There’s something unfortunate that happens more often than it should in the testing landscape. And I want to make sure it doesn’t become your reality. That “something”? Having a legitimate need for extended time, or other accommodations, on the SAT or ACT…but not receiving it.
It’s a sad outcome. But here’s the happier news: if you read this post, you’ll have the info you need to ensure this doesn’t happen to you. There’s a series of boxes you need to check ahead of time before you sit for the SAT or ACT—appointments and conversations. Don’t let this crucial task fall by the wayside in the midst of test-prep chaos—especially since if you wait too long, your timing will seem suspect (more on this below!).
Having learned about many students’ SAT/ACT experiences in my capacity as a test prep tutor, I know for a fact that when a student genuinely warrants testing accommodations and/or extended time—e.g. when he has dyslexia, ADHD, or a visual/audio processing disorder—and then doesn’t get it, that can mean game over for his score, no matter how hard he’s studied. Being denied the time he’s entitled to can be the final nail in the coffin of his ACT composite score, or torpedo his SAT by a few hundred points! This, in turn, may delay his whole Testing Timeline, pushing back his second attempt far into junior year…and throwing off his study plan for the SAT/ACT!
Neither you nor I wants that. So below, I fill in the major blanks for you about the process of procuring extra time/accommodations, and provide you with a plan to get them well before your first SAT or ACT. Goodbye, unnecessary sweat and tears!
Table of Contents
On the SAT, students may apply for the following amounts of extended time. Note that the College Board will ask you to specify which subjects you need extra time for, and it won’t give you blanket extra time unless you specifically need it for “Reading”—because that skill is required in every section of the test:
SAT-takers can also request a range of accommodations, such as:
The ACT offers two options to apply for: National Extended Time (50% more time), and “Special Testing” (anything else, such as specific special accommodations and/or more than 50% additional time).
Extended time and/or accommodations on the SAT and ACT are determined by two types of documentation:
In practical terms, this means that you’ve had a neuropsychological evaluation AND that your school district has taken this into account by creating an “Individual Education Program” (IEP), “504 Plan,” or a “Response To Intervention” (RTI) plan. If you’re a private school student, this might also be called a “service plan.”
The test authorities are basically asking you to prove that 1) a professional has declared that you have a learning disability or medical issue that could affect performance on high-stakes testing and deserves extra time or accommodations, and 2) your high school has also implemented these accommodations into your daily school life. For instance, you haven’t just gone and found one individual doctor who says you need double time, but your school has also acted on this recommendation to allow you to USE double time for tests in school.
The College Board (SAT) requires the following timelines for evaluations:
And when it comes to the ACT:
If all of your documentations fall within the above-noted timeframes, it’s time to submit your request to the College Board (for extended time and/or other accommodations on the SAT), AND/OR to the ACT. Please note: ACT and the College Board are two separate companies, with two distinct processes and timelines. If you apply for and receive accommodations for one entity, that means NOTHING when it comes to the other. If you’re taking both tests and want accommodations for both, you’ll have to apply for each separately.
In most cases, the College Board STRONGLY encourages you to apply for extended time and accommodations through your school (and so do I!). When you have an IEP or other education plan in place and the school submits the request FOR you, this can speed up the process of getting your request approved—to three weeks or less. Otherwise, without a formal education plan in place, and applying on your own, the request may take up to seven weeks.
NOTE: The College Board does not automatically require documentation when you make your request. For some accommodations, you may get what you need by completing your request alone. Though you might get a response faster this way, the downside is that if your request is denied, you’ll have to submit the documentation and start the whole submission process (and waiting limbo) over again. For that reason, I recommend you start early, submit everything, and hopefully get it approved the first time.
The ACT requires that you submit all documentation along with your request for accommodations. In fact, they require you to register for a test date online FIRST, indicating whether you’ll be applying for National Extended Time or “Special Testing.” Once you’re done registering, they’ll email you information for how to work with your local TC (“testing coordinator”) to submit your request and documentation. It’s worth reading about their application resources here.
