The number of public high-school students getting special allowances for test-taking has risen sharply in recent years, according to federal data.
And students in affluent areas are more likely than others to get the fastest-growing type of these special allowances with “504” designations, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of data from 9,000 public schools.
The recent high-profile college admissions scandal shone a spotlight on special accommodations such as extra time and separate rooms for test-taking. College counselor William Singer admitted he went much further by sometimes having an accomplice at the test center correct students’ answers.
The rise in the number of students gaining school designations meant for those with learning problems reflects parent legally trying to give their children an edge.
Wall Street Journal
At Newton North High School outside Boston, one in three students is eligible for extra time or other accommodations such as a separate room for taking the SAT or ACT college entrance exam, WSJ reported. At Weston High School in Connecticut, it is one in four and at Scarsdale High School north of New York City, one in five students is eligible for extra accommodations.
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The special allowances apply to all tests the students take at school, not just college entrance exams. And they can carry over to college and university.
The 504 designation is meant to give students with attention deficit disorder or ADHD a chance to complete tests at their own pace and level the playing field.
The WSJ analysis found that 4.2 percent of students have 504 designations in wealthier areas compared to 1.6 percent of students in poorer areas.
A few years ago, when students at Tarbut V’Torah Community Day School in Irvine, Calif., started bringing in doctors’ notes saying they had learning issues and needed extra time on college-entrance exams, the school believed something unethical was going on.
The school brought in an outside specialist to review each case.
“They are going back and looking at this thing and realizing that some of this stuff is baloney,” said Lee Weissman, a Jewish-studies teacher at the school, WSJ reported.
