Should my teachers reveal that I had extra time on tests (for ADD) in their comments?

Parent Cafe
1

<p>I go to a top-notch private prep boarding school. I also have ADD (diagnosed 5 years ago). Extra time really helps me – if I know everything on the test, inside and out, but have to complete the test in the normal amount of time, it’s very unlikely that I will get an A (which would reflect my knowledge of the material). If, say, I get a half hour or an hour extra, (50-100%), then I can complete the test (and receive a grade which fairly reflects my knowledge of the material).</p>

<p>For example: On one math test, which I felt prepared for, I got a 38% (out of 100). Then I prepared for the next test, requested extra time (maybe 30 min extra), and I got a 98 (our tests are notoriously tough, and anything above a 90 is an incredible accomplishment. 60 points in 30 minutes <– obviously, I need the extra time… I was equally prepared for both tests.</p>

<p>I started getting extra time a little after mid-terms (hadn’t thought of it before then). It was rather unofficial and undocumented (I went to the teachers to ask for extra time, not through the school psychiatrist or someone). In my last class of the day (physics), the teacher would leave when the period ended and just let me stay in the classroom and finish the test (and leave it on his desk and shut the lights off when I was ready to leave) when I was ready. He didn’t know I actually had ADD until the last test – he was just giving me extra time to complete the test.</p>

<p>In French, my teacher let me make up a test I missed at night (at her apt), and I ended up spending 2 hours on it… got a 92 (accurately reflected my understanding).</p>

<p>In math, I did tell the teacher I had ADD (was talking with her about why I see things differently than others, and why I learn differently and I mentioned that I was diagnosed, and we talked about how this explains in part why i do things differently).</p>

<p>In English and art, it was irrelevent because there were no in-class tests, just papers and projects. (Which, actually, I ended up taking longer to complete than others because I take both subjects very seriously and don’t want to turn in something which is not a challenge or the absolute best it could be… I put a LOTTTT of thought into these… I admit to being an overthinker when it comes these… but it’s because I’m passionate about them.)</p>

<p>Anyway, I got my grades back the other day, which always include a few paragraphs from each teacher of commentary on you as a student.</p>

<p>Here’s the problem: in those comments, they talked about my taking a long time to complete tests.</p>

<p>My French teacher, from whom I received extra time from twice (when making up tests), said “it should be noted here that bushka5 was allotted extra time on all of her tests, sometimes up to a full extra period”. I don’t believe she made this mistake on purpose, but it is not true, and because I’m supposed to get extra time for my ADD, isn’t that confidential??? It’s not like I’m a dumb student who needs 2 hours to take a test to guess answers… and this is what it will seem like to someone (ie COLLEGE ADMISSIONS) who reads it. should it be “noted”?? is that fair?</p>

<p>my physics teacher wrote “i worry about her need for what seems to be near limitless time on tests” and “she spent 3.5 hours on the final exam – an unusually large amount of time for one test”… 1) for the vast majority of that time, i was sitting in his room, waiting for him to come back so he could clarify a few questions… when he didn’t show for a while, i started to write out long explanations (maybe 5 full pages of writing – I’m very tenacious, and want my grade to accurately reflect my ability, whatever that may be… and i KNEW this stuff inside and out, but sometimes his phrasing is incredibly ambiguous) for the problems for each possible explanation he could give. ie, if he said X is what he meant, then here is my answer and explanation, if Y is what he meant, then here is my alternate answer and explanation… etc. this is why it took me 3.5 hours (the final exam was a 1.5 hour test). i was complete with most of the test in under an hour, but his phrasing on a few (5 maybe) was very ambiguous, so i waited so i could clarify.</p>

<p>my english and art teachers talked about how my projects were late (and art teacher said i was too much of a perfectionist and english said i was disorganized), but they both noted that i was one of the most “brilliant” students they’ve ever come across in their 60+ years of teaching at this top school… but they didn’t give me a’s due to me being late and disorganized.</p>

<p>^these 2, i suppose, were rather fair, but the reason i take so long is because i’m incredibly thorough, and it takes me a while to be thorough with ADD.</p>

<p>Keep in mind that I am officially diagnosed with ADD… and that when you take, say, the SAT’s with extended time, it’s not mentioned in your score report.</p>

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<p>I don’t know the law on this, but if others here tell you it’s to be confidential, then I’d make a beeline for the Dean or Principal of your school to have the report card anecdotes modified. The teachers should also be made aware so the school culture changes on this. It could mean your parent discussing it with the Dean. But first I’m waiting for another poster to weigh in with a legal answer. </p>

