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News, Views and Careers for All of Higher Education

Nov. 6, 2006

Judge Challenges MCAT Rules

A California judge’s ruling last week, ordering administrators of the Medical College Admission Test to provide special accommodations to students who meet the California standard for disability, could have national implications. The federal definition for disability uses the language “substantial limitation,” while California uses the term “limited,” which could broaden the number of students qualifying for accommodation on the standardized test required to apply to medical schools.

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“The courts said that they must comply with California law,” said Roger Heller, a lawyer for Disability Rights Advocates, which brought the class action lawsuit on behalf of four plaintiffs with dyslexia and other learning disabilities. The plaintiffs had requested more time to take the test because of their disabilities, but were turned down by the testing agency, which determined that they did not meet federal guidelines for disability. Heller said that the California Legislature has set a broader definition of disability, which provides greater protection, and that the plaintiffs met those standards.

Bob Burgoyne, a lawyer representing the Association of American Medical Colleges, which administers the MCAT, said that allowing separate standards for disability may call into question the integrity of the test. College administrators rely on the test as a standard measure of performance for students applying to medical school.

“We don’t want the usefulness of the MCAT to be undermined because some people are getting extra testing time,” he said. Burgoyne added that MCATs taken with an accommodation receive a flag, and that this may make it difficult for admissions officers to adequately weigh the meaning of the scores. Allowing a third standard — disabled in California — would only add to the confusion.

Heller said that while the assertion by the plaintiffss that they are trying to protect the quality of the test has validity, the case also revolves around money. “They don’t want to pay their proctors extra money,” he said.

Admissions officials acknowledged that the court’s ruling, if upheld, might require them to change admissions processes. “We’ve got to dig a little deeper than what standardized tests might show,” said Doug Levy, a spokesman for the University of California at San Francisco’s School of Medicine. Levy said that MCATs are only a part of admissions process and the ruling will not affect his campus.

Only MCATs and the Law School Admissions Test are flagged when the test was taken with an accommodation. Other standardized tests stopped using the flagging — amid lawsuits and threats of lawsuits from groups representing test takers with disabilities.

Steven Pereira, executive director of the College Board’s Services for Students with Disabilities, said that his group receives nearly 65,000 requests for accommodations every year. The College Board administers the SAT. Almost 80 percent of the requests are granted, the majority for people with learning disabilities like dyslexia.

Burgoyne said that the California ruling has been stayed until AAMC officials have a chance to respond and that any final settlement will not be reached until 2007.

Heller said that he hopes the case will be resolved soon and that testing agencies will respond by applying the California standard nationwide.

— Paul D. Thacker

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Comments

Hey Larry, why don’t you go read up on what dyslexia is. You will find that dyslexics have many abilities far superior than the average person. For instance, dyslexics think at a rate far faster than average because they have the ability to think in pictures (this ability, ironically, is also what makes reading so difficult). Also there are many dyslexics that have been at the top of their fields. Notably, Albert Einstein. You will also be surprised to find many of the top doctors and lawyers are dyslexic.

Go read. Come back informed.

Crystal Beep, Larry you’re a Moron, at 10:15 pm EST on November 24, 2008

MCAT and LSAT flagged

Leaving aside the question of whether California should have a different standard than is provided for in federal law, I am shocked to learn that the MCAT and LSAT scores of students with disabilities are flagged to indicate they have had an accommodation. I’ve had students in my classes who have had accommodations on exams because of their disabilities, and their exams are scored and their exam grades are counted exactly the same as everyone else’s.

“Flagging” scores of students with disabilities is outrageous. I am not a lawyer, but this seems to me to be an obvious violation of the law. But even iflegal, it should be stopped immediately.

math prof, at 8:05 am EST on November 6, 2006

While I fully support the opportunities offered to those with disabilities, I have to pause when considering someone with dislexia is taking more time on the MCATin order to gain access to medical school with this challenge. What will happen when this potential student, who is given more time throughout his or her medical school career, must now quickly review medical records and make a decision on medication? I do not want that “doctor” making serious decisions for me if he or she cannot read lab results and make a critical decision quickly.

lawyer-in-higher ed, at 8:30 am EST on November 6, 2006

Obviously I agree with what “Lawyer in Higher ed” said. Outside of academe, people lives and freedom hang in the balance, and god (and juries, and opposing counsel) do not make special accommodations.

