
- A summary of assessment procedures and evaluation instruments used to make the diagnosis
- Information relating to whether your hearing loss is static or changing
- The impact of your hearing loss on your learning and ability to take College Board tests
- A rationale for the specific accommodations requested.
When documentation is requested, it is important to provide information explaining why you need certain accommodations, particularly if you are requesting accommodations that are not normally associated with hearing (e.g., a four-function calculator). If you are requesting extended time, it is helpful to provide information showing that you work more slowly than other students. Because most College Board tests are paper tests, and do not have listening tasks, you may not need all of the accommodations that you use in school. See https://www.collegeboard.org/students-with-disabilities/documentation-guidelines/hearing-impairments for more information about documentation.
Accommodations
The College Board provides many different types of accommodations for its tests. Some accommodations that are helpful for students who are deaf or hard of hearing include:
- Preferential seating
- Written copy of oral instructions
- Use of FM System
- Sign Language Interpreter for Oral Instructions
- For tests that have listening tasks (AP World Language and Music exams), repetition of aural stimuli, or permission to access the aural prompts in another manner (e.g., human reader, or written script).
These are some of the accommodations that are available. The College Board provides many others, and will consider all requests for accommodations, even if they have not been provided previously.
Tips for Accommodation Requests
Start the request process early–as early as your freshman year of high school. When documentation review is required, the process can take seven weeks. Starting early will give you time to collect all supporting documentation.
Check with your SSD coordinator before your request is submitted to make sure all accommodations that you need are requested. While accommodations can be added if your situation changes, don’t wait until test day to find out that something you need has not been requested or approved.
Don’t request accommodations that you use in your classes but which are not needed for College Board tests.
American Sign Language Interpreters are provided for oral instructions only. They are not permitted for test questions.
If you are requesting extended time, explain why time is needed. The College Board approves different types of extended time (e.g., reading, math, etc). Extended time for listening applies only to tests certain AP and Subject tests. It only allows additional time to respond to questions. If you require that prompts be repeated, include this as a separate request. For most tests, you must stay for the full test time–you cannot leave early if you finish early.
If your request is not approved, contact SSD to find out what additional information is needed. ~
Editor’s note: For more information, visit the SSD website at collegeboard.org/ssd. Contact SSD at (212) 713-8333, or ssd@info.collegeboard.org. Jill Green serves as the Senior Director of Services for Students with Disabilities at The College Board.
H&V Communicator – Winter 2019