<p>I know that ADD isn’t considered Special Education, but there are so many new laws regarding medical privacy (we all fill out forms constantly…) that this may be a violation of your medical privacy. </p>

<p>Also post over in the Learning Disabilities section of CC, where there might be some with experience.</p>

<p>Offhand, I feel as though these teachers are making a huge deal over your accommodations!</p>

<p>My recollection from teaching public school was that we were not ever allowed to make any mention on a report card comment that would indicate the existence of an IEP (Individual Education Plan) or anything to do with special needs or accommodations. Once, in my first year as a teacher, I wrote something that could be so construed on a draft report card comment. My principal brought me in to correct me. That was in a public school with 500 students.</p>

<p>I’d like to know if this is a matter of law in the public school system, and if so do those rights carry over into private schools. As public school teachers, we were constantly told not to mention students’ special needs outside of a classroom, not to use last names in disucssions, and many other ways to protect student privacy.</p>

<p>Meanwhile, it’s worth considering how to begin to meet the concerns of the Art and English teachers. You may need to learn to outline your project approach in advance so the time doesn’t run away with you for projects with endless time possibilities.
Perhaps you can learn to discuss projects with them in stages, submit drafts on deadline, and so on. Ask for their help in the coming year. Since they believe in you as so brilliant, you’d be wise to ask them if they have any ideas to teach you to cope with these patterns. How mature it would be to approach them and say, “I understand. Will you help me try in the coming semester to guide me in sub-stages towards the next big assignment?” My guess is you are complexifying these assignments until they are out-of-control.</p>

<p>On the report card anecdotes, can any lawyers, doctors, or educational administrators help this poster?</p>

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<p>Paying3Tuitions - I have gone through all the major federal legislation in terms of academic disabilities as a student because of cyclic vomiting syndrome and I believe that ADHD is usually handled through Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. While a 504 Plan is not as comprehensive as an IEP (created under the IDEA), it still has a lot of muscle for getting students official extra time and other classroom accommodations.</p>

<p>I’m not a teacher, lawyer, doctor, or educational administrator but I wanted to ask the OP for some clarification. Does your school administration know you have ADD? Do your French or Physics teachers know you have ADD? Are these comments put on transcripts? I was a little confused by your post. I think your concerns are legitimate and raising them with the teachers or administration is something you should do sooner rather than later.</p>

<p>If those two teachers do not know you have ADD, I think they are behaving properly, as their concerns are honest and your need for extended time is a legitimate academic concern. They do not accuse you of needing time to guess the answers and their concern may be indicative of their belief that you have a learning obstacle like ADD.</p>

<p>If I were in your circumstances, I would immediately schedule a meeting with the school’s Section 504 coordinator, the school psychiatrist, or the person who handles classroom accommodations. As a student who has needed deadlines pushed back due to a physical disability (severe migraines), having your extended time needs down on paper is important, especially when it comes time for the SAT, AP exams, and college. Unofficial extra time doesn’t happen on those. A good friend of mine has a 504 plan at my school and she gets extra time on all tests, at school and standardized. You made a special note that you <em>told</em> your math teacher you have ADD and that makes me think your other teachers do not know. My school (2200 student public) is <em>extremely</em> bureaucratic and these steps are crucial. It seems to me that a teacher cannot knowingly disclose a conditions that they are not aware exists. Getting a 504 plan protects YOU. It is not disclosed on my high school transcript and I believe it will go a long way to protecting your privacy. It may seem counterintuitive that telling people you have ADD will protect your privacy. I believe that the protections that P3tuitions mentioned will only protect students who have 504 plans, IEPs, or other official documentation.</p>

<p>If the comments are not going to be changed, you should explain them in the personal statements on your college applications. That will give you the opportunity to clarify the situation and explain that the additional time was medically justified. It may be worth contacting the office that handles classroom accommodations at the schools you apply to. I don’t doubt the validity of your struggles and hope that you continue to do well!</p>

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<p>Because of my low midterm grades (first term at this school 2000 miles away from home, notoriously intense workload), i was put on scholastic warning. I was then required – due to my school’s method of dealing with all kids who seem to be struggling – to attend 3 time management sessions, 3 counseling sessions w/ a psychologist (not psychiatrist), check in early for a few weeks, and my teachers all had a meeting with the dean and my adviser to try to figure out what they felt was impeding my success (only 3 of my 5 teachers showed – math and French were busy).</p>

