As a private corporation without any public accountability, The College Board holds immense power as the administrator of AP exams and the SAT. We at Ivy Coach have long advocated for The College Board to do more for its students, especially those with a socioeconomic disadvantage and those with disabilities. In light of the new digital SAT format and widespread changes to the educational landscape in the last few years, it’s now more important than ever to ensure that students with disabilities don’t fall through the cracks. The urgency of this issue cannot be overstated. 

College Board Grants Limited Accommodations for Students with Disabilities

Let’s say a student has a diagnosed learning disability, like dyslexia or dysgraphia. Let’s say the student qualified for extended time on the SAT or AP exams. Maybe the student requires a proctor to individually administer the exam because they can’t physically fill in the bubbles on an AP test. They can circle their answers on the exam booklet, but filling in the bubbles on the scantron is a different beast. It seems simple to transfer one’s answers to a scantron, but for students struggling with dysgraphia, it’s not simple at all. It’s hard! When that student qualifies for extended time to take the test under exceptional circumstances, parents (and students) are often elated at first.

However, these students and families soon face the many limitations The College Board puts into place when navigating the complicated system of testing accommodations. The College Board recommends that students who need accommodations “start early,” stating, “If a review of documentation is required, a request for accommodations can take up to seven weeks. For example: To receive approval in time for the PSAT/NMSQT or the October SAT, students should begin working with their counselor or SSD coordinator in the spring of the previous school year—well before summer recess.”

Start the process six months before!? This timeline is untenable for many students and families, especially those who have only recently received a diagnosis impacting their ability status. Moreover, just because a student has qualified to take the SAT under exceptional circumstances doesn’t mean their school has the resources to accommodate them physically. Maybe they don’t have a proctor available. Perhaps they don’t have a room for the testing. The College Board is a private company that is not affiliated with any particular school. The school can’t be forced to make these accommodations for tests offered by a private company.

How Has the Digitization of Testing Impacted Students With Disabilities

The answer, as is so often the case, is complicated. Students with disabilities are not monolithic. The new and updated SAT format, in which the entire test is administered online, will benefit some and hurt others, depending on individual needs. This complexity underscores the need for a comprehensive solution that takes into account the diverse needs of students with disabilities. Here’s what The College Board has to say about this recent shift towards digital test-taking:

“Some accommodations are administered differently on digital tests than on paper and pencil tests. For example, if you’re approved to use a human reader on paper and pencil tests, you may get a screen reader for digital tests. Also, some accommodations may not be needed for a digital test. For example, if you’re approved for large print, you may use the zoom tool that’s available to all test takers.”

When it comes to accommodations that don’t involve the testing interface itself, The College Board writes: 

“Accommodations that don’t involve assistive technology or a change to test timing or breaks don’t require a special format of the digital test. Examples include permission for small-group testing, food/drink/medication, and permission to test blood sugar. These types of accommodations can be used by students with approval from the College Board SSD office.”

Ivy Coach Calls Upon The College Board to Do Better

Students with disabilities have waited far too long to have an equal shot at excelling at College Board-administered exams. Instead of saddling students and families with endless red tape and unnecessary restrictions on accommodations, they should embrace the diversity of lived experience found in classrooms across America and listen to the public scrutiny of their flawed practices.