Should children with ADD get extra time on test.

emeraldkity4
Sun, 17 Jul 2005 18:34:16 +0000

Academic tests are designed to show a students academic skills.
If the test was geared to show processing speed- then extending the test for some and not for all would give inaccurate results.

The SAT is geared to measure critical thinking skills- yes some people will process faster- but faster is not always better in all circumstances including college requirements.
My daughter has been measured as having an overall IQ of 160- comparable to the IQ of Benjamin Franklin and John Locke, however the subsets range from way above her measured age- to below. Clearly an indicator of a disabilty.
She functions fairly well in college- & the college was quite aware of her ADD when they offered her admission.
While scores no longer indicate what conditions were used to administer the test- allowing students who have a processing speed disabiltiy to finish the test with extended time gives the schools more accurate information about their true ability.

As to your question for physically and mentally demanding pursuits as with someone seeking a career in Special Forces, I don’t believe that hormone measures are part of the requirements.
Extra time would not be appropriate in testing say a ocean rescue operation, because that would not be transferable in the field. Someone with lightening reflexes is going to be more successful than someone who has to stop and think about what to do.
However- a college student does have support services available and does have the flexibility to have more time for their studies as indicated.
I am getting the impression that even if the test indicated who was recieving accomodations, that you would be against anyone recieving that even if they did very well. I do think that tests should indicate if the time was extended for the reasons I have given above, and I think that colleges use the SAT as a factor certainly not the only one to gauge how a student will do there.
the SAT is only a tool to possibly gauge how a student will do, many schools don’t even require SATs including some of the most competitive using instead grades, essays and recommendations to determine if a student will thrive.
Yes public schools sometime do just go by numbers, grades and scores, but those schools are also obligated to offer accomodations to students with disabilites.