<p>The time management coach asked me what was impeding my success. I listed a few things (first term at perhaps the country’s most challenging school ever after coming from a very insufficient public school, 2 friends back home committing suicide, not having enough money to feel secure in purchasing necessities, extremely competitive environment, and finally, not having enough time to complete tests). This coach is supposed to be able to pull strings to help students succeed – she doesn’t’ just do time management (she ended up seeing time management wasn’t my problem – but it was required anyway). She told me to go to my teachers and ask for extra time. Physics was already letting me stay after class… so I went to my math and french teachers… they let me do extra time… don’t believe ADD was mentioned… then I got extra help from my math teacher and we ended up talking about my conceptual understanding of math, and I said I just see things differently and I need more time for concepts to sink in… i mentioned i had ADD (as an explanation for this) and we talked about it (her son has it too). this was a casual conversation.</p>

<p>time management coach told my adviser that i was getting extra time. my adviser – quite the rule-bound type – was alarmed by the casualty of my teachers allowing extra time. adviser asked the psychologist if this was customary/ok. he didn’t have a problem with it. but my mother did receive an email from him which requested info on my add – when i was diagnosed, by who, etc… (i already gave him this info, i guess he wanted to verify).</p>

<p>2nd to last physics test of term – class ended, everyone left, he said to me, “come on, i’m not going to let you have extra time this time” (don’t remember what his justification was)… and i was not finished, but knew the material, and i was visibly upset (perhaps a tad tearful? i was very upset, but calm), and said, “wait, but that’s not fair, i’m supposed to get extra time, like it’s documented and everything” (my diagnosis) and he said something like, “what? you have a learning disorder?” and i said “yeah, i have add – it’s official and everything” and i don’t remember exactly what happened after that, but was basically like, ok, well shut the lights off when you’re finished with the test.</p>

<p>-Comments are put on transcripts.
-Not exactly sure which teachers know – doubt art and english/told math and physics/dunno about french.
-It’s documented medically, not sure if at my school.
-my parents aren’t big into suing and whatnot.
-comments and grades are irrefutable.</p>

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<p>Do you take medications for ADD? You indicate it has been diagnosed medically.</p>

<p>I think you are trying to handle this in a piecemeal way, teacher by teacher, with too many verbal conversations. Your parents should be spearheading this, not you. </p>

<p>I believe your parents should ask your family doctor for a simple letter that confirms the ADD diagnosis, names the medications you take (if any), and all of you sit down to meet with the Dean at a scheduled meeting with these papers. It is a private school. You should be met with better response than this. </p>

<p>If you had a fractured ankle (invisible to others), and the teachers were making you run quickly down the hallway to keep up with others, wouldn’t your parents want to come in with the orthopedist’s diagnosis to adjust these expectations? The point is, you WILL get down the hall, you just can’t be yelled at (on report cards) to hustle faster.</p>

<p>If you’ve been prescribed medication but haven’t chosen to take it, rethink all of that. This situation is hurting you. If the dosage is wrong, keep seeing the doctor for dosage adjustments, or try different forms of the medicines under doctor’s trial, until you can find a medicine and dose that lets you live and work with your ADD. </p>

<p>If you’ve only seen a family doctor so far, find out if your insurance will also cover a psychologist or educational psychologist to meet and get more insight (and record) of your ADD condition. Sometimes a psychologist who knows about ADD can suggest strategies to help with some of the academic situations. These letters could also be seen by the Dean. </p>

<p>I think, in general, the school will support you better if your family discloses all of this to them and asks to work together for best possible academic outcome, despite the ADD. To meet the school halfway, I think you and your family should also be working to cooperate with doctors for best possible medical management, including being open to trials of medicine. You may have philosophical objections to using any medicine, but if so, I’ll ask: is that working for you, in general? </p>

<p>Families who bring up ADD but then refuse to take medicines are frustrating to educators at this stage, when the student can express herself so well and is not a six-year-old.</p>

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<p>At my kids’ school the transcript is different from the report card…do you think maybe the comments are only meant for your parents? They might not be on the transcript.</p>

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<p>I get the feeling that your school psychologist gave you bad advice. IMHO, as soon as he/she found out about your ADD, he/she should have recommended that you get a 504 Plan or IEP. You should have no problem getting a 504 Plan and I would suggest you read up on it. At my school, it takes a 2 hour meeting with a guidance counselor and the teachers to draw up a 504 Plan.</p>

