Should students diagnosed with ADHD get extra time to take tests?

[etech]

I hope none of you that are joking about this situation ever have a child with a disibility. I really hope you never have to try to comfort your daughter who is crying her eyes out because the other normal kids are making fun of her for being stupid. God, I hope you don't have to do that.

It would change your minds and you perhaps wouldn't even think it is a joking matter but I hope you don't have to go throuh it.

 

[agnitrate]

Originally posted by: etech
I hope none of you that are joking about this situation ever have a child with a disibility. I really hope you never have to try to comfort your daughter who is crying her eyes out because the other normal kids are making fun of her for being stupid. God, I hope you don't have to do that.

It would change your minds and you perhaps wouldn't even think it is a joking matter but I hope you don't have to go throuh it.

I would think they would make fun of the child for being stupid because they had to stay later to finish the exam instead of finishing at the rest of the time like the 'normal' kids. I believe we're talking about children out of elementary school here. Once you're in junior high or high school (and especially by college), you shouldn't receive extra time unless you're like blind or something. You have to live with what God gave you and make the most of it. No excuses.

-silver

 

[RaiderJ]

Originally posted by: etech
I hope none of you that are joking about this situation ever have a child with a disibility. I really hope you never have to try to comfort your daughter who is crying her eyes out because the other normal kids are making fun of her for being stupid. God, I hope you don't have to do that.

It would change your minds and you perhaps wouldn't even think it is a joking matter but I hope you don't have to go throuh it.

Your right... we should coddle everyone who is somehow different than the norm (which is damn near everyone). We all have difficulties in life, and we all should learn how to deal with them. I wasn't as cool as some kids. Should I get more time on tests?

Life isn't easy, fair, kind, or anything else. Teach your kids how to deal with life, not how to avoid it. Maybe you could spend extra time with your daughter teaching her subjects she is behind on?

Edit: Maybe I misread... are you saying "disabled" kids should get extra time or not? It's not quite clear from your post.

 

[Riprorin]

My tech's son got extra time on the SAT.

Near as I can tell, his "disability" is that he's grossly immature and was poorly parented with little discipline.

He's 18 and still on Ritilin.

 

[minendo]

Should some students get extra time to take tests?

Hell no.

You think a job is going to give you more time to complete a task because your are stupid, slow, retarded, whatever?

 

[Keego]

about 5/40 people in my college classes take more time, and I simply don't care! If they need the time then I say give it to them, it doesn't hurt my grade whatsoever

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: Nocturnal
I know for a fact if you're diagnosed with ADD or ADHD and seek help through your school's health center you are able to get more time on a test.

That and a few other 'cheats' are getting used by students.

The fact is college is almost automatic now. I think the doors need to be locked down...degrees are getting worthless in many fields.

Å

 

[vegetation]

That and a few other 'cheats' are getting used by students.

The fact is college is almost automatic now. I think the doors need to be locked down...degrees are getting worthless in many fields.

Å

Getting? I would argue nearly all undergrad degrees, with exception to engineering fields, already are worthless. It wasn't long ago when having a BA in a liberal arts field at least earned you some respect. These days it's not a whole better than a high school diploma. Heck, even a high school diploma was worth something years ago.

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

Originally posted by: Riprorin


He's 18 and still on Ritilin.

fvck you.

 

[yllus]

In high school, perhaps.

In college/university, no. Honestly, if you've got problems concentrating by age 18+ when you have to take test X, maybe you should stay out of that level of school until you can handle it. It's not like you're going to get extra time to work on a project before your deadline in the real world, so why should you get that benefit in your post-HS studies?

 

[jst0ney]

Originally posted by: Lizardman

Originally posted by: FoBoT
this is crap :frown:

is an employer going to give certain employees more time to finish a project?

should they have two assembly lines at the car factory, one for "normal" workers and one for "special" workers" ? :Q

you can't run a business like that, school should prepare people for real life, not coddle them in a false environment

I agree 100% with this statement.

Of course you can't run a business like that. People will fail if they try. But who says that these people with learning disabilities are going to enter the corporate world and run businesses.
Some people (and I agree that this is abused) really do need extra time because information does not get processed the same way. People live with learning disabilites they don't get over them. They learn to unscramble the mess that is their head. This takes extra time. They shouldn't be denied a education (without the time many would fail courses and never preceed) because of a disability.

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

Originally posted by: yllus
In high school, perhaps.

In college/university, no. Honestly, if you've got problems concentrating by age 18+ when you have to take test X, maybe you should stay out of that level of school until you can handle it. It's not like you're going to get extra time to work on a project before your deadline in the real world, so why should you get that benefit in your post-HS studies?

