The Fat Envelope Blog: A Discussion Of All Things College Admissions and Test Prep

Saturday, May 11, 2013

If you're applying for test accommodations, read this!

I had the good fortune of attending a workshop last month led by Loring Brinckerhoff, Ph.D., the Director of the Office of Disability Policy at ETS. If you don't know ETS, it's the organization responsible for the GRE as well as a host of other standardized tests. While ETS doesn't administer the SAT, it is closely affiliated with The College Board. I'm only pointing this out to make it clear that the following information will shed some light on The College Board's process for the SAT (and I did make it a point to ask one of the presenters how close ETS' policies are to the College Board's, and she confirmed they're likely to be very similar).

So, on to the good stuff! Applying for accommodations can be a challenge, so it's an enormous help to have information from a testing organization on its accommodations process. Here are a few key points:

- Documentation is critical, and the primary evidence used in decision making. Documentation must support not only the disability, but the specific accommodations requested. In other words, you can't just request a reader because you think it might be helpful. Your documentation actually needs to support it.

- A personal statement from the student would be considered secondarily. Students can submit a letter with their documentation explaining how the disability affects them, how they have used/benefitted from accommodations in school, and why accommodations are needed on the exam. I think this is particularly important for students whose documentation from professionals is less than ideal.

- Additional documentation from the school may be helpful, including letters from counselors and/or teachers describing how accommodations are implemented for the student.

According to the presenters, the most common reasons for denial of accommodations are:

- Outdated documentation (test results must be current to last five years for the SAT and last three years for the ACT)

- Insufficient documentation (documentation may be missing specific test scores, a DSM diagnosis or clear evidence of the need for each accommodation requested)

- No previous use of accommodations

Overall, the session convinced me that parents and students need to be very proactive in ensuring that the documentation is as thorough as possible. The school counselor who submits the application may or may not be conscientious in entering information. The educational diagnostician may not include the correct achievement tests. The neuropsychologist may not write the report in a way that supports accommodations. If a student is denied, it can be very helpful to have a specialist (like me!) review the documentation. Additional letters from diagnosticians, psychologists or physicians clarifying their reports can make a difference in an appeal as well.

The take-home message is that applying for accommodations should not be treated as only a formality. While the testing companies tended to be generous with awarding accommodations in the past, the climate has changed. Rather than searching for reasons to give accommodations, the current tactic seems to be searching for reasons to deny them. Plan ahead, be thorough and seek out good advice. Good luck!

Posted By Jenn At 10:02 AM •

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Scripps National Spelling Bee: now with vocabulary definitions!

If you missed it, the Scripps National Spelling Bee announced a major change last week. If you want to advance to the semifinals or finals, you must now understand definitions. The change is of course controversial and not everyone is happy. Since we run a vocabulary-focused SAT and PSAT site here at Word-Nerd, we think the change is great!

The spellers, many of whom devote insane amounts of time to practice, have roughly six weeks to adjust to the new rules. Will there be a practical effect? Who knows? In theory, the top spellers should already have an understanding of definitions in order to best know how to spell. Knowing roots, word origins, etc. are part of the process, and these naturally bring definitions into the thought process. However, it's possible certain kids simply memorize words (and roots) without focusign on meaning, and these students will be the ones who have problems.

Now if only there were rules changes to eliminate all the nervous twitching and the repeated "May I have the country of origin?" stalling questions....

Posted By Gary At 10:01 AM •

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Out of the box thinking on testing accommodations for dyslexic students

I recently had the good fortune of attending the Learning Disabilities Association of America's national conference. I learned some things, made some great contacts and hope to make it back next year.

I had the good fortune of attending a presentation by Ruth Brodsky, an independent college counselor who works with a lot of learning disabled students. She has a background in special education, and her session on the SAT and ACT largely reflected my own views and strategies. But she made a recommendation for dyslexic students that had not occurred to me, but which makes a lot of sense. Dyslexic students should consider requesting a large format test booklet for the SAT or ACT.

Yes, I know this may sound strange. Large format test booklets were originally intended for visually impaired students, and I would guess are still almost always used by that population. However, there is some evidence that dyslexic students can benefit from large type print. Larger letters and extra space may help with decoding, which could improve comprehension.

I doubt that either the SAT or ACT will be awarding this accommodation to dyslexic students on a large scale, but if a student is receiving that accommodation in school he or she could be approved. Ms. Brodsky noted that students should ask about the desk available to them for testing if they are given a large text booklet. Because the test booklet is physically larger, the desk-chair combos common in schools can be a disaster. A large desk that allows a student to "spread out" is ideal.

