Understanding the Accommodations Eligibility Process

The College Board

Services for Students with Disabilities

Lynn University--Transitions 2012

January 27, 2012

Objectives

• General information about SSD and accommodations

• Understanding SSD Documentation Requirements

• Everything you need to know about SSD Online

Services for Students with Disabilities

• SSD provides accommodations to students with documented disabilities on PSAT, SAT (Reasoning and Subject) and AP exams

• This year, SSD received nearly 80,000 new requests for

accommodations on College Board tests.

• Over 80 percent of all requests were approved for some accommodation.

Some Examples of Disabilities

• Learning Disorders

• Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

• Blind/Visually Impaired

• Deaf/Hard of Hearing

• Traumatic Brain Injury

• Tourette’s Disorder

• Physical Impairments

• Psychiatric Disorders

• Autistic Disorder and Asperger’s Disorder *List is not exhaustive

Some Examples of Accommodations

• Extended time • Breaks • Medical management • Change of setting • Scribe • Large block answer sheet • Write answers in test booklet • Computer for essays • Braille • Large print tests • Cassette/reader • Colored Overlays • Written copy of oral instructions

*List is not exhaustive

What is an Accommodation? • Purpose of accommodations on College Board tests

is to provide access to the tests – Not to provide the ideal testing environment.

• Accommodations required for CB tests may differ from those needed in school.

• We ask schools to be sure to request appropriate accommodations for the individual student rather than ask for the same accommodation for everyone.

When Are Accommodations Appropriate?

• Student must have a documented disability

• Functional impact needs to be demonstrated. The mere presence of a disability does not necessarily mean a student requires testing accommodations on College Board tests.

• The submitted documentation must show the need for the specific accommodation being requested.

Eligibility Process

• Must submit a request via the SSD Online system (entered by school personnel) or by completing a paper Eligibility Form (family).

• Most students work with their school but we also review documentation submitted by the family/student without school input.

• Documentation could include a complete psychoeducational evaluation, a neuropsychological evaluation, an IEP, a 504 plan, RTI documentation, teacher observations, letters from therapists and/or doctors, etc.

Eligibility

A.) School verification – The SSD Coordinator verifies that the student meets College Board eligibility criteria and the student has documentation on file that meets the College Board Guidelines for Documentation.

B.) Documentation Review –The College Board reviews a student’s disability documentation to determine if it meets the Guidelines and if accommodations are appropriate. Students can directly request that the College Board’s SSD office make the eligibility determination.

Two ways for a student to be determined eligible for accommodations on

College Board tests are:

School Verification

To be eligible for school verification, the student must:

• Have a disability that necessitates testing accommodations;

• Have documentation on file at school that supports the need for the requested accommodation(s) and meets the Board’s Guidelines for Documentation;

• Receive and use each of the requested accommodation(s), due to the disability, for school-based tests for more than four school months.

Documentation Review- When?

• The student does not have a diagnosed disability;

• The student's only disability is "other impairment";

• The student has been declassified or has no formal plan in place;

• The student has not had an official educational plan, and/or used the requested accommodations in the past four school months;

• The testing is not current;

• With some exceptions, school documentation does not include results from both a cognitive ability test and an academic achievement test (except for certain physical/visual conditions);

• The student needs more than 100% extended time;

• The student needs the use of a computer or individualized testing;

• The student needs testing accommodations not commonly provided

Start Early! • Length of Process:

– 7 weeks

• PSAT and October SAT: August Deadlines

• AP deadline: February 24, 2012 -- AP dates are set to ensure

that most accommodation eligibility determinations may be

made prior to the AP exam ordering deadlines

Processing clock does not start until everything is COMPLETE.

Documentation Requirements

Guidelines for Documentation

7 Guidelines that list the information that is fundamental in determining whether a student is eligible for accommodations, based on disability: 1.) State the specific disability as diagnosed

2.) Be current

3.) Provide relevant educational, developmental and medical history

4.) Describe the comprehensive testing techniques

5.) Describe the functional limitations

6.) Describe the specific accommodations

7.) Establish the professional credentials of the evaluator

Currency

Cognitive testing – will accept initial testing (“best practice” applies)

Academic testing – within 5 years

Psychiatric update – within 1 year

Medical update – in most cases within 1 year

Visual update – in most cases within 2 years

Hearing update – in most cases within 2 years

Functional Limitation

Student’s daily academic functioning, as it relates to taking College Board tests, is impacted due to a diagnosed disability.

