[blindlaw] text of LSAC's lettertoaccompany non-standard LSAT administration

Wed May 20 08:16:19 UTC 2009

Dear Haban,
Here's an excerpt from a paper I wrote regarding the challenges blind
applicants to law school face (especially when preparing for the LSAT):
"The only Braille materials available from LSAC are 9 former tests which can
be borrowed three at a time.  However, the process for qualifying for and
borrowing these Braille tests isn't published anywhere in LSAC materials
(online or in printed form). Moreover, LSAC has not labeled the date and
year for each of the Brailled tests so test takers have no idea how old the
tests are or if they've already taken one of the Brailled tests before.
These barriers in preparation for the LSAT position individuals with print
disabilities a unique disadvantage to their peers in preparing for the entry
exam."

I know of a blind test taker that recently borrowed these 9 tests from LSAC
(the LSAC calls this the "Braille Prep" program) and also completed a
commercial test preparation course. If you are interested in contacting this
person I could put you in touch if you email me off list at
stephanie.enyart at gmail.com. It might also be helpful to connect with someone
that has approached the test recently and with similar format preferences so
you can learn what justification for the accommodations has been successful
of late.  

With Warm Regards,
Stephanie Enyart 

-----Original Message-----
From: blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of ckrugman at sbcglobal.net
Sent: Wednesday, May 20, 2009 12:18 AM
To: NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List
Subject: Re: [blindlaw] text of LSAC's lettertoaccompany non-standard LSAT
administration

I took it back in the 70's and as I recall there was reading comprehension 
and analysis of materials and some logic and math. At that time if there 
were diagrams for sighted test takers they were omitted. I don't recall 
exact details.
Chuck
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Angie Matney" <angie.matney at gmail.com>
To: "'NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List'" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, May 19, 2009 10:19 PM
Subject: Re: [blindlaw] text of LSAC's letter toaccompany non-standard LSAT 
administration

