What is Section 309 of the ADA, and how does it relate to the SAT/ACT?

As we’ve discussed in Facebook posts, the College Board and ACT are not K-12 establishments, so they are not required to follow Section 504 of the Americans with Disabilities Act. However, there’s a little-known section of the ADA that does apply to them — Section 309. 

In September 2010 the DOJ revised the ADA and implemented Title III, which covers public accommodations and commercial facilities. This section covers what College Board and ACT (plus ANY exam that is required for college entrance, licensing, certification or credentialing) must offer as far as accommodations and what documentation may be required. 

As defined by the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, the tests covered are “exams administered by any private, state, or local government entity related to applications, licensing, certification, or credentialing for secondary or postsecondary education, professional, or trade purposes.”

This section outlines that individuals with disabilities are eligible to receive necessary testing accommodations regardless of any “positive effects” that occur due to medication, supplies, or equipment. For example, the College Board or ACT cannot deny accommodations to an ADHD student who is treating the condition with medication. 

However, the section goes on to say that even with interventions, like medication, the student must still demonstrate “substantial limitations”. This is why we see many denials come through that cite that there isn’t a record that the impairment (i.e. dyslexia, ADHD) is significantly impacting performance. 

The section also goes on to outline what documentation is expected when supporting the request for accommodations. The “request for testing accommodations must be reasonable and limited to the need for the requested testing accommodations.” This relates to the recommendations section of the neuropsych evaluation. If the ACT or College Board doesn’t agree that the request is reasonable or appropriate, they have a right to deny or change the requested accommodations. For example, I had a student whose neurologist recommended extended time for POTS. However, the testing agency approved unlimited untimed breaks instead, because, they felt, this accommodation was more appropriate and helpful for their exam. 

This section also protects students by requiring the testing agencies to make their determinations about approved accommodations in a timely manner (enough time to register and prepare). Finally, the section also prohibits “flagging.” Flagging is a practice that was banned in 2010 where a score report was sent to schools with an announcement that the test was taken with accommodations. 

All in all, there are very few examples of testing agencies violating Section 309. In a government audit that took place from 2019-2020, there were 90,000 complaints filed with the DOJ about violations of the ADA; only 100 of them related to testing accommodations. Out of the 100, for various reasons, none were found to be in violation and were closed without litigation.  

For more information about Section 309 visit — https://www.ada.gov/resources/testing-accommodations/#fn:1

How Neurodiverse Students can Self-Study for the SAT and ACT

WRH College Prep is focused on helping neurodiverse students prepare for the SAT and ACT. We always suggest that students with differences beyond basic ADHD or ASD, or students with a PSAT score below take the paper ACT, we work with all kinds of students with all kinds of learning profiles. There are lots of things, we, as tutors, do to help our students, but for families who cannot afford tutoring or want some tips to start at home early, we have included some things you can do without a tutor’s help!

• Dedicate time each week

Set aside a specific time each week for studying for the SAT or ACT. At WRH College Prep, we do not vary our session time each week (unless there’s an emergency) because we want to make sure students are prepared for this dedicated time. They know exactly when homework needs to be completed, and they are ready with their standardized test brain at that time each week. 

• Only study for one test (SAT or ACT)

The strategies vary greatly between the two tests and the math content varies significantly. Don’t muddy the waters, choose one to prep for. You can always take both along the way or switch directions. However, don’t spend time studying the strategies and content for both. 

• Use Quality Study Guides

Avoid the big box content and definitely avoid any mock tests not developed by the ACT or College Board. That means you should only be using mocks from the big red ACT book or from College Board’s Bluebook App. When looking for quality practice material, use materials in the format that your child will be taking the test. For instance, we highly recommend No BS Test Prep for the SAT because it’s web-based and follows the format your student will see on test day. On the other hand, since all ACT test takers should be taking the paper test, all practice materials should be in book or paper form. We suggest Marks Education ACT Math Workbook, Erika Meltzer’s English and Reading books, and Robin Slatty’s Science prep guide. 