For my money, it is right and proper to flag people who had extra time on the LSAT. This way, a school which chooses to admit people that can’t complete a task in the same amount of time can judge for itself whether 1) this person is a whiney faker; or 2) the person’s other qualities make up for their deficiencies.

(That said, the legal standards in California are somewhat different than the federal standard, and we are going to have to deal with them for awhile.)

Larry, at 10:45 am EST on November 6, 2006

This case involved test-takers who wanted extra time as an accommodation for their disability (dyslexia). However, I can imagine that other sorts of disability could require different kinds of accommodation. Does the “flag” on their scores say what sort of accommodation was provided?

Chris, at 1:15 pm EST on November 6, 2006

answer for Chris

Chris, The answer is that for non-“physical” disabilities, the answer is “no” because the person requested additional time. Look at p. 8 of the LSDAS’ lsac.org/pdfs/2006-2007/informationbk2006.pdf “information book.” It says: “If you receive additional test time as an accommodation for your disability, LSAC will send a statement with your LSDAS or LSAT Law School Reports advising that your score(s) should be interpreted with great sensitivity and flexibility.” Thankfully, this gives schools a chance to know whether they will be admitting someone that can’t perform at the same level as others.

Now, using a criminal trial as a model, at some level, a blind attorney would definitely provide a lower level of counsel than a sighted one. However, since everyone can probably see, at first glance, that the attorney is blind, there would be no surprise, and likely nobody would be as prejudiced as someone with a disability that isn’t readily apparent.

Larry, at 3:45 pm EST on November 6, 2006

Accommodations for MCAT

Extended time for taking a paper/pencil test, such as MCAT, ACT, SAT seems to be a non-factor when it comes to consideration of what a person can actually do in the real-world job setting. Many individuals, special education and general education alike, simply don’t process information fast enough to meet the demands for deadlines in a testing situation. However, deadlines, careful consideration of all issues and problem solving in the actual job situation is a different issue. The problem may not be can you read/write, but may really be how fast can you do it? I don’t know that I believe speed is necessarily a quality I value 100% in a doctor or any other worker I encounter. There are times when quickness and split second decision making are required. However, it is also necessary to be able to assess all the factors involved and demonstrate an ability to use good critical thinking skills. Emphasizing speed may rule out critical thinking and problem solving.

lindsak, Teacher consultant, at 8:50 am EST on November 8, 2006

The danger to justice in lindsak’s argument

lindsak, You obviously have no idea what it is like to be a lawyer. In the real world, being able to read, listen, hearing, understand, and comprehend quickly is extremely important. If you don’t do that, your client goes to jail, gets executed, loses his money. Or, if you work for the government, a guilty person goes free, doesn’t get executed, or gets to keep his ill-gotten gains. I am glad you don’t think that “speed” is a factor, but, in practice, being able to read quickly, and assimilated knowledge quickly is why lawyer are paid more than lots of other people.

The same goes for doctors. Ruptured body parts don’t make allowances for the doctor’s slowness.

Law schools operate in the shadow of legal practice. That is, what is taught in law school, contrary to the refrains of some cynical lawyers, is practiced in court and/or transactional negotiations every day. Law schools want some assurance that the people coming in will be able to perform on an exemplary level: or at least at a level reflected by the number LSAC associates with them.

Your plan, lindsak, essentially eliminates all value the LSATs have. Rather than trying to make the LSAT’s more accurate or comprehensive, law schools will be forced to guess which of their applicants can perform at the level that every else can, and which of them got extra time because they could not cut the mustard.

