[blindlaw] Kaplan LSAT Support

Sun Jun 27 00:24:58 UTC 2010

Hello Tom,
I was just cleaning my inbox and ran across your message.  How is the Kaplan 
review going for you and are, or have you already taken the LSAT this month? 
Drop me a note when you have time and let me know how all is going for you. 
Also if I can help in some way let me know.
All the best,
Dennis

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tom Ladis" <tom at tomladis.com>
To: "NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, May 26, 2010 5:11 AM
Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Kaplan LSAT Support

Hello Dennis and All,

Sorry to have dropped off for a while.  I have been trying to catch up with
the reading that I have been able to do.  Kaplan has not yet provided the
books in PDF files that are tagged correctly, and I have been using what
they have sent me but not reading the stuff that has formatting issues due
to table conversion issues.  I have also not done any of their online
exercises.  Once I am able to take the LSAT in June I will have more time to
pursue all of these issues with Kaplan.

At this point, I was able to find a friend who was willing to act as a
reader / scribe for my first practice exam.  To my amazement, after using
the Princeton Review method of guessing on the Logic Games section, I was
able to score a 137.  Not great or high enough to get into many schools, but
probably a good first attempt.

I was also told by an employee at Kaplan, although I have not verified her
statement, that the LSAT is being administered on a computer starting this
year.  If that is true, it looks like they are moving in a direction that
will put everyone into the same ball park.  They are still going to provide
my test in a printed format along with a reader and scribe.  This tells me
that they are not able to administer the test with JAWS or another screen
reader application.  She reported that people did not like the computer
format because it did not allow them to do their roadmaps and notation on
the booklet, which is how Kaplan trains test takers.

More later as I try to get another practice exam or three done before the
actual test.

Dennis.  I will call you today to try to arrange sending the Lesson Book PDF
to see if you have any better luck with the tables.  I have just been
avoiding the question text that got jumbled during conversion, and
appreciate your offer of support.

Tom
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dennis Clark" <dennisgclark at sbcglobal.net>
To: "NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, May 16, 2010 12:07 AM
Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Kaplan LSAT Support

Hello Tom,
I have been trying to get the playing field leveled for about 20 years now
since I graduated  from law school and I have had some success over the
years dealing with the LSAC.  I would be happy to convert the PDF's that
Kaplan gave you into possibly more accurate files than you can do with Open
Book.  The files are too large to be sent as email attachments but if we can
talk by phone I can help you send them to me using a file transfer service
that I use.  I would also like to talk with you about the legal problems
raised by the inaccessibility of the Kaplan course.  Over the years I have
taken Kaplan courses for the GRE and LSAT, and neither was accessible, but
my Kaplan experience preceded the passage of the ADA.  However, the ADA has
been in effect now for 18 years and it is time that they get their act
together and provide complete course accessibility.  Please give me a call
if you would like to talk at (310) 285-0244.  I am located in California,
but I am also licensed to practice law in Illinois.  I look forward to
talking with you.
Warmest regards,
Dennis Clark
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tom Ladis" <tom at tomladis.com>
To: "NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, May 15, 2010 6:15 PM
Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Kaplan LSAT Support

Thanks for all of the great info.  LSAC has been very difficult to work with
to date.  They seem to prefer doing things by email instead of human
interaction. They are not willing to give much  information over the phone,
and have posted a scanned image of an accommodation letter in PDF files for
me to view.  Funny, huh?  I would like to see them add some more check boxes
to their accommodations forms to assign accommodations advisors to people
who are blind.

Regarding Kaplan, a fellow blind student recommended Kaplan, but it appears
that taking the course when you are able to use ZoomText and when you need
to use JAWS are quite a bit different.  The PDF files all seem to have
formatting issues, even if they are tagged.  I spoke with Freedom Scientific
about the problem and their conclusion is that the  files are not formatted
to be accessible.  They suggested scanning the PDF files using OpenBook and
saving it to a Word file, but even that leaves all sort of junk in the file
because of their multi column structure and the books being for the Premier
classes instead of the Standard classes.  Trying to keep up with a class
when you have the wrong books and distracting junk embedded in the test is a
problem.

It seems that a law firm could spend all of their time just trying to level
the playing field for blind people who are already in or trying to get into
the legal profession.  Any ideas on how to get the playing field leveled and
attorney fees paid are welcome.

