[nabs-l] FW: testing accomidation question

Ashley Bramlett bookwormahb at earthlink.net
Wed Jul 29 03:29:36 UTC 2009


Hi all,
Please post to the list and copy Jim.  Jim raised good questions.  These are 
questions I ponder too since I may attend grad school later.  I just 
graduated in May with a BA from Marymount.
Two questions you asked are:
1. Should you get extra time for a take home exam?
2. What are the best ways to review and study for such a mass amount of 
information tested on only in a week?

I agree with Patrick.  With preparation and organization you may not need 
extra time.  I also got time and a half or double time on exams in college. 
They assumed i needed extra time to take it orally; I took it by using a 
reader or listening to jaws doing it electronically.  To me this leveled the 
playing field because I need things repeated; its not like reading braille 
and listening is very different and for me takes more time and effort.
I only had a couple take home exams here and there and I requested extra 
time from the prof for one of them and got it.  Some may disagree because of 
philosophy.  I decided I needed it because the book was only recorded by rfb 
and I did not have many notes to review from reading; I did not do that as I 
typically do since the prof relied more on the lecture than the book.  Thus 
by taking notes from the text I felt I was wasting my time.  So I needed a 
reader to assist me and my readers were doing their own work at that time. 
Other students were skimming and using the index to look up key concepts for 
the answers.  Since I needed a reader and even with like four readers I was 
working on their schedule too I chose to have extended time.

But a comprehensive final exam for grad school is different.  You said your 
notes, handouts etc are in print.  You said your eyes were getting tired for 
preping for your past exams.  I have some vision too but it wasn't enough to 
read with magnification.  So I learned braille and accessed my books through 
rfb at a young age.  Jim I suggest you use alternative techniques so you can 
give your eyes a rest.  How about getting some textbooks through RFB if 
available.  I assume you use Zoomtext on the computer.  Why not use the 
speech that comes with Zoomtext?  Another idea is to get jaws or a screen 
reader and you can switch between auditory and visual methods then.  Do you 
have a scanner?  If so scanning programs: Openbook and Kirzweil have great 
low vision and speech features.  For instance you can change the contrast, 
size, and color of text.

I hope others can give better suggestions for preping for a final exam like 
this using alternative techniques.  I don't have a perfect solution either. 
I always found take home tests harder since the others could skim anything 
and find answers where as I relied on lecture notes from the prof like 
powerpoints, handouts and my own notes.

Here is what I did and suggest.  The key is advanced preparation.

1. Organize your notes.  For me I did it by chapters.  Although for a 
comprehensive final you'd want something more concise.

2. Mark important pages in your text you may refer to.  Highlighting works 
if you see it.  Also post it notes or paper clips work too.  Then with your 
own eyes or a reader review that information.

3. Patrick said this one and #4 too. Ask other students about the types of 
questions from past experiences.

4. Your profs want you to succeed.  So ask questions what to focus on.  I 
did this for tests and it worked great.  I went to their office hours and 
they were glad I was interested in the class and I got them to give hints on 
what to study for.
I don't know if they have office hours for grad school, but if so, use them 
since profs like to see you're working hard and have questions for them.

5. Since you'll have the questions in advance, form a study group or get a 
study partner.  Although i did not have the exact questions, i had a study 
guide and this helped me usually.  We exchanged what we knew and together 
formed a larger picture.

6. Even though you may get the questions only a week in advance, you can 
prep before hand.  For a big final I studied several weeks ahead of time.  I 
realize a comprehensive test is much much larger, but if possible make more 
time.  I took several chapters and reviewed the key points.  I broke my 
study sessions up to avoid burnout but after a while I was fatiguing.  Maybe 
make a schedule as to what you study so you have a systematic way to study 
it and don't neglect some areas.

You seem to be a visual learner.  Maybe try something auditory.  How about 
explaining the key points of the course on a digital recorder or cassette 
player.  Then replay it.  If you explain it in your own words you'll more 
likely remember it and repeating it makes it stick in your brain.  Your eyes 
can't fatigue using this study technique.

I hope it works out.

Ashley

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "JMassay" <jmassay1 at cox.net>
To: <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, July 28, 2009 12:08 PM
Subject: [nabs-l] FW: testing accomidation question


> Please post to list for Jim Reed. Thanks,
>
> Jeannie
>
>
>
>  _____
>
> From: Jim Reed [mailto:jim275_2 at yahoo.com]
> Sent: Monday, July 27, 2009 7:51 PM
> To: jmassay1 at cox.net
> Subject: testing accomidation question
>
>
>
>
> Jeannie,
>
> I need to ask the NABS list an importiant question, but I am no longer on
> it. thus I can't post to the list. Are you on the NABS list? If so, could
> you post the following question for me? As I am not on the list, please 
> have
> people reply directly back to me at jim275_2 at yahoo.com.
>
> Thanks,
> Jim
>
> Let me preface the following question by saying that I assume the reason 
> my
> DSS office gives me extra time (time and a half) to take a test is because
> some blind people take longer to read and write than their blind or 
> sighted
> counterparts.
>
> That said, I had several take home final exams last semester that were all
> given and due at roughly the same time, so I asked DSS for extra time, and 
> I
> was denied. It says on mu DSS card that I am approved for extra time for
> taking test, yet the DSS office said that extra time does not apply to 
> take
> home exams. Isn't a take home exam still a test?
>
> Anyhow, moving on...
>
> In January, 2010, I will have to take a comprehensive final exam covering
> all of my graduate classes. The way the exam works is that I will be given
> the exam questions one week prior to the exam date,  then, I have that one
> week to prepaire an outline of my response, and then, I  take the test. 
> This
> is not quite the same thing as a take home exam because what you turn in 
> as
> your exam is acctually written at the testing location, not at home.  I
> don't believe there is a time limit for this exam, but if there is, I know 
> I
> will get extra time.
>
> I am worried about the week I will have to prepair my answers for the 
> exam;
> I don't know that I will be physically able to review as much as I will 
> need
> to, or to work as many hours as I will need to without my eyes giving out.
> With the exception of this semester's textbooks, all of my review 
> materials
> (textbooks, exams, notes, handouts, etc.) will be in print format; that's 
> a
> lot of readiing for eyes that like to get tired. During last semester's
> final exam week, I was often forced to stop working sooner than I intended
> to because I became unable to read or see the computer, regardless of the
> magnification I used.
>
> As I already mentioned, DSS denied my last request for extra time on a 
> take
> home exam, so, I expect that they will do the same for my comprehensive
> exam.  I fear I will need the extra time to prepair, and not be able to 
> get
> it. How can I make sure I get the extra time I need?
>
> As I am no longer subscribed to the NABS list, please email responses
> directlly to me at jim275_2 at yahoo.com.
>
> Thanks,
> Jim Reed
>
> "A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life
> depend on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert
> myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am 
> still
> receiving." - Albert Einstein
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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