[blindlaw] text of LSAC's letter to accompany non-standard LSAT administration

[Haben Girma]

The letter implies that the score of a disabled person on an LSAT is 
meaningless if it was taken in nonstandard conditions since it cannot be 
compared to other scores. Then are the LSAT scores of blind test takers, 
who request extra time, respected by law schools? They don't seem 
respected by the LSAC.

The whole point of the LSAT is to compare one student's reasoning and 
comprehension skills with other prospective students. If the LSAC 
implies tests taken in nonstandard conditions are meaningless, then 
taking the LSAT, for a blind person, becomes a mere gesture. Why would a 
law school admit a blind student when the student's LSAT score comes 
with this doubt-producing letter?

Haben

Stephanie Enyart wrote:
> Hello all,
> Since Haben asked about the type of communication that will accompany any
> non-standard test (any test taken with extended time due to a disability)
> here is a copy of what the LSAC sends with the score report to law schools:
>
> "Dear Colleague:
> This candidate took a __fill in test date___ LSAT under nonstandard timing
> conditions in order to accommodate his or her disability. The nonstandard
> test this candidate received was administered on or about the same test date
> as the corresponding standard administration.
> Because this candidate's score was earned under nonstandard timing
> conditions, it is important to note that the degree of comparability of this
> score to scores earned under standard conditions cannot be determined. The
> LSAC's Cautionary Policies Concerning LSAT Scores and Related Services
> explain:
> LSAC has no data to demonstrate that scores earned under accommodated
> conditions have the same meaning as scores earned under standard conditions.
> Because the LSAT has not been validated in its various accommodated forms,
> accommodated tests are identified as nonstandard, and an individual's scores
> from accommodated tests are not averaged with scores from tests taken under
> standard conditions. The fact that accommodations were granted for the LSAT
> should not be dispositive evidence that accommodations should be granted
> once a test taker becomes a student. The accommodation needed for a one-day
> multiple choice test may be different from those needed for law school
> course work and examinations."
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Haben Girma
> Sent: Friday, May 15, 2009 9:39 AM
> To: NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] LSAT Accommodations?
>
>
> Is there a fact sheet out there that reveals what percentage of a 
> university's student body is disabled?
>
> Haben
>
> James Pepper wrote:
>   
>> They probably do that, I know that one of thee Coolge entrance exams does
>> it, but I am not sure if it is the SAT or the ACT but they inform the
>> schools eactly which devices were used to take the test.  I think it is
>>     
> both
>   
>> of them.  This is how colleges can know who is disabled and who is not
>> without actually asking the student if they are disabled or not.  It is a
>> great way to get around the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
>> And this is good for colleges that do not have a high percentage of
>>     
> students
>   
>> who are disabled because they will most certainly accept you once they
>> realize you are disabled, to satisfy their requirements to not be
>>     
> considered
>   
>> discriminatory.  But your chances of graduating from that situation is not
>> as good as a college that accepts the disabled on a regular basis.  Of
>> course state schools are more likely to handle the disabled with respect,
>> since they are more in tune with the consequences of discriminiation.  But
>> if you are competing with a lot of other disabled students to get into a
>> college that is a good college for the blind, then you will probably be
>> judged on your abilities based on being disabled and not the general
>> population.  Because they will probably only admit a certain amount of
>> students who are disabled as the disabled tend to cost the university a
>>     
> lot
>   
>> more than non disabled.
>>
>> Since most people do not know they are doing this type of profiling, they
>> have gotten away with it since 1973.
>>
>> You all are lawyers, can you stop this nonsense because colleges accept
>>     
> the
>   
>> blind and disabled in proportion to their numbers in the population, but
>> they don't graduate them in any proportion to the numbers they accept.
>>
>> James Pepper
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>
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