The Controversy of Extra Time and Accommodations on College Entrance Exams

The whole thing about extra time on the SAT and ACT exams is really causing a mess. It’s these big entrance tests, you know, the ones everyone uses for college admissions in the US, Canada, the UK. But it’s splitting parents, students, teachers. People are seriously questioning if this whole system is just being used by rich families to get an unfair edge.

For years, students with diagnosed learning disabilities, or anxiety, ADHD, or just medical stuff, they’ve gotten extra time or other kinds of accommodations to finish these entrance exams. That’s what they needed. But now, as more and more kids are getting these benefits, critics are shouting that some families are just exploiting loopholes for better scores. That’s what the Wall Street Journal reported.

Adarsh Vijay Mudgil, a dermatologist living on Long Island, was shocked. He learned that at least sixty kids at his daughter’s high school got extra time on the ACT during junior year.

Mudgil, who is a doctor, claimed a lot of those cases weren't even real. “It’s cheating,” he told the news outlet. He argued that students without any accommodations are already starting way behind in a college admissions game.

This whole thing gets really ugly in wealthy areas. Some parents are spending ten thousand dollars, maybe more, on private evaluations. Neuropsychologists, gastroenterologists—they’re chasing medical diagnoses just to get those accommodation requests approved.

Some parents are even finding teachers who already give their kids extra time in school tests. Then they ask those teachers to write letters saying the kid has anxiety or some other condition that needs special treatment. It just flows.

Mudgil talked about this in his podcast. Usually, it’s about skincare, fitness, motivational stuff. But he brought it up. He said society is raising kids who just aren't going to handle pressure later on.

“We’re grooming a generation that is just not going to be capable of performing under pressure, and that’s a scary thought,” he said in the podcast.

Special accommodations aren't one-size-fits-all. They can be fifty percent extra time. Double time. Separate rooms to cut down on distractions. Or sometimes, for really bad anxiety cases, they let students take the ACT over four days instead of one. That’s the reality. The reasons for these requests are things like ADHD, anxiety, depression, OCD, PTSD.

The numbers show this is huge. Testing agencies are seeing a sharp rise in these arrangements. The ACT reported that the percentage of students getting special testing arrangements jumped from four point one percent in 2013 to seven percent last year. The College Board, which handles the SAT, saw it jump from two percent to six point seven percent over the last decade.

But there’s another side. Parents who support accommodations argue that the criticism is unfair. They feel it targets kids who actually have genuine issues. Marni Levine, a college counselor from New Jersey, whose daughter was diagnosed with an auditory processing disorder, told the news outlet that families face so much suspicion and judgment even when they have legitimate medical needs.

“You don’t want this for your kid,” Levine said. But she added something else. Extra time doesn't magically guarantee admission into those elite universities.

“If you’ve got an awesomely average kid, take the win,” she insisted. “Having an extra half-hour on the test is not going to get your kid into Harvard.”

ACT spokesman Juan Elizondo pushed back a bit. Getting extra time isn't as simple as just paying a neuropsychologist. Those evaluations cost between two thousand and ten thousand dollars, and insurance usually won't cover it.

Experts are totally divided on this. Some psychologists admit that accommodations can absolutely be abused, especially if evaluations are rushed right before the exams. But others warn that dismissing accommodations as just "cheating" completely ignores the students who genuinely need that support to even try and perform fairly.

Scott Hamilton, a clinical psychologist in Atlanta, described a "surreal" experience with one family. He evaluated their junior and found zero evidence that an accommodation on the SAT was even necessary.

“In what universe do we live in when I said their kid functions really well and they were mad at me?” Hamilton asked. “Not finishing the SAT is not a disability.”

He aGreed that abuse happens. He admitted his profession has contributed to it. But he leaned toward wanting to help. It’s complicated.