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

Sun May 17 09:28:40 UTC 2009

Good morning,

I am not sure about U.S. schools, I expect they have varying feelings  
about the LSAT.  In Canada I was accepted into the one school I  
applied to with no problems.  They look at the score 60-180, and not  
at the percentile score.

Accommodated test takers still get a 60-180 score, just not a  
percentile ranking.  Which is not really fair, but does make some  
sense based on statistical analysis, not total sense, just a little.

HTH,
Everett

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On 17-May-09, at 4:22 AM, Haben Girma wrote:

>
> 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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>>> blindlaw at nfbnet.org
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>>>
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>>
>>>
>>
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>> %4
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>>
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>
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