[blindlaw] Kaplan LSAT Support

Wed May 26 15:35:47 UTC 2010

You will not be able to utilize there "accessible software" and online exercises.  I outsourced and used readers who were from local agencies who volunteered there time.  I would start to make consumer complaints since you are not getting what you paid for.--- On Wed, 5/26/10, Tom Ladis <tom at tomladis.com> wrote:

> From: Tom Ladis <tom at tomladis.com>
> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Kaplan LSAT Support
> To: "NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
> Date: Wednesday, May 26, 2010, 8:11 AM
> 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
> > 
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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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> > 
> > 
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> > 
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