There are plenty of other professions where speed is not an issue. Schools are free to admit on whatever basis they want.

Larry, at 1:46 pm EST on November 8, 2006

flagging tests from test takers with disabilities

Dear Larry,Your arguments about the value of the LSATs and MCATs seem to hinge on the assumption that all takers of these tests are aspiring to become trial lawyers or hospital-care doctors. In real life, however, many people who earn medical or law degrees go on to specialize in fields that are intimately related to law and medicine, but do not require split-second reading and processing skills.

A medical degree is essential for anyone who wants to become a medical illustrator, or a pathologist, for example. A law degree is key for many policy-making roles in public service or non-profit work.

Surely it is not the job of med schools or law schools to second-guess the career goals of their applicants. The purpose of the LSATs and MCATs is to determine how prepared the applicant is to continue to the next level of education, not to predict how well they will perform in some assumed, specific, or stereotyped job.

Trust me when I point out that those who apply for extra testing time to balance out some challenge, “physical” or otherwise, are very aware of their limitations in those situations which you described. If they got far enough in their education to sit for the MCAT or the LSAT, in spite of their disabilty, then they are certainly entitled to have their test scores evaluated without being flagged as some kind of “whiney faker.”

Laurascience student, and parent of an exceptional student who is eligible for extra test time due to a genetic retinal disease

Laura, at 3:47 pm EST on November 12, 2006

If more children where tested at a younger age and the appropriate actions taken we probably wouldn’t have as many special needs children as we have. We need to stop lumping all children into one class of learning. As for the tests for college I rule in favor of the children with all special needs. Everyone tests differently they shouldn’t be denied because of any learning disability. A child has a right to Education, and a right to follow his or her dreams.

Maureen, Mental health assistant, at 9:25 pm EST on November 14, 2006

mcats, lsat

Please folks, while the LSAT and MCATS provide information as to how a person tests, it does not provide information on how a person will perform in his/her chosen profession. First, let me say I aced the LSAT, top 1%, and I am a good attorney. My practice involves client contact, negotation, and trial; I am board certified in family law. I have a good friend who is an excellent attorney and would throw up if she went into the courtroom. She practices in the field of property law. One thing about both medicine and law is that there is something in the field for eveyone, something that can fit right into one’s personality and ability. There is definitely a certain modicum of intelligence which is needed to perform well in any given profession, but adding time to take a test has nothing to do with ability to perform well in the profession.

In my over 25 years in the profession, I have seen learning disabled and physcially disabled attorneys perform with outstanding ability and I have seen attorneys who excelled in school founder in the professional world. Narrowness of mind leads to stagnation of vision. Get the facts, don’t guess. Anecdotal evidence is bad evidence.

Victoria, attorney, at 10:25 am EST on November 16, 2006

LSAT/MCAT

I agree with Victoria’s comments. If we continue to have folks like Larry who cannot see pass the numbers, our world will never embrace diversity and people who have dreams to succeed in a certain profession will always be crushed and people’s true potential will not be reailized.

There are many successful people like John Grisham who has Dyslexia and has practiced law and published best selling books. So for Larry.....PLEASE BROADEN YOUR MIND. There is never just one way to make something happen. You are part of the problem not the solution.

ACG, LSAT, at 11:50 am EST on December 16, 2006

More Time

It is irony that MCAT and LSAT are the two tests that flag test takers with special accommodation. It is medicine (and studies in related fields) that showed us what could go wrong in one’s cognitive ability if for example the Wernicke’s area in the temporal lobe is damaged, the frontal lobe has a lesion, or parietal lobe is injured. However, these injuries are not readily recognizable unless one performed an open-head surgery like Broca and Wernicke did in the 19th century we do not treat them as we do with other visible handicaps. Fortunately, however, there are non-invasive, psychological tesing to substantiate such disabilities. It is the lawyers who recognized one should not be treated unfairly based on disabilities (physical and mental), however, flagging LSAT does the exact opposite.

richard, at 9:45 am EDT on May 22, 2007

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