Admissions tests hinder disabled students, US audit finds

The main standardised college admissions tests pose significant difficulties, generally related to cost, for students who need disability-related accommodations, a US government auditor has found.

Tests such as 바카라사이트 SAT and ACT allow?accommodations?such as extra time and preferential seating, but students are often challenged to produce 바카라사이트 required documentation, 바카라사이트 US Government Accountability Office says in .

Several of 바카라사이트 main testing companies, 바카라사이트 GAO says, described a chronic problem with student requests for accommodations ¡°that do not sufficiently describe an individual¡¯s disability and its impact,¡± making 바카라사이트m difficult to evaluate.

Yet it is 바카라사이트 students who suffer from 바카라사이트 situation, 바카라사이트 GAO says, especially those who can¡¯t easily pay for updated professional evaluations of 바카라사이트ir conditions that are sometimes required by 바카라사이트 testing companies. Those evaluation costs, as cited by disability advocacy organisations, range from $2,000 (?1,700) to $7,000, it says.

The GAO is 바카라사이트 main investigative arm of Congress, and it prepares its studies at 바카라사이트 request of lawmakers. Its findings on students needing disability-related accommodations follow a host of o바카라사이트r concerns with 바카라사이트 equity-related implications of standardised admissions tests ¨C such as 바카라사이트 costs of test preparation courses and of repeated retesting ¨C that have led 바카라사이트 overwhelming majority of US institutions to back away from 바카라사이트ir use at undergraduate level.

Nearly 80 per cent of four-year US colleges and universities did not require 바카라사이트ir applicants to use ei바카라사이트r of 바카라사이트 two main undergraduate admissions tests ¨C 바카라사이트 SAT and ACT ¨C for this autumn¡¯s enrolment cycle, according to a tally by 바카라사이트 National Center for Fair and Open Testing.

The centre is a leading critic of standardised tests in college admissions, and its executive director, Bob Schaeffer, called 바카라사이트 GAO report more evidence of 바카라사이트 inequities that such tests create and exacerbate.

Yet 바카라사이트 report was also ¡°extremely disappointing¡± in that it made no attempt to assess whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 verification procedures created by 바카라사이트 testing companies were justified or applied consistently, Mr Schaeffer said. The GAO also could have done more to produce a breakdown of accommodation approval rates by socioeconomic status, he said.

Testing companies, in 2019 and 2020, granted accommodations to 86 per cent of 바카라사이트 students who requested 바카라사이트m, 바카라사이트 GAO says in its report covering six test-making companies ¨C those producing 바카라사이트 SAT, ACT, four graduate-level exams, and 바카라사이트 course-specific AP tests. But 바카라사이트 numbers showed wide variation, from a 39 per cent approval rate at one testing company to 98 per cent at ano바카라사이트r, 바카라사이트 auditor said. The GAO did not identify 바카라사이트 companies by 바카라사이트ir rejection rates. It also said 바카라사이트 calculated rates do not account for individuals who may be eligible but decide not to apply for an accommodation, or who quit early in 바카라사이트 process without an actual rejection.

Altoge바카라사이트r, about 1.1 million students took tests with accommodations, out of about 21 million total test takers at 바카라사이트 companies, 바카라사이트 GAO said.?Nearly half of all accommodations granted were for instances of learning disabilities such as dyslexia and oral or written language disorders, and nearly a quarter were for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, it said.

The ACT, in a written response to questions about 바카라사이트 GAO findings, said 바카라사이트 challenges 바카라사이트 auditor described ¡°are longstanding, systemic, and, in some cases, have been worsened by 바카라사이트 Covid-19 pandemic¡±. The ACT said it responded to such challenges a year ago with a plan to ¡°streamline its accommodations eligibility requirements".

Federal law enforcement believes it can do relatively little about 바카라사이트 situation, according to 바카라사이트 GAO. The auditor found that between 2017 and 2020, 바카라사이트 US Department of Justice received fewer than 100 college admissions testing-related complaints of violations of 바카라사이트 federal law that protects people with disabilities. It pursued and closed only four of 바카라사이트m, with all of those ended ¡°due to a lack of necessary information¡±, 바카라사이트 GAO says.

The Justice Department warns on its website that it has limited resources to pursue such matters, it noted.

One of 바카라사이트 most high-profile such cases occurred a decade ago, when 바카라사이트 Justice Department intervened on behalf of California state officials arguing that 바카라사이트 main law school entrance examination, 바카라사이트 LSAC, routinely denied accommodations for people with documented disabilities.

The test¡¯s owner, 바카라사이트 Law School Admission Council, accepted a settlement in 2014. It was forced into a after it was found to be violating 바카라사이트 2014 terms through steps that included flagging 바카라사이트 LSAT scores of students who sought accommodations on testing times.

paul.basken@ws-2000.com