Having extra time on exams isn't the only option available. For instance, some colleges will provide note takers that just write their normal notes on carbon paper, and the college pays the $50/semester, or they get extra credit or something.

 

[Riprorin]

Originally posted by: jst0ney

Originally posted by: Lizardman

Originally posted by: FoBoT
this is crap :frown:

is an employer going to give certain employees more time to finish a project?

should they have two assembly lines at the car factory, one for "normal" workers and one for "special" workers" ? :Q

you can't run a business like that, school should prepare people for real life, not coddle them in a false environment

I agree 100% with this statement.

Of course you can't run a business like that. People will fail if they try. But who says that these people with learning disabilities are going to enter the corporate world and run businesses.
Some people (and I agree that this is abused) really do need extra time because information does not get processed the same way. People live with learning disabilites they don't get over them. They learn to unscramble the mess that is their head. This takes extra time. They shouldn't be denied a education (without the time many would fail courses and never preceed) because of a disability.

I've taken a lot of tests where I would have benefited from having more time.

Does that mean that I have a disability?

 

[Shawn]

NO

 

[Riprorin]

How do you distinguish a real disability from someone who is just lazy, undisciplined, immature, slow, etc?

 

[Riprorin]

Originally posted by: iloveme2
NO

Why? I couldn't finish the test, so I couldn't "unscramble" things fast enough.

Shouldn't I have been given more time?

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

Originally posted by: Riprorin
How do you distinguish a real disability from someone who is just lazy, undisciplined, immature, slow, etc?

Thats what they have doctors for.

 

[yllus]

Originally posted by: DeathByAnts

Originally posted by: yllus
In high school, perhaps.

In college/university, no. Honestly, if you've got problems concentrating by age 18+ when you have to take test X, maybe you should stay out of that level of school until you can handle it. It's not like you're going to get extra time to work on a project before your deadline in the real world, so why should you get that benefit in your post-HS studies?

Having extra time on exams isn't the only option available. For instance, some colleges will provide note takers that just write their normal notes on carbon paper, and the college pays the $50/semester, or they get extra credit or something.

Oh, that's fine. I know my university provides this option to students. That wasn't the question asked in the thread.

I just feel that everyone should be graded equally on anything that contributes directly to your mark in a course. If everyone has to write an 10,000 word essay by the end of the term, you shouldn't get an assistant to do your research, help you structure your writing, or anything else not available to regular students. Ditto tests or exams. It's just completely unfair to the majority, and furthermore it cheapens the degree overall.

 

[AreaCode707]

I can't make a blanket statement on this because I think some conditions require it and others don't.

In my English classes I was required to take essay tests that were expected to be of a certain length. We were given a certain period of time to finish them in. I have ALWAYS finished tests first or nearly first, in almost every class I've been in. My freshman year, however, I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, and my hands were badly damaged by the disease. I still had the same thoughts, would write the same essay, but I was physically incapable of writing at a normal speed. I informed my professors of this and they were kind enough to allow me extra time to finish the tests if I needed it. I only used extra time once, and it was only about fifteen minutes.

So yeah, I can't generically say yes or no on this, because it depends on the reasons.

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

Originally posted by: yllus

Originally posted by: DeathByAnts

Originally posted by: yllus
In high school, perhaps.

In college/university, no. Honestly, if you've got problems concentrating by age 18+ when you have to take test X, maybe you should stay out of that level of school until you can handle it. It's not like you're going to get extra time to work on a project before your deadline in the real world, so why should you get that benefit in your post-HS studies?

Having extra time on exams isn't the only option available. For instance, some colleges will provide note takers that just write their normal notes on carbon paper, and the college pays the $50/semester, or they get extra credit or something.

Oh, that's fine. I know my university provides this option to students. That wasn't the question asked in the thread.

I just feel that everyone should be graded equally on anything that contributes directly to your mark in a course. If everyone has to write an 10,000 word essay by the end of the term, you shouldn't get an assistant to do your research, help you structure your writing, or anything else not available to regular students. Ditto tests or exams. It's just completely unfair to the majority, and furthermore it cheapens the degree overall.

I know it wasn't the question asked, but I wanted to point that out anyway to show that extra time isn't the only option.

 

[badmouse]

As the parent of a teen with a severe muscular disability, I have mixed feelings about this.

The main thing to remember is that school and testing is NOT real life. It's a system, like anything else, and one of the most important things to learn is how to work the system. If your prof says "write on pink graph paper with red pen", you learn to do that or your grade will suffer. If you can find an edge, you may as well use it. Like any system, the special-ed system is full of people who are out to get what they can, who abuse the system.

And if you think that the workplace is "Fair" in any way, ha.