Tom
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Derek Wilson" <dwilson.lists at gmail.com>
To: "NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, May 14, 2010 9:25 AM
Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Kaplan LSAT Support

Hi Tom,

I also took an LSAT prep course with Kaplan, though mine was online
and self-paced.  Kaplan provided me with PDF versions of the study
materials as well.  I had no difficulty accessing the PDF files with
ZoomText, but I did have some trouble with what I believe were
flash-based tutorials and quizzes.  They were much less accessible, as
the text did not appear to be tagged so the reading cursor jumbped
around the screen at random.

In my case, I needed to arrange for a reader through LSAC.  Kaplan had
nothing to do with this.  I am a Canadian who took the LSAT in Tokyo
last September and again last December.

One word of caution, you would be wise to do your best to prepare for
the LSAT under the same conditions as you will write on test day.  I
prepared online with a screen-reader, but was given only 2 options by
LSAC in the way of accommodation: 1. a large-print test book, or 2. a
human reader. The nature of my disability makes large print difficult
for me to read, as it is an 18-point font.  I am able to read only 14
or 16-point font, and only with great difficulty for short periods of
time.  To make a long story short, my test day score was 15 points
lower than my timed practice test score. Other reasons aside, the
nature of my interaction with the test material was a huge factor in
my performance.  As I was not in a position to pay a human reader to
help me study, my options were limited.  I don't what the implications
are for you, but I wanted to bring this to your attention.

If you decide to go with a human reader, I strongly urge you to meet
with them in person prior to test day and assess their reading skills
at this level.  They will need to be quick, clear, competent, and have
the stamina to last for many hours.  LSAC will pay for them to meet
with you for up to 3 hours for the purposes of screening and
acquaintance, and you have the right of refusal if you deem them unfit
for the task.

After my first time writing the LSAT in September of last year, I
asked LSAC point blank if I could take the test on a computer using
Access Technology, and they flat out said "No, that is not possible at
this time." I asked if LSAC was planning to offer a computer-based
alternative in the future, and the representative repeated flatly "No,
not at this time."  I have since learned that two of my acquaintances
in Canada, both of whom are visually impaired, were able to write on
test day with the use of a PC and Access Technology.  I would not go
so far as to say that LSAC is arbitrary in their accommodation
decisions, since I do not have all of the facts, but it is clear to me
that the playing field is far from level.

I sincerely hope that you find this information useful in some way,
and I wish you the best of luck on test day!

Regards,
Derek Wilson
www.twitter.com/culturemate
http://jp.linkedin.com/in/culturemate

On 5/13/10, Tom Ladis <tom at tomladis.com> wrote:
> I am pretty sure that it will all get worked out, but the class has 
> started
> and I am falling behind.  It took them a month to get me the PDF files 
> just
> 3 days before the class started.  My fault for starting late and I have 
> not
> been able to find anyone at Kaplan that knows how to deal with getting me
> the materials in a JAWS friendly format.   I was finally able to get
> OpenBook to read the PDF this morning, but that is not the greatest 
> solution
> either.
>
> Thanks for your thoughts,
> Tom
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Rod Alcidonis, Esquire." <attorney at alcidonislaw.com>
> To: "NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, May 12, 2010 10:32 AM
> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Kaplan LSAT Support
>
>
> Tom
>
> Kaplan will work with you. Just tell them what you need and why. Kaplan 
> has
> demonstrated to me times and again that they are committed to complying 
> with
> the ADA. This was when I signed up with them for the SAT, LSAT, and Bar
> Prep. They will find a solution even it may not be perfect. Have a
> constructive dialog with them.
>
>
> Rod Alcidonis, Attorney and Counselor at Law
> Alcidonis Law Office, LLC
> 6907B Rising Sun Ave., 1st Fl
> Philadelphia, PA 19111
> Tel: (215) 305-8085
> Fax: (215) 525-0999
> Attorney at alcidonislaw.com
>
> CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE:
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>
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>
>
> --------------------------------------------------
> From: "Tom Ladis" <tom at tomladis.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, May 12, 2010 10:18 AM
> To: "NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: [blindlaw] Kaplan LSAT Support
>
>> Hello All.
>>
>> I have started the Kaplan LSAT class and requested the course material in
>> a digital format.  They sent the material on a CD-ROM in PDF files.  Some
>> of the files are HUGE, as in 30 megabytes, and not manageable by JAWS.
>>
>>  I got what I asked for, but it is not usable.   Kaplan has not been able
>> to provide anything besides the PDF files.
>>
>> Does anybody have the ability to save a 30 megabyte ? PDF to a Word
>> document?
>>
>> In addition, isn't Kaplan responsible for providing a reader and scribe
>> for the practice tests?
>>
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Tom
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