Visit Ruth Brodsky's website for more information about her services if you're in the DC area.

Posted By Jenn At 3:06 PM •

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Choosing the SAT or ACT for LD/ADHD students

I was fortunate enough to have the National Center for Learning Disabilities post my article on its website a few days ago. SAT vs. ACT is a big decision for all students, but there are additional considerations for ADHD/LD students. Check it out!
Posted By Jenn At 2:41 PM •

Tuesday, January 08, 2013

Don't miss the opportunity to get a copy of your SAT or ACT test

Sometimes it amazes me how few students know about the test question and answer services offered by the SAT and ACT. Getting a copy of your actual test, as well as your answers, can be invaluable in fine tuning your preparation for another attempt. Here's some more information on how to take advantage of this service.

The SAT offers two types of answer reporting, QAS (Question and Answer Service) and SAS (Student Answer Service). Read on...

- QAS is by far the more desirable of the two. QAS provides not only a student's responses. It also gives students a copy of the actual test questions. This gives the opportunity to analyze your mistakes, just as you would when taking any other practice SAT. Unfortunately, QAS is only offered for the October, January and May tests. The good news is that you have up to five months after the test date to order it (so if you're already registered for the January SAT you won't miss out!).

- SAS provides only your answers to the test questions, not the questions themselves. Obviously this gives you much less information, but it can be helpful for determining if you have a pattern of missing easy questions or if geometry is still causing trouble. SAS is available for the November, December, March and June administrations.

The ACT offers only the TIR (Test Information Release) service. Similar to the SAT's QAS, TIR provides both your responses and the test questions. TIR is available for the December, Aprl and June administrations only, and can be ordered up to three months after your test date.

Note: If you take the SAT under non-standard conditions or on a non-Saturday test date, you are only eligible to request the SAS service. For the ACT, TIR is not available for non-national test dates (standard extended time IS eligible, but double extended time is not).

You can download the request forms here for the SAT and ACT.

Posted By Jenn At 2:07 PM •

Monday, January 07, 2013

Testing Timers: An easy way to practice for test day

I recently had the opportunity to review Testing Timers for Examiner. You can read the full review here.

To sum up, I think they're terrific. The timers are a simple way to keep track of time, as well as gauge where you should be within a section at a certain time. As of right now, the ACT timer is available on the Testing Timers website. The SAT watch is arriving shortly. Unfortunately, there is no extended time option (yet!), but Testing Timers hopes to have them available by this summer. Check it out!

Posted By Jenn At 5:36 PM •

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Straight from the horse's mouth: SAT & ACT officials speak out

I've been meaning to blog about this for a while, and the time has finally presented itself. Officials from both the College Board and ACT responded to questions from The New York Times readers about their tests, how they compare to each other, how colleges use them, etc. While I wouldn't say any of it was earth-shattering news, these posts are good reads for the college bound. For those of you who don't feel up to reading FIVE lengthy blog posts on the tests, here's a summary of the most interesting points.

1. Unsurprisingly, both sides advocate taking both tests, despite the fact that there just isn't great evidence that this practice benefits students. While they're non-profit, the College Board and ACT, Inc. are still businesses and they don't want to miss out on your test dollars. In a recent survey, only 20% of college admissions officers indicated submitting scores from both tests could strengthen an application, and only if both scores were equally strong. In other words, it's unlikely you'll benefit from taking both tests, and the effort you'd need to put in to be sure your scores were strong on both tests is more than it's worth. TAKE HOME: Pick one test and stick with it.

2. When asked about test-optional schools, both sides avoided taking on the question directly and simply pointed to the correlation between test performance and performance in college. At the same time, they defended the tests as measures of achievement that should - theoretically at least - even the playing field for students who hail from relatively unknown schools.

3. On test prep, both sides minimize the importance and effectiveness of preparation. The party line is that paying for prep courses and tutoring won't make large differences in scores. However, in a classic instance of talking out of both sides of one's mouth, both spokespeople point to free prep materials on their websites. Of course, both the College Board and ACT, Inc. offer their own prep materials as well, in the form of books and online courses. There's an implicit acknowledgement that prep helps - the "official" prep materials wouldn't exist otherwise - but neither side wants to admit it. The ACT representative emphasized that "short-term" prep doesn't help. The SAT official acknowledged that tutoring can help students who don't understand certain concepts. Both sides point to research saying prep courses achieve only nominal results. The problem is that most test prep focuses only on "tips and tricks," which are typically good only for a few points. High quality test prep does offer significant results, and it can remediate knowledge gaps for benefits far beyond test day.

