Can teacher refuse to give more time to finish the test? (Chicago: school districts, college)

[DS81]

My son is in 7th grade (Pre Algebra 2). In previous years he was an A student, and he really liked math. Now he gets F's and D's because he fails every single math test. The problem is timing. He completes 50% of the test correctly, but he has no time to finish the rest. He does his homework really well; he barely makes any mistakes, but he takes his time; he does not like to rush. Also, he scored high (Algebra level) on the MAP test (this test is not timed). He understands math problems and he knows how to solve them. He just can't solve them quickly. I tried practice with him more so that he can speed up. It did not work. He gets too nervous, and he starts to make silly mistakes. I asked his teacher if she could give him an extra time. She refused. I don't know what to do anymore. Does anyone have any suggestions? Can teacher refuse to give additional time to complete the test? Can I legally demand an additional time?

[mattywo85]

What relation does this have to Chicago suburbs? Maybe move this to Education??

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by DS81

My son is in 7th grade (Pre Algebra 2). In previous years he was an A student, and he really liked math. Now he gets F's and D's because he fails every single math test. The problem is timing. He completes 50% of the test correctly, but he has no time to finish the rest. He does his homework really well; he barely makes any mistakes, but he takes his time; he does not like to rush. Also, he scored high (Algebra level) on the MAP test (this test is not timed). He understands math problems and he knows how to solve them. He just can't solve them quickly. I tried practice with him more so that he can speed up. It did not work. He gets too nervous, and he starts to make silly mistakes. I asked his teacher if she could give him an extra time. She refused. I don't know what to do anymore. Does anyone have any suggestions? Can teacher refuse to give additional time to complete the test? Can I legally demand an additional time?

As a former teacher my inclination would be to focus less on what a parent can "legally demand" or what the teacher "refused" and more on what makes sense for your child's longer term success.

It may very well be that your school district already has policies in place for this sort of situation. Many school districts have a wide range of situations that they address with "IEPs" which are "indivudual learning plans" that once were solely associated with students having "learning disabilities" but many schools now recognize the value of formulizing strategies for students that fall outside a narrow definition of "average". It may be appropriate to pursue this avenue if your child's progress is hindered due to to unusual anxiety / inappropriate level of doubt / excessive attention to detail. Ideally there is ample evidence that your child can perform significantly better in a situation that has reduced stress / more open ended time frame. Most teachers that have been trained to recognize and help students with anxiety related to timed tests also understand the value of alternatives / accomodations ...

Of course the schools / district would need to have some standards to assess the appropriateness of these accommodations and one needs to make some initial plans about strategies to deal with accomodations / work to address the anexity / doubt / overly attentetive behavior. I know that with appropriate testing / documentation kids can request accomodation be extended to even things like standardized college admissions tests.

Finally I know that there are some parents / students that abuse these policies and request accomodation that do give them an unfair advantage against their peers so I would weigh the whole range of options before really getting fixated on "forever" solutions.

[Lookout Kid]

Most tests through high school and college will have strict time limits, so this will continue to be a problem unless you can help your son work through it some way. The same can be said for pretty much every standardized test administered, like the SAT, ACT, or other exams.

[ChicagoMeO]

Giving him no extra time puts the pressure on a person to cause them to be able to think under pressure. You might be able to get him to a doctor's appointment to see if he has any learning disabilities. If any tests show that he is not learning disabled, then your son needs to learn how to think faster, as in the real world, he will have to keep up with the rest of the world. its part of learning - to be able to think in the time given to solve a problem. maybe by challening himself, he will learn tools and skills in order to think faster. I dont think accommodating his weaknesses will make him a stronger person, unless maybe he is learning disabled and then you might have another problem. Even so, I think a learning disabled person can learn how to think faster and learn how to conquer nervousness. A lot of people get nervous when taking exams, and they fail.. but they learn to handle it.

[chet everett]

Folks, test anixiety is REAL THING and when kids that OTHERWISE perform well on the same sorts of material it is not that they cannot learn the stuff it is that they need deal with the performance issues. There are skilled educational psychologists that can confirm this is the situation that the OP's son is facing and then the appropriate way to deal with both the immeadiate problem (getting a poor grade in the class) AND the mid-range situation (overcoming the present difficulty with time limited testing) AS WELL AS long term solutions can be addressed.

The longer term situation may result in a "complete turn around" and by the time they need to take college entrance exams they may no longer need any acomodations but I have also seen situations where those sorts of tests, with proper advance notification and approval, can be taken in a less rigid format. The accomodations are usually set up to de-emphasis time and put the focus back on proving one's mastering of the subject with a less stressful setting. Instead of big study hall with a buzzing clock the test might be administered in a quieter more comfortable adminstrative office. In rare cases the time constraints themselves can be changed...

Right now the kid is in 7th grade. Previously they were doing well in mathematics. Performance on homework sounds to be fine. Let the OP take this one step at a time.

[AbbyJaneway]

I agree with chet, your son should be evaluated by an educational psychologist to determine what the problem is and how best to address it. Only with documentation showing your son has test anxiety, a learning disorder, whatever it may be, will the school make accommodations such as extra time on tests.

[doodlemagic]

Originally Posted by DS81

My son is in 7th grade (Pre Algebra 2). In previous years he was an A student, and he really liked math. Now he gets F's and D's because he fails every single math test. The problem is timing. He completes 50% of the test correctly, but he has no time to finish the rest. He does his homework really well; he barely makes any mistakes, but he takes his time; he does not like to rush. Also, he scored high (Algebra level) on the MAP test (this test is not timed). He understands math problems and he knows how to solve them. He just can't solve them quickly. I tried practice with him more so that he can speed up. It did not work. He gets too nervous, and he starts to make silly mistakes. I asked his teacher if she could give him an extra time. She refused. I don't know what to do anymore. Does anyone have any suggestions? Can teacher refuse to give additional time to complete the test? Can I legally demand an additional time?

Absolutely the teacher can refuse extra time to finish a test. When your son takes ACT/SAT tests there won't be extra time give so he needs to adapt to working faster. Unless he has a recognized learning ability in which case he may be given unlimited time to finish the test hhe should finish in the same time the rest of the students finish. Maybe instead of going for a 100% go for an 80% and finish on time, because 80% is better than an incomplete.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by doodlemagic

Absolutely the teacher can refuse extra time to finish a test. When your son takes ACT/SAT tests there won't be extra time give so he needs to adapt to working faster. Unless he has a recognized learning ability in which case he may be given unlimited time to finish the test hhe should finish in the same time the rest of the students finish. Maybe instead of going for a 100% go for an 80% and finish on time, because 80% is better than an incomplete.

... a disorder on the OCD spectrum "you know -- if you didn't wash your hands so much, your skin would not be so dry...".

Or someone that has profound stutter "you shouldn't repeat the same consonant sound over and over...".


Same kind of thing.

People that deal with the sorts of test related anixety understand that from a rational standpoint they should not risk leaving half or more of the test unanswered but they cannot bring themselves to leave a question without being sure they've done everything to triple / quadruple check each step for accuracy...


The various ways to address both an immeadiate and longer term solution to these sort of issues is best dealt with after a professional evaluation.

[supportyourschools]

Teachers are not legally required to make accommodations for a student unless the student has an IEP. Has your son been evaluated for any learning disabilities? If he hasn't been evaluated or diagnosed with a learning disability, then he will have to adapt to finishing his tests in the alloted time.

Contact the school district's director of special education and go from there.