Untimed Test article overstates the situation
Reader comment on: Student Backlash Brews Against Untimed Tests

Submitted by Pat O'Brien, Aug 17, 2007 02:59

Gentlemen:

Accomodations for the SAT and ACT are given for verified learning disabilities for which the student has already received accomodations at the school based on a learning evaluation by counselors and staff. Even with that documentation, I have encountered a number of unhappy students and families that have not been approved for extended time. As a retired California counselor who still attends many college fairs, I speak to many parents who have applied for and have not been approved for extended time. Of course, the test officials do not want to have a reputation of approving students because of their connections, wealth or influence---that's why the decision is based on careful evaluation by the test company.

Your writer is incorrect to state that College Admissions officers are hoodwinked because of artifically inpeccable transcripts: test scores are not included on transcripts, test scores must be ordered and sent directly from the test company to the college admission office. So if a student has taken the challenging courses and obtained the highest grades, how can that transcript be artificially inpeccable?

What evidence does your writer provide in predicting a battle this fall by students opposed to extended time, or to the haphazard misconception that College Admission Directors are making erroneous decisions? Verily, this article needs some substantial facts, not just the impression from one limited private school experience.

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