<p>A 504 Plan allows you to have classroom modifications including mandated extra time on tests and possible extended deadlines on projects. I know a few folks with ADD who have 504s and they <em>really</em> help. It may be harder because you’re at a boarding school and your parents aren’t there, but it’s a straightforward process. I sincerely believe the best way to handle this situation in the future is to be totally upfront from the first day. I would go to your teachers and say, “I have ADD, I was diagnosed 5 years ago, and I have a 504 Plan that guarantees me extra time on tests.” That should prevent any ignorance (like that of your physics teacher) or confusion about what is allowed (like that of your time management coach).</p>

<p>From going through the 504 process myself, I can tell you that the key issue is whether your ADD constitutes a “hidden disability” that affects a “major life area.” Given the documented severity of your ADD and the effects it has had on your grades, I doubt you’ll be denied. Here’s some information below. The bottom link is a dense overview of the law, the top two are a little more concise.</p>

<p>[OCR</a> Memorandum: Schools Must Evaluate Children Who May Have Attention Deficit Disorders (ADD) - Wrightslaw](<a href=“http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/add.eval.ocrmemo.htm]OCR”>OCR Memorandum: Schools Must Evaluate Children Who May Have Attention Deficit Disorders (ADD) - Wrightslaw)
[LD</a> & ADD Students: IEPs & 504 Plans | ADDitude - ADHD & LD Adults and Children](<a href=“http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/1623.html]LD”>http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/1623.html)
[Overview</a> of Section 504](<a href=“http://www.504idea.org/504overview.html]Overview”>http://www.504idea.org/504overview.html)</p>

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<p>

Not clear to me where this was “documented”.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Your diagnosis of ADD was never discussed as potentially contributory to your problem? And your parents, who are presumably paying $20-30 K, did not share this information with the school?</p>

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<p>Medically documented is what I meant. 504 meetings often involve letters from doctors and evidence of a diagnosis, which the OP said she had. Sorry for the lack of clarity, drb.</p>

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<p>Private schools are not required or legally bound by the IDEA laws, and thus do not need to prepare or follow either 504 plans or IEPs. Many students come into private schools with these plans (that are formulated in a public school setting), which are either loosely followed or ignored; the private schools that do follow such plans are doing so under the guise of good will. The level of support, intervention, or understanding or students with learning differences at private schools varies widely.</p>

<p>I don’t know what to advise the OP, but I think I would ensure that no recommendations included the language in the comments.</p>

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<p>Given the OP’s school’s robust intervention effort for “struggling students”, it does not seem likely that it would be ignorant about nor indifferent to a documented learning disorder.</p>

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<p>My friend’s kid has dyslexia and was told by a parochial school, not very selective, that she should not attend as they did not have the resources to accomodate her disability. I wonder if that’s okay? I guess small schools would cease to be if they had to hire a lot of special ed teachers.</p>

<p>One of my kids was in a special school and got all kinds of services in one state and when we moved, it took six months to get anything and what we ended up with was really minimal. I think it might not matter what happened in the public school the OP was in before since she/he is in a different state now?</p>

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<p>^what makes you think anything “happened” in the OP’s previous school?</p>

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<p>I thought she/he had an IEP in the previous school which was public if she/he was diagnosed 5 years ago? Sorry, I might not have read correctly.</p>

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<p>bushka5, what do you think of forwarding this entire thread to your parents for their knowledge. Perhaps they could help, if they knew all these details, by setting up a meeting with the school?</p>

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<p>My previous public schools were so incredibly below my intellectual/academic level that extra time was not necessary… I barely had to study to get A’s.
This is perhaps THE toughest school in the country. It is at my intellectual/academic level, and thus with my ADD, I need extra time to achieve a test score which reflects my ability.</p>

<p>Our insurance covers psychologists, psychiatrists, etc. I was diagnosed by a psychiatrist. Previously, my ADD was not an issue in school because the schools’ academics were incredibly below my level, my ADD didn’t have a chance to become a factor in my success. So, it was never documented at schools that I know of. Now it is a factor at this tough school. I only mentioned it at midterms when they began asking me what was preventing me from achieving. I wasn’t taking medication at that point because I was in the midst of switching, etc… so I was without meds for the first half term. Then I hustled and got back on meds and sought accommodations from all teachers.</p>

<p>Since my parents are far away, it’s not like they can have a meeting w my teachers, etc. </p>