This might not be what you want to hear, but a few years ago, a series of college cheating scandals spurred the College Board and the ACT to become pickier about who they grant extended time and other special accommodations to. And there’s no denying that if every student who simply wanted more time automatically received it, EVERYONE’S scores would improve! Plus, extra time is meant to counterbalance the very real effects of a TRUE learning disability…NOT a way for well-to-do students to pay off a family friend with an MD to say they have “test anxiety,” then get near perfect scores because they have an unfair amount of time on the faster-paced sections of the ACT.
In fact, even when you have all your documentation in order, and the evidence is compelling, I’ve seen students get what I call a “knee-jerk ‘no’”: like, an initial negative first reaction to a request. I’m SURE you know a person who gives “knee-jerk ‘no’s”: it doesn’t matter if you’re asking to use their pen or asking if you can stay out ‘til 2AM on a school night—the first reaction is just going to be “NO!”
In this case, I don’t want you to be alarmed. You can still land your extra time. What you’re going to do is file an appeal, typically with additional documentation.
The two most common reasons for which your request may have been denied the first time are: the College Board or the ACT deemed your documentation to be insufficient; or, the evidence doesn’t quite fit the request you’re making. For instance, say you have diabetes, a disease that means you may need to take extra breaks to replenish your blood sugar levels…but you requested something that the ACT doesn’t believe to be directly pertinent (e.g. a reader, the right to type your essay on a computer, etc.). In this case, you may get denied. It’s not that you don’t deserve any accommodations, but they decided that you maybe don’t deserve the particular accommodations you asked for. However, if you had simply asked for unlimited breaks, in which they’ll stop the clock when you get up and start it again when you sit back down, you’d likely get approved.
More often than not, if your documentation is recent enough, you work with your high school to submit the appropriate requests to the ACT or College Board, and you’ve built time into your Testing Timeline for an initial “knee jerk no” and to then make an appeal…you’ll more than likely get the accommodations you deserve.
Unfortunately, this does occur from time to time. But you’re still not without options. If your preferred test is the SAT and they repeatedly deny you the accommodations you need…that means it might be time to switch to the ACT and apply for accommodations with them, instead (or vice-versa). Sometimes, you don’t get to pick the test—the test picks YOU.
1. If your educational or neuropsychological evaluations are out of date (according to the deadlines laid out above), get them refreshed by the end of sophomore year! This will give you adequate time to take the PSAT/NMSQT with accommodations, which will at least set a precedent with the College Board. The absolute LATEST to get re-evaluated is fall of junior year, which would be too late for the PSAT/NMSQT.
2. If you’ve never had a neuropsych evaluation done, and you think you may have learning disabilities that could warrant accommodations on standardized tests, work with your school or with a private neuropsychologist AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. Ideally freshman or sophomore year. If you’ve never had this done and you wait until junior year, I’ll give it to you straight: the timing looks a little too convenient to the College Board and to the ACT. No matter how legitimate your condition is, it may appear to the testing powers that be that you’re making up a disability just to gain advantages and increase your score. Too many unprincipled people have lied to inflate their scores in recent years.
3. If you’ve completed your evaluations, take the extra step of securing an IEP, 504 Plan, RTI Plan or Service Plan. In other words, work with you school’s counselor or other authority to officially submit your evaluation and get it acknowledged in your school/school district as a formal education plan.
4. Actually use the high school testing accommodations you’re entitled to! Our goal here is to establish a track record: proof that you really NEED these accommodations and use them in real life…not just, y’know, spring of junior year when you’re taking the SAT or ACT! If you’re entitled to extended time, make sure you make use of it for some of your tests in school. Don’t feel embarrassed about standing out as the one person who doesn’t leave when they ring the bell. Nervous about what your classmates think? Try not to be—after all, you deserve the same chance at a good score as they do, and your peers aren‘t the ones taking the SAT or ACT for you!
Lately, the College Board and ACT are working hard to distinguish between people who just want extra time from those who deserve and need it. Hit up your school counselor and officials and ask questions. And if you need help formulating your test prep plan after your get your extended time/accommodations sorted out, that’s where I excel!