> Hi Chuck,
>
> Can you tell us what the format of the LSAT was when you took it? I heard 
> it
> changed at some point in the 90s. Do you know if this is true?
>
> Re: Why the LSAT and legal work are not equivalent: See my last post.
>
> Best,
>
> Angie
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of ckrugman at sbcglobal.net
> Sent: Wednesday, May 20, 2009 12:48 AM
> To: NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] text of LSAC's letter to accompany non-standard 
> LSAT
> administration
>
> I would have to agree. I am not aware of too many judges that would give
> blind lawyers extra time to prepare for court, nor does the calendaring
> deadlines or statute of limitations allow for extra time when filing
> paperwork if a blind lawyer is one of the litigants.
> Chuck
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Craig R. Anderson" <mar.cra at comcast.net>
> To: "NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, May 19, 2009 7:38 AM
> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] text of LSAC's letter to accompany non-standard 
> LSAT
>
> administration
>
>
>> You refer to the normal time limit for completing the LSAT as an 
>> arbitrary
>
>> standard established with sighted examinees in mind.  However there's not
>> a dime's worth of difference between this time limit and any of the other
>> deadlines  which suffuse both the legal business and the rest of the real
>> world.  You suggest that in this context a blind person is entitled to
>> demand relaxation of these deadlines because they reflect standards
>> designed for  the inherently more capable sighted population -- standards
>> that are too high for the blind to be expected to meet.  If that's what
>> you're saying, I disagree.
>>
>> Craig
>> ----- Bill Spiry <bspiry at comcast.net> wrote:
>>> I've been watching this post closely as I will be taking the LSAT in
>>> June.
>>> Frankly, concerns regarding what the LSAC communicates to the school
>>> regarding test accommodations, I'd be much more concerned about 
>>> attending
>>> any program that would be biased against an applicant with a disability
>>> based on the fact that he or she has received accommodation on the LSAT.
>>> Such an inclination for discriminatory bias by a school would not bode
>>> well
>>> for what you could expect as a student in that program and your chances
>>> for
>>> success would be in question.  If you've got a need for accommodation to
>>> be
>>> successful, don't try to hide that fact until you're already in the
>>> mix...
>>> that is a pretty effective way to set yourself up to fail.
>>>
>>> As to one of the posters who suggest that asking for additional time to
>>> complete the LSAT as an accommodation somehow equates to an admission
>>> that
>>> you are less capable than others who are not blind...  is absolutely
>>> preposterous.  Success is about outcomes and the quality of those
>>> outcomes,
>>> not whether you can prove that you can meet some arbitrary time standard
>>> designed only with sighted test takers in mind.
>>> Obviously we cannot expect to have unlimited time to accomplish a task 
>>> in
>>> the real world, there are deadlines and time related needs that we must
>>> satisfy.  but most folks with a disability who are capable of 
>>> functioning
>
>>> in
>>> the real world also understand that there is more than one way to "skin 
>>> a
>>> cat" and that using the resources we need to level the playing field is
>>> part
>>> of that.  We learn to play to our strengths and fight the battle on our
>>> terms as much as possible.  I've learned that lesson well out in the 
>>> real
>>> professional world over the past 20 years.  The LSAT is one of those
>>> battlefields that we have no choice but to face. Based on the practice
>>> and
>>> training I've been going through of late on this, it's also pretty clear
>>> that trying to survive that fight based on rules created with sighted
>>> examinees in mind would be academic suicide.  We're not in this to earn
>>> some
>>> bloody badge of courage for fighting the fight with our hands tied and
>>> with
>>> a blindfold on, we're in this to apply the capabilities we know we must
>>> have
>>> to successfully  achieve a law degree and function as a professional in
>>> the
>>> real world.
>>>
>>> Blindness is different for everyone and we all got to where we are on
>>> different paths with different approaches.  I agree that there are
>>> probably
>>> plenty of blind people out there who did not get adequate training in 
>>> the
>>> skills of blindness and who are not ready to face the rigors of law
>>> school..
>>> by my take that is not much different than all the non-disabled kids out
>>> there who fall between the cracks educationally and are at least equally
>>> unprepared for the real world.    That is another battle.  The point is
>>> that
>>> just because a blind person hasn't learned Braille or some of the other
>>> "by
>>> the book" skills of blindness, and has learned to use some other
>>> accommodations and compensating skills to get the job done, it sure as
>>> hell
>>> doesn't equate to failure... and having to take additional time for the
>>> LSAT
>>> due to blindness or another disability sure as hell doesn't mean that
>>> person
>>> is less capable of succeeding as a law student.  Use the accommodations
>>> for
>>> the LSAT, don't try to hide that fact, and focus on succeeding.
>>>
>>> Bill
>>>
>>> ----Original Message-----
>>> From: blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] 
>>> On
>>> Behalf Of T. Joseph Carter
>>> Sent: Monday, May 18, 2009 1:16 AM
>>> To: NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List
>>> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] text of LSAC's letter to accompany non-standard
>>> LSATadministration
>>>
>>> I don't see that as entirely practical.
>>>
>>> The test is visually biased and the stakes could not possibly be
>>> higher.  If you want to take a gamble like that, knowing that the
>>> test is designed for you to fail without the accommodation because it
>>> depends upon visual processing skills, you go right ahead.
>>>
>>> One of the skills I think people entering college have often failed
>>> to learn is knowing what they can honestly accomplish.  Many believe
>>> they cannot do things that they can and will do.  Some believe they
>>> can do things they cannot.
>>>
>>> I can already hear the response of, "How will you know until you
>>> try?"  My answer is that a test that determines whether or not you
>>> are deemed worthy of a particular career is not the time to be
>>> experimenting.  If you know you can do it with the accommodation, but
>>> don't know if you could do it without, take the accommodation for the
>>> LSAT.  It's an artificial environment with artificial rules and an
>>> artificial result.  Accommodations used therein have little bearing
>>> on the "real world".
>>>
>>> Unless any of you have had major cases hinge upon how many gumballs
>>> fit into a given shaped container or the other silliness I've seen on
>>> practice exams.
>>>
>>> Joseph
>>>
>>>
>>> On Sun, May 17, 2009 at 08:03:24PM -0700, ckrugman at sbcglobal.net wrote:
>>> > It would almost be better for a blind to take the test without the
>>> > extra
>>> > time accommodations if it is at all possible.
>>> > Chuck
>>> > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Stephanie Enyart"
>>> > <stephanie_enyart at yahoo.com>
>>> > To: "'NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List'" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
>>> > Sent: Saturday, May 16, 2009 11:36 PM
>>> > Subject: Re: [blindlaw] text of LSAC's letter to accompany 
>>> > non-standard
>>> > LSATadministration
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >> 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
>>> >>> _______________________________________________
>>> >>> blindlaw mailing list
>>> >>> blindlaw at nfbnet.org
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>>> >> blindlaw:
>>> >>>
>>> >>
>>>
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>>> >>
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