HOW is disability affecting student’s ability to take PSAT/SAT/AP?

Should be demonstrated in the documentation.

Comprehensive Testing

Requirements differ, depending on disability and accommodation

Include full report, with test scores

For LD/ADHD, cognitive and academic test scores should be included

Comprehensive Testing and Techniques

Cognitive ability measures

Academic achievement and/or specific achievement tests

Input from teachers

Rating Scales

Learning Disorders/ADHD

Scores from nationally-normed, individually administered testing and report from psycho-educational evaluation should be included.

Include the student’s standard or scaled scores (Age/grade equivalents and/or percentiles are not sufficient)

WRAT4, Nelson-Denny, WASI and/or KBIT-2 alone are not sufficient, without other documentation

PHYSICAL DISABILITIES

Documentation should include:

• A summary of assessment procedures and evaluation instruments used to make the diagnosis,

• A narrative summary of the evaluation results, and

• A rationale for each accommodation recommended by the evaluator.

TEMPORARY MEDICAL CONDITIONS are not disabilities and are not eligible for accommodations under our regular process (separate process).

VISUAL DISABILITIES

Include the student’s visual measurements and results from the most recent eye examination.

Specifically, include all measurements, data, visual, fields, and visual acuity for each eye, with or without correction, if worn. If the diagnosis is based on a visual motor dysfunction, phorias, fusional ranges, depth perception and visual accommodation measurements should be included. Justification for the request of any or all accommodations should be provided

Psychiatric Disorders Developmental Delays

Qualitative information regarding disability and its impact on student’s ability to take College Board tests.

May need academic and cognitive tests (particularly if requesting extended time).

Psychiatric update

Response to Intervention (RTI)

• Where a student has been approved for accommodations through an RTI process, without comprehensive testing, the request will be evaluated through the documentation review process.

• States are required to permit a process that examines whether the child responds to scientific, research-based intervention as part of the evaluation procedures.

• Detailed description of the process used, all assessment

tools used by the school to determine the nature and

scope of disability

• Any other information that would help us to understand

student’s disability and need for accommodations (e.g.,

teacher evaluations or surveys, detailed performance

reports, etc.).

• Outdated psychoeducational evaluations and test

scores, if available, along with information about

student’s current abilities

RTI, Continued

Keep in Mind…

Must show functional limitation and need for specific accommodation requested

Be aware of additional documentation related to accommodations (computer and extended time)

Accommodations

Time…

•Need documentation that time is an issue •The SAT I: Reasoning Test (SAT) is 3 hours and 45 minutes with ten separately timed sections

• If the student is granted 50% = 5 hours and 3 minutes • If the student is granted 100% = 6 hours and 40 minutes over two days for SAT Reasoning ONLY. • No self-pacing

Breaks…

Extra Breaks Extended Breaks As Needed

Equipment, medication, nutrition…

For medically related issues, it may be appropriate to allow:

certain equipment (i.e., glucometer, slant desk, special lighting, air conditioning),

medication (i.e., insulin),

snacks (i.e., drinks and/or food)

Settings…

Small group setting

School-based testing

1:1 testing (Separate location)

Preferential seating

Output…

Regular answer sheet

Large block answer sheet

Record answers in test book

Scribe

Computer

Guidelines for Computer use as an Accommodation

Available only for the writing/essay section of tests

Students must provide documentation of a diagnosed disability that substantially impacts written expression skills (such as dysgraphia, physical disability or severe language-based learning disability).

Having fine motor skills problems in and of itself does not necessitate accommodations on College Board writing tests if no impact in the writing area is demonstrated.

Where an applicant requests a computer because of dysgraphia, the student should include documentation of a fine motor problem and an academic test of written language.

Guidelines for Computer use as an Accommodation – Common tests

Some of the common tests that are acceptable by the professional community to document visual motor skills are the Coding subtest of the Wechsler Cognitive Test or the Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual Motor Integration (VMI) or Rey Complex Figure Test. Professionals such as occupational therapists, psychologists, learning specialists, MDs can document such conditions.

