Administering an exam used to be straightforward: All a college professor needed was an open room and a stack of blue books. At many American universities, this is no longer true. Professors now struggle to accommodate the many students with an official disability designation, which may entitle them to extra time, a distraction-free environment, or the use of otherwise-prohibited technology.
Over the past decade and a half, however, the share of students at selective universities who qualify for accommodations—often, extra time on tests—has grown at a breathtaking pace. At the University of Chicago, the number has more than tripled over the past eight years; at UC Berkeley, it has nearly quintupled over the past 15 years.
The increase is driven by more young people getting diagnosed with conditions such as ADHD, anxiety, and depression, and by universities making the process of getting accