[blindLaw] Should Standardized Tests Like LSAT Be Optional or Prohibited?

[sy.hoekstra at gmail.com]

Are there reasons to think that there are significant numbers of blind students who did not receive proper education and accommodations in high school but who did receive proper test prep and accommodations on standardized tests? Are there significantly more of them than blind students who got the right HS education and accommodations but bad test prep/accommodations?

I don't know the answers to those questions, but if there aren't answers, then eliminating the tests might not do much of anything.

-----Original Message-----
From: BlindLaw <blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Aser Tolentino via BlindLaw
Sent: Thursday, April 2, 2020 5:45 PM
To: Blind Law Mailing List <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Aser Tolentino <agtolentino at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [blindLaw] Should Standardized Tests Like LSAT Be Optional or Prohibited?

I fall into the camp that values the potential for calling out unrecognized or underreported potential. The nightmarishly competitive crucible of high grades, extracurricular checklists and standardized test scores all having to be above the curve certainly stifles opportunities and reduces representation, but I think each of these metrics contribute something worthwhile to determine who should get a shot, so some sort of matrix developed by someone smarter than me would seem appropriate.

Sent from my iPhone

> On Apr 2, 2020, at 2:37 PM, Tim Elder via BlindLaw <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> I'm informally polling this group since folks who have struggled with accessible education and accommodations in LSAT may have interesting perspectives on the following.
> Should higher education institutions such as law schools or colleges make standardized testing optional or should it ban them entirely?  
> https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/10/us/sat-act-uc-lawsuit.html
> 
> On one hand, the intersection of certain minority status and blindness may see increased enrollment based on high school grades alone.  On the other, individual blind students independent of minority status who don’t receive accommodations and good instruction in K-12/college but show aptitude on a single test with accommodations might lose opportunity.  The plaintiffs in this case take the position that people with disabilities would do better if standardized tests were prohibited from consideration.
> 
> I'm curious what others think.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> BlindLaw mailing list
> BlindLaw at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for BlindLaw:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/agtolentino%40gmail.com

_______________________________________________
BlindLaw mailing list
BlindLaw at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for BlindLaw:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/sy.hoekstra%40gmail.com