• Focus on the Basics

It seems counter-intuitive, but the score rises and falls based on the easy questions, not the difficult ones. Until students can get the basic questions correct 90% of the time, without hesitation and struggle, should you focus on learning new things. 

• Keep an error log

Keep a list of content mistakes that are being made on mock tests. Focus on studying the “high yield” concepts (the ones you’re missing the most of), then once you lower the error rate on that concept move on to the 2nd most missed. Don’t try to fix everything at once. 

• Start early and take your time

This process is a marathon, not a sprint. Neurodiverse students don’t typically start seeing significant results from working with a tutor until around 14 hours of tutoring (about 30 hours of total studying including homework), and neurotypical students don’t start seeing significant results until about 10 hours of tutoring (about 20 hours of total studying including homework). Self-studying usually takes even longer to see results. 

And remember, if all else fails, hire a professional tutor. Tutors who dedicate their time to studying the nuances of these tests are more expensive than the neighborhood tutor you find through Wyzant, but a professional tutor tends to yield higher increases in shorter amounts of time. Look for tutors like those at WRH College Prep who are dedicated to their craft and part of professional organizations like NACAC and the National Test Prep Association. 

My student can't finish the SAT/ACT within time! They need accommodations!

I cannot tell you how many inquiries I get every month with this as the main reason the parents are reaching out. Sometimes the student is working with a tutor who is giving this feedback, and sometimes it’s the student complaining; either way, I have to be the bearer of bad news — neither the SAT nor ACT will approve accommodations simply because your student cannot finish the test.

Standardized tests have to have time limits to make them standardized. They test straightforward concepts that rarely, if ever, require “deep thinking.” They reward students who have such a strong understanding of a concept that they can work through the material quickly, without pause. In other words, these tests are not designed for all students to be able to finish them. The middle 50th percentile ACT score is a little over an 18 currently, and the SAT is around a 1050. That essentially means that 50% of the approximately 4 million test takers score above those numbers and 50% below.

So what does that all really mean? Let’s use a sports analogy. This will age me, but many of you will remember the President’s physical fitness test that we had to do every year. If no one practiced any of the exercises that were tested, some students would still hit that 6-minute mile that would earn them the 85th percentile and that award at the end of the school year. Some, like me, were highly athletic but looked like a baby deer just learning how to walk when trying to run a mile — no matter how hard I practiced, I could never hit even the 10-minute mile required to hit the 50th percentile. But I also never really trained, I never really learned form, and running never became a natural movement for me; I just ran, not understanding the kinesiology behind it, not truly learning how to make running natural. So my speed has never really improved. Still today, I only run about a 14-minute mile (and only if my trainer forces me to).

So as tutors and parents, the best thing we can do for these kids is focus on that muscle memory. Where can we build the student’s confidence so they can attack the basic concepts with little to no second thought? Instead of doing mock test after mock test, make sure the student can PEMDAS without thinking twice. Instead of time drills, make sure your student can identify the subject of a sentence without hesitation. When those fundamentals come naturally, you’ll see the student speed up and get through more of the test.

Unfortunately, accommodations aren’t the quick solution for neurotypical students, and it’s unfair for neurotypical students who do not clinically require them to request their use. It diminishes their importance for those of us who have legitamitly needed accommodations in our lives.

As all of my students know, I have fairly bad dyslexia and because of my age, I was never able to use accommodations on standardized tests (old red flag rules, aka colleges knew if you used accommodations). I was terrible at timing; I made careless errors; I glossed over when reading to the point that on the PSAT I wrote my own answers for Reading into the test booklet and left the answer sheet blank (very proud moment for my parents, I’m sure). I wasn’t confident in my natural abilities, so I struggled.

Today, I’ve taken over 50 ACT’s (probably closer to 80). Yes, I know a few little tutoring tricks, but it’s just a basic understanding of the test and a deep fundamental understanding of the material that allows me to finish the English section in about 14 min, and Math in about 40. Because of my dyslexia, I still barely make it through Reading and Science within time, but that’s okay. The point is, I’ve learned how to run the mile in the target time…my 5th grade self is very proud.