4. On cheating, both sides emphasized their "extensive" security procedures. While I understand that there's justification for such vague answers - they don't want to give too much away to would-be cheaters - the effectiveness of the security measures is questionable given recent cheating scandals. I suppose time will tell whether the new procedures are effective.

You may have noticed I used the phrase "both sides" repeatedly above. Neither representative said anything widely divergent from information you could find on the tests' websites. There was nothing earthshattering and little that differentiated the two sides. While the SAT and ACT are competing tests, they've clearly decided it's in everyone's best interests to present a united front on most topics, at least to the general public.

On a side note, it was no surprise that Fair Test was one of the names cropping up on the questions about test prep, along with a couple of folks whom I know are tutors. I also found it hilarious that the SAT spokesperson could barely bring herself to acknowledge that the ACT exists. That sort of "ostrich-head-sand" mentality is probably partially contributing to the SAT losing ground to the ACT.

If you do want to read the articles in full, you can find them here, here, here, here, and here.

Posted By Jenn At 11:46 AM •

Monday, December 17, 2012

College interview tips

Here are some tips on college interviews I posted over on Examiner.com. Happy holidays everyone!
Posted By Jenn At 9:37 AM •

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Scholarships for ADHD/LD students

U.S. News has put together a terrific list of scholarships specifically available to ADHD/LD students. The earliest deadline is December 31, so there is still plenty of time to apply!
Posted By Jenn At 3:39 PM •

Monday, October 29, 2012

Changes coming to the SAT?

Check out my article on Examiner.com about possible changes to the SAT coming out of The College Board Forum that just wrapped up in Miami. Nothing set in stone, of course, but it's interesting!
Posted By Jenn At 12:48 PM •

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

The SAT is EVIL! Ummm...no...not really

I came across a tweet today from a small test prep company that was intriguing enough for me to check out its twitter profile. Unfortunately, I was greeted with this description:

helping students defeat evil college admissions monsters since 2007!

When you’re in the test prep industry you see a lot of similar hyperbole about the evils of the SAT, ACT and any other standardized test out there. I admit to engaging in some of this myself. But upon further reflection, I’m vowing to erase any sort of references to nefarious test writers who are out to trick unsuspecting students. It’s easy to guess why teens feel this way. Standardized tests are a big deal for them, and it’s often easier to blame the nasty test makers for lower than anticipated scores than it is to admit that maybe a bit more studying would have helped. What gets me about the above is that adult professionals are essentially perpetuating conspiracy theories, not to mention fostering a sense of learned helplessness when it comes to college admissions exams. Now for a little Freud-ish navel-gazing to try to understand why we pros find it so easy to hop on the test bashing bandwagon...

First, we want our students to like us! Having a good working relationship makes sessions more fun and possibly more productive/effective. It’s easy (arguably TOO easy) to find common ground by commiserating over the evils of The College Board. However, our job isn’t to be our students BFFs. Laughing about malevolent test makers does more harm than good. More on that in a moment.

Next, I suspect there’s some unconscious self-preservation happening, too. By shifting control for his/her performance to the student, and by extension, the tutor, we’re sticking our necks out a bit more than is comfortable for some. Blaming the test makers for deceptive practices shifts responsibility for lower scores onto the test itself. It’s not OUR fault the kid bombed the math; it’s those dastardly test makers!

Finally, like our above advertisement, a lot of test bashing really comes down to marketing tactics. We think that if we speak in the language of our test-hating students, they’ll be more likely to purchase our services. If we can position ourselves as the “cool” tutors who are sympathetic to the plight of high school students, we might make a few more bucks. While I’m obviously not against selling myself, I’d rather be seen as the imperturbable sort who instills confidence in both parents and students.

So enough about why we talk this way! On to why I think it’s important we stop doing it. In short, it sends the wrong message to students by taking control for their performance out of their hands. If the test is really out to get them, why do we bother with test prep at all? We wouldn’t be in this business if we didn’t believe that prep makes a difference (at least I hope not!), so why would we give our students the wrong impression? I want my students going into test day feeling confident and that they are in the driver’s seat. They’re not helpless pawns facing certain doom; they’re capable kids ready for a challenge!

So I’m pledging to stop grinning whenever a student tells me about how a question tricked him into getting it wrong. Who’s with me?

* Wanted to give a shout out to Akil Bello of Bell Curves for this great post on "trickiness" for students. Read it.

Posted By Jenn At 12:20 PM •

Monday, October 15, 2012

Live in Big D?