<p>What should I do for the start of next term?? I have all new teachers except for one (physics).</p>

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<p>I’m feeling as though, if your parents are paying to send you far away to a top quality school, they will find the opportunity to phone this one in to your Dean, if you choose to send them this thread. They will also see the report card anecdotes, right? That could become a chance to talk with them about what to do next. </p>

<p>You seem to want to handle all of this yourself, which is admirable, but I want you to bring your parents into the loop because you are dealing with a complex medical issue, that requires a Dean to communicate with teachers about expectations for an individual student. That is more than any kid can do themself.</p>

<p>Are you afraid your parents will be angry or upset with you for not excelling a the new school? </p>

<p>Can you phone the psychiatrist and ask him to contact your parents?</p>

<p>Are you able to make a proper appointment yourself with the Dean to discuss all of this? The fact that you faltered on the meds early in the term is typical; you fixed it. Don’t be ashamed of that. Good schools understand that kids make mistakes. What’s important is you’re on the meds now, and that will help your concentration as you study. STILL, you need the extra time on tests, if your psychiatrist said so. If not, your parents should have the psychiatrist call the Dean. Extra time on tests means, even if you took your meds, did your homework, concentrated and studied…you may still need extra time because the actual test takes time and attention/processing, even if you;re l00percent prepared for it.</p>

<p>Suppose you had a hidden join problem in your hands that made it clumsy for you to hold a pencil. And somehwere a doctor had xrayed it and said, “This kid can do the work, but needs extra time to hold and push the pencil around to say what she wants it to.” As well, we’ll give these pills to help strnegthen the muscles in the hand; that’ll help a bit, but still needed is some extra time during tests.</p>

<p>Suppose the teachers didn’t know ANY of that. You have a hidden medical need and must get your parents and Dean on your side to do what the DOCTOR says is necessary for you to show your best stuff.</p>

<p>It’s more like a school to want kids to excel than to want to downgrade their performance. Get your parents talking to the Dean, and not just writing him tuition checks, so everybody can do their best job: you, the teachers, Dean, and parents will all feel better. SPEAK UP.</p>

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<p>we don’t exactly have a dean… we have a principal (never around, just raises money for the school), a dean of student life, a dean of residential life, a dean of academics… goes on and on… about 12 of em. theres also the time management coach (who can pull strings to accommodate my academic success), the psychologist, and my adviser (who i, nor my mother, am fond of, and is not helpful, and we’re in the process of hopefully switching advisers).</p>

<p>who should i contact first? or my mother, since she would have more authority?</p>

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<p>The following discussion is not based on any legal arguments (e.g. HIPAA or various disabilities acts). Just what seems fair to me.</p>

<p>There seem to be multiple issues here. (1) Some of the teachers seem to be providing false information about extra time provided/required for the OP on exams. This false information definitely needs to be corrected, and the OP’s parents can definitely take steps to make sure this happens. (2) Other teachers, for whom the OP actually DID take extra time, have also indicated this. I do not see a problem with indicating how much time was allowed for a particular student. </p>

<p>Why should this not be indicated on a transcript? I assume that the OP is interested in being allocated extra time while taking some exams in college. Is this not relevant for college admissions? How many students would like to have extra time when taking exams? How much extra time is fair to give to such a student? Are there some students who are not diagnosed with ADHD but who could benefit greatly by having an extra 10 percent or 20 percent of time for tests? Should a college or even a high school only make provision for students who have psychological tests that prove that they require extra time on tests? What about students who occasionally panic or get nervous and fritter away the first ten minutes of a test? My son sometimes gets very nervous when taking exams. He scores much higher on practice SAT tests than on a real test, but he just needs to learn to deal with nervousness while taking tests. I personally think the amount of time required by a student is relevant to an overall rating of the student. Certainly a student should be allowed to explain a requirement of extra time, but the fact that the student is given extra time to me should not be hidden. If a student is blind and has to have someone read a test to them, there is nothing wrong with that being indicated on a transcript. Many admissions personnel would be favorably impressed by such a situation. In the same way, if a student has a legitimate medical reason for requiring extra time on certain exams or assignments, then I would favor honesty and complete disclosure for the college to evaluate an applicant’s situation.</p>

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<p>If you have medication, the school physician knows about your condition? I assume a boarding school would have knowledge of all prescription drugs. You really need to insist that your advisor, the medical staff, parents, teachers, all get together and agree on a plan for you. If it is in fact a top notch boarding school, they can’t just ignore issues like this.</p>