My son doesn't have the hand strength & control to fill in tiny little dots with the accuracy required. He is, however, very smart. Therefore he gets (at great expense, but that's another rant) an aide to fill in the circles for him and extra time. His last set of tests he got 95-96-99 percentile on everything except for a zero on one part, and it turned out that the aide filled in the wrong form for that part and it got thrown out by the computers.

So yeah, we'll take all the extra help we can get, and it isn't always worth anything.

BTW, all of his testing scores are clearly labeled "done with aides and extra time", so it isn't like he's competing on the same level.

 

[Ness]

Originally posted by: ohtwell
I know that children who are learning disabled, or who have other disabilities, are commonly allowed more time for tests. I see nothing wrong with this. Tests are to make sure that you understand the content, not to make sure you can answer questions quickly.


: ) Amanda

While I understand your point (and agree with it most of it) it also works against itself. Why shouldn't EVERYONE get the extra time?

Personally, I'm slow with math, but I'm really good at it. I was usually rushing to get done with my tests in HS, and was often cut off from this. I'll be the first to say I don't have ADD or any similar disabilities, but if I had extra time I know I could finish no problem. So why can't I have extra time? I'm being tested on the material, not whether I can get done or not!

Then you take Johnny with ADD and he doesn't know, doesn't care about his math, gets 2 hours to do the same test that I got 50 minutes for just because he works slowly with math too... I totally get screwed.

It's not about me getting screwed so much as it is me getting the same chances... if it's fair for someone to have extra time, then it's only fair that everyone else gets the same amount of time.

When you get into the working world, with real people and such, if a project has a deadline of Monday, the client doesn't care that Johnny has ADD, he wants his project completed on Monday. (and rightfully so. It shouldn't cost him extra money just because Johnny has ADD.) The point I'm trying to make is that while yes, he does have a condition, no, it's not grounds for extra time, because every child has their share of troubles and Johnny is no different. It's a shame that he has that trouble, but it's something that he must learn to overcome.

Sorry, but I do see something wrong with it if the other students aren't given the same opportunity.

 

[Koing]

People who really need it should get it. At Uni/College it is more debateable.

But in the real work world you get no allowances for anything. A deadline is a deadline. No boss is going to cut you any slack for a project or report that needs to be in at 4pm.

Koing

 

[Riprorin]

Originally posted by: DeathByAnts

Originally posted by: Riprorin
How do you distinguish a real disability from someone who is just lazy, undisciplined, immature, slow, etc?

Thats what they have doctors for.

And how is ADHD diagnosed? It appears to me that it is diagnosed by symptoms which all kids exhibit at some time or another.

For example:

Signs of hyperactive behaviour include:

almost constant fidgeting and restlessness
almost constant fidgeting and restlessness
inability to sit in the same seat for very long
running or climbing at an inappropriate time or place
talking too much
always playing too loudly
always active
blurting out answers to questions in the classroom
pushing into queues, unable to wait for a turn in activities
interrupting others

Signs of attention problems include:

difficulty in following instructions
not seeming to listen to parents or teachers
not being able to focus on activities
frequently losing things needed for school or at home
not being able to pay attention to details
appearing disorganised
not being able to plan ahead effectively
being forgetful
appearing very distracted

My understanding is that a lot of kids are put on children at the advuce of teachers.

By the way, ADHD is NOT a learning disability.

 

[Ness]

Originally posted by: badmouse
As the parent of a teen with a severe muscular disability, I have mixed feelings about this.

The main thing to remember is that school and testing is NOT real life. It's a system, like anything else, and one of the most important things to learn is how to work the system. If your prof says "write on pink graph paper with red pen", you learn to do that or your grade will suffer. If you can find an edge, you may as well use it. Like any system, the special-ed system is full of people who are out to get what they can, who abuse the system.

And if you think that the workplace is "Fair" in any way, ha.

My son doesn't have the hand strength & control to fill in tiny little dots with the accuracy required. He is, however, very smart. Therefore he gets (at great expense, but that's another rant) an aide to fill in the circles for him and extra time. His last set of tests he got 95-96-99 percentile on everything except for a zero on one part, and it turned out that the aide filled in the wrong form for that part and it got thrown out by the computers.

So yeah, we'll take all the extra help we can get, and it isn't always worth anything.

BTW, all of his testing scores are clearly labeled "done with aides and extra time", so it isn't like he's competing on the same level.

I'm not trying to be rude toward's your son's condition, this could be circumvented without the need for an assistant.
They could easily give him a large ruled paper with numbers on it, and have him write A, B, C or D, and when the test time was over, have it translated to the scantron sheet to be graded.