Hey everyone! I'm going to be doing a presentation on SAT and ACT prep for LD/ADHD students for the Park Cities Learning Differences Association this Thursday, October 18, 2012. The event is free and open to the public. Find more information here.
Posted By Jenn At 9:35 AM •

Thursday, September 20, 2012

PSAT vs. PLAN

I received an email from a parent today that made me want to do a little clarification about these two tests.

I've written before about the PSAT, and how the name gets tossed around much more than it should be to refer to just about any practice SAT. Actually, the PSAT is a specific practice SAT administered in high schools nationwide on two dates in October. The PSAT is available just about everywhere and is most commonly taken by high school sophomores and juniors. It is intended to be practice for the SAT, but the junior year administration also serves as the qualifying test for National Merit recognition.

The PLAN test is less widely available, although it seems to be getting more common. The PLAN is a practice ACT - it plays the same role as the PSAT but for the ACT instead of the SAT. While the PLAN doesn't have the double duty of serving as a qualifying test for a scholarship competition, it is valuable for gauging a student's strengths and weaknesses. Like the PSAT, it can assist in prep planning, and gives students an "official" test experience that comes as close as possible to the real thing.

So if your student has the option to take both tests, should he/she do it? Unless he/she has already made a decision about which test to take, definitely! These are both risk-free opportunities to try out the tests and can help a student decide which he/she prefers.

Posted By Jenn At 1:14 PM •

Saturday, September 01, 2012

A PSAT crash course

Got questions about the PSAT? Check out my article on Examiner.com.
Posted By Jenn At 1:33 PM •

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Teachers, smeachers - all schools really need is Google

The title of this blog post that appeared a few days ago on Google's blog has me bouncing between terrified and enraged.

"In schools, all you need is web."

The headline oozes with a righteousness that smacks of the type of religious fervor normally reserved for members of the Texas School Board. The fact that it's coming from one of the most powerful companies in the world makes it even more worrisome - it would actually be easier to move out of Texas than to avoid Google at this point. I've written before about the trend in education of encouraging kids to substitute Google for actual learning. But articles like this one, from Google itself, highlight the fact that Google is actively promoting its brand as a stand-in for real learning.

Think about it. Google is a business that wants to make lots and lots of money. They make most of their money when you click on their ads. It's in Google's best interest to convince you to substitute it for your brain. You spend more time on the site, you click more ads, they make more money.

The scariest part of this is the mysterious Google algorithm that determines search rankings. The vast majority of us never get past the first page of a Google search. Granted, that's because Google does usually do a great job at finding the information we want. But still, the search engine tells us which sites IT has determined to be the best ones for you. It's a bit Big Brother-ish don't you think? I'm not implying that Google really is skewing search results to suit itself, but it could be and we'd never know. And when I'm searching for the hours of the new sushi place I want to try, I don't expect Google to steer me to the wrong information. Even if it did happen to get me to some bad information, showing up when a restaurant is really closed is hardly the end of the world. But what if the consequences were a bit more serious? School age students aren't known for their ability to discern fact from fiction (see the infamous "tree octopus" hoax). If Google (or just some rogue employee at Google) decided to manipulate the algorithm to show results for holocaust deniers when a student searches for the holocaust you've got a serious problem.

I realize this all very Oliver-Stone-conspiracy-ish. I don't REALLY think Google is intentionally doing anything nefarious. But the potential is there, and it's dangerous to outsource our knowledge, judgment and common sense to a corporation.

Don't get me wrong. Google does put out some great products - I'm using Chrome as I type this - but it doesn't offer all of those cool free tools to teachers and students out of the goodness of its heart. It wants kids to grow up with it and never consider overcrowding their brains with useless facts about world history or art or geography (not that there's any evidence that not memorizing facts frees up our brains for creative thinking or anything else...but that's a topic for another time).

The point is this - do you really want your education to be directed by an entity motivated by profit? Of course you don't. And the good news is that if you're a thoughtful user, you can use all those cool Google apps to your benefit without falling for the sales pitch. As with just about everything available at no cost, remember that "free" often isn't really free. User beware.

Posted By Jenn At 1:19 PM •

Monday, August 06, 2012

A good night's sleep is your secret SAT weapon

I just wrote a new blog entry for Examiner.com on the importance of sleep to your SAT prep, and your studies in general. Don't miss it.
Posted By Jenn At 8:30 AM •

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

PSAT vocabulary prep: Worth it?

