[blindlaw] Kaplan LSAT Support

William ODonnell william.odonnell1 at yahoo.com
Thu May 27 21:01:34 UTC 2010


Agreed.  Let me know what I can do to help when or if needed.


--- On Thu, 5/27/10, 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: Thursday, May 27, 2010, 10:20 AM
> This has all been a big drag. 
> Luckily, Equipped For Equality is concerned 
> and will be representing me to get things straightened out
> and wake them up 
> a little bit.  If they are not able to get them to do
> something under a 
> cooperative agreement it may go to the next level.  It
> may take litigation 
> to get them to make permanent changes, but we will take it
> one step at a 
> time.
> 
> 
> Either way, Kaplan and LSAC are both out of touch with the
> spirit of the ADA 
> legislation and need blind people to keep whacking at them
> until they can 
> level things off for the next guy.
> 
> 
> Tom
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "William ODonnell" <william.odonnell1 at yahoo.com>
> To: "NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, May 26, 2010 10:35 AM
> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Kaplan LSAT Support
> 
> 
> 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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