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The Beacon Fall 2020
Research Roundup
Advocating for All Students with Disabilities in their Pursuit of PostSecondary Opportunities By Alexia Hartogensis ’19, Katherine Kaneko, and Lara Damashek
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ncreasingly, a college degree is not enough to gain entry in the competitive job market in the United States. Amplified by the uncertain economic future following the COVID-19 pandemic, job competition and scarcity will likely see an even greater rise. Consequently, advanced degrees and admission to graduate school have almost become a prerequisite for certain career opportunities, such as law, medicine, education, and more. Yet, these careers may be out of reach for some students who require accommodations. For example, rigid testing requirements for graduate entrance exams, like the MCAT for medical school, demand that such students have documentation of an extended history of disabilities that warrant the accommodations. Multiple factors that can preclude a student from being able to show this history include socioeconomic background, access to resources within the school district, family understanding around the complex legal issues of an IEP or 504 plan, and institutional obstacles such as misdiagnoses and lack of will within academia. The repercussions for not receiving accommodations are severe, ranging from a loss of scholarships to those students who are unencumbered by disabilities, or simply not being able to attend graduate school at all. In this article, we explore potential underlying disparities associated with accommodations in post-secondary education, including various graduate-level entrance exams; the impact a 504 plan has on a child with a disability's success; and the various structural issues underpinning awareness and education for students with disabilities.
The Implications of Accommodations for Students with Learning Disabilities Accommodations are significant to leveling the playing field for students with learning disabilities, especially for students with dyslexia and language or reading disorders. Advocates point to accommodations as essential based on the needs of students with dyslexia. According to the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity (2017), “Having accommodations doesn’t give a test-taker the answer, but it allows his/her brain the time it needs to read the question and access the higher-level thinking and reasoning systems that help the dyslexic use the context to figure out a word.” Extra time on a test is necessary for students with dyslexia, as it gives them what they need to fully demonstrate their knowledge. In a study examining the effects of extra time for disabled students, (Ziomek and Andrews, 1998) found when given two tests, one with extra
time and one without, participants with learning disabilities had a higher score than students without disabilities. A dyslexic has the same potential and capabilities as a non-dyslexic; however, they process information differently. Accommodations are critical for students with disabilities to demonstrate their potential. How does a student receive accommodations? Many students with a disability either apply for an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or a 504. These plans aim to provide a more comprehensive support system than testing accommodations alone. While an IEP and 504 plan both have the goal of enabling students to thrive, they are different. An IEP, which is covered under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2004), grants students different educational services in either special or regular academic settings (Bachrach, 2016). 504 plans are covered under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (1973) and provide for the necessary accommodations or modifications to put students with a limiting condition or disability on the same playing field as their typically developing peers; it is an anti-discrimination law that aims to promote equal access to learning opportunities to children who suffer from disabilities. Normally, 504 plans include three major aspects: changes in the environment, changes to instruction, or changes in how materials are presented (Understood, n.d.). In addition to helping students acquire accommodations in school, a 504 plan helps students receive accommodations on standardized testing. While a 504 will not provide a student with an automatic accommodation on the SAT or ACT, it allows the school to help the student through the process (Understood, n.d.). The purpose of applying for a formal 504 plan is to aid students and their families in the procedure of receiving accommodations and make the overall task easier.
A Case Study on the MCAT and Its History of Accepting Accommodations Documentation is essential for students to apply for accommodations in college and graduate-level entrance exams, yet certain tests have distinct requirements. Historically, the MCAT has accepted uncharacteristically low numbers of applications for accommodation. For example, in 2004, less than 1% (Julian, Ingersoll, Etienne & Higer, 2004) of students requesting accommodations on the MCAT were approved. From 2011-2013, only 0.3% of students that took the MCAT had accommodations (Applerouth, 2017). Many have claimed that the AAMC, the organization in charge of administering the MCAT, denies granting
