Guiding Families on Testing Accommodations

Applying for ACT or SAT accommodations can be complicated.

Families of students who learn differently can become especially stressed about their students’ upcoming tests and as their IEC, they come to YOU with questions including:

• How do I know if my student needs accommodations?
• When should we start the process of applying for accommodations?
• What documentation will we need?
• How does the application process work?
• How long does the approval process take?

The College Board and the ACT each have their own guidelines, timeframes and expectations, so it can be challenging to counsel families thoroughly. To help you provide families with actionable steps on the process of securing accommodations for the ACT or a College Board test like the SAT, PSAT or AP exams, Applerouth has put together a reference guide to applying for testing accommodations.

The guide includes additional resources for families and educators that we hope can be helpful as you navigate this process together, so we encourage you to share this guide with your clients as appropriate. Please let us know if you would like hard copies mailed to your office.

Whether a family has been entrenched with the documentation of learning differences and other neurodiversities for years, avoiding putting a formal plan in place until now, or is just discovering a student’s challenges, we know this process with its multiple moving parts and parties can seem overwhelming and discouraging. Armed with the same growth mindset we teach our students, our hope is that this written resource can be a handy and helpful reminder of what needs to be done to help students do their best not just on test day but every day.

As IECs, your guidance on this nuanced topic is so important. We are grateful to be a part of your team, building better learners for life.