As for the writing area, tests such as the Essay Composition subtest from the WIAT III, Writing Samples from the WJ-III NU, TOWL-4 or OWLS-Written Expression Scale can document the functional impact.

List is not exhaustive

Visual assistance…

Photo-enlarged print (14, 20 point)

Magnifier

Magnifying machine

Braille test

Braille device for written responses

Braille math graphs and figures

Reader

Use of colored overlay

Auditory assistance…

Written copy of oral instructions

Reader

Cassette test version

No need for accommodation…

Spelling errors are not considered as a factor in the grading of College Board essays.

Most College Board tests permit the use of calculators.

All students may request that directions be repeated.

Additional accommodations…

List is not exhaustive

When a student requests other accommodations, such are considered and granted, within reason, when submitted documentation supports the request.

SSD ONLINE!

SSD Online

Disabilities Accommodation Management System

• Online system to request and manage accommodations for

students with disabilities

• Launched to schools almost two years ago-- February 1, 2010

Benefits of SSD Online

Check a student’s accommodation status online (no need to call the College Board)

See information about all of your SSD students in one place

Print lists of requested documentation

Get immediate feedback of Eligibility Form errors and documentation requirements, when completing an accommodations request

Print Eligibility rosters and AP NAR - See all students approved for accommodations at any time

Print out a parental consent form and have the parent sign it

Log onto SSD Online to begin the process (Professional log-in account needed)

How it works

Complete questions online regarding the student’s disability, requested accommodations, and available documentation

Submit request electronically

The system will inform you if documentation is required

When required, submit documentation by mail or fax

Receive e-mail notification that decision has been made; log in to view decision letter

Log in at any time to see status of students’ request or to print a roster

Online Dashboard

Shows status and accommodation information for all students

Only show students with missing data

Only show students with missing data

Helpful Information

Search Tools

Status

Approved Accommodations

Click column header to

Search alphabetically

Submit

Eligibility Roster

or AP NAR

Only show students with missing data

Options:

Print Cover Sheet

Options:

View Decision Letter

Create Change Request

Click on name to see

student details

Click to Create

Request

Student Details

Request History

Pending Request

Decided (Sep 15, 2010) View Activity History View Decision Letter

Not Approved

Reading 50%, Writing 50%

•Decided (Dec 16, 2010)

•View Activity History

•View Decision Letter

Student Information

COMPLETING A

REQUEST FOR ACCOMMODATIONS

Completing Online Student Eligibility Form

• Click on the “Submit Eligibility Form” button on dashboard

• Navigates to next screen which has several sections

1. Parent or student signature

2. Documentation of the student’s disability and need for

accommodations

Click on the continue button to navigate to next page

2/6/2012 The College Board Property & Confidential 47

Provide Online Information about the Student’s Disability

Click arrow to

expand category

Click here to

view

disabilities

alphabetically

View Disabilities by Category or Alphabetically

Select Accommodations

Messages

You have selected both Reader and Cassette. These

accommodations serve the same purpose. Please select

only one of these accommodations.

Confirm accommodations

Respond to Questions regarding Documentation and School Plan

Documentation Requirements

Notification of Documentation Needs

Print Cover Page to Send with Documentation

Logging In

Need:

SSD Coordinator Form on file

Go to http://professionals.collegeboard.com/testing/ssd/forms or

www.collegeboard.org/ssdonline to download form

Educational Professional Log-in Account (EPL)

Go to https://epl.collegeboard.com/epl/login.do or

www.collegeboard.org/profaccount to create account

Access code (1st time only)

Will be sent by email

Select

Disability

Accom

Mgm

Will log onto dashboard

Only show students with missing data

• www.collegeboard.com/ssdonline

• Helpful links on dashboard

More Information

Keep In Mind…

Start Early! Documentation review takes approximately 7 weeks from receipt of all information

Specific documentation that is required depends on specific disability and accommodations that are requested

Check dashboard for announcements.

Use cover sheet for supporting documentation. Do not use cover sheet

for other letters, documents.

BY FAX: (866) 360-0114

By Mail:

Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) - College Board SSD Program

P.O. Box 8060

Mt. Vernon, Illinois 62864-0060

By Phone: (609) 771-7137

TTY: (609) 882-4118

By Email: ssd@info.collegeboard.org

Contacting the College Board…