I know a lot of you don't have anything like test prep on the agenda at this point in the summer, but if you're a rising junior it's time to get your head back into school mode. While most of you will be using October's PSAT for its intended purpose, a practice run for the SAT, for a few of you, the PSAT means a bit more. For juniors, the PSAT is also the qualifying test for the National Merit Scholarship Competition.

If you're not already scoring in at least the 90th percentile on SAT practice tests, don't waste your time preparing for the PSAT. But if you're already in the upper echelons, it's probably worth your time to do some prep before test day. I actually advocate doing quite a bit of prep and taking the October SAT as well. You can kill two birds with one stone, since the tests are so similar.

Finally, to the question posed above - is studying vocabulary for the PSAT worth my time? If you're a student for whom preparing for the PSAT is worthwhile, then adding vocabulary to your plan is a good idea. It's actually particularly critical for achieving a high score on the PSAT. Because there are fewer questions on the PSAT, each one counts more toward your final score. Getting a few extra sentence completions correct can make a significant difference in your results, and could be critical in whether you reach your goal of National Merit recognition.

So sign up for Word-Nerd and get to work on beefing up your vocabulary! You'll be giving yourself plenty of time to learn a lot for the real SAT, and you'll be enhancing your National Merit chances, too. It's win-win!

Posted By Jenn At 12:02 PM •

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Punky Brewster says Words with Friends will help your SAT vocabulary - she's wrong

In my ongoing battle against the myth of vocabulary building via word games like Scrabble and Words with Friends, here's my latest post for Examiner.com. News flash: It STILL doesn't help!
Posted By Jenn At 10:31 AM •

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

A depressing article for ADHD students and parents

A recent article in the Chicago Tribune put me immediately on the defensive for my ADHD students. Here's a short summary.

The state of Illinois administers the ACT as part of its annual standardized testing battery for all students. The state pays for the exam, but students are able to submit their scores to colleges if they choose. The gist of the Chicago Tribune story is that an unusually large number of students in wealthy school districts are receiving test accommodations which allow them extra time on the state ACT administration. While the author doesn't submit any hard evidence of students faking ADHD diagnoses, with parental and school support, in order to gain an advantage, the article strongly implies that moneyed families are gaming the system.

Unfortunately, the belief that cheating to receive accommodations is rampant seems to appear everywhere, both among students and parents. No matter that there are very, very few documented cases of this sort of abuse, those few cases, paired with a belief that accommodations of any sort are unfair, serve to prejudice far too many adults and teens against students with diagnosed learning disabilities.

The truth is that many students who have undergone thorough evaluation and received a learning disability/ADHD diagnosis still do not receive accommodations. I work with students regularly who clearly qualify for assistance and do not receive it, either from their schools or from the ACT/College Board. Also, many who qualify don't opt to use their accommodations because they want to "do it on their own." A few cases of abuse don't make a rule.

The most concerning element of this article is not the small potential for overdiagnosis and abuse, but the underdiagnosis that regularly occurs in lower income districts. Some of those districts had no students receiving accommodations at all. Students who need testing can't get it through their schools, and parents have neither the funds nor the knowledge to ensure their children are tested privately. The damage to these students who fall through the cracks is far more significant than any nefarious behavior from a few unethical students. Let's put the emphasis on helping kids who need it, rather than ferreting out the few cheaters.

Posted By Jenn At 8:02 PM •

Saturday, June 09, 2012

SAT and ACT test dates and registration deadlines for 2012-13 school year

Following are the SAT and ACT test dates for the 2012-13 school year, along with the registration deadlines. The registration deadlines below are for on-time registration; the late registration deadlines are 10-14 days later. As a heads up, the October SAT administration is so popular that we strongly recommend registering now.

SAT test dates:

October 6, 2012 (September 7 registration deadline)
November 3, 2012 (October 4 registration deadline)
December 1, 2012 (November 1 registration deadline)
January 26, 2013 (December 28 registration deadline)
March 9, 2013 (February 8 registration deadline)
May 4, 2013 (April 5 registration deadline)
June 1, 2013 (May 2 registration deadline)

ACT test dates:

September 8, 2012 (August 17 registration deadline)
October 27, 2012 (September 21 registration deadline)
December 8, 2012 (November 2 registration deadline)
February 9, 2013 (January 11 registration deadline)*
April 13, 2013 (March 8 registration deadline)
June 8, 2013 (May 3 registration deadline)

* The February ACT is not available in New York state.

Update: I just created a public Google calendar with all SAT/ACT dates, registration deadlines and accommodations request deadlines.

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Posted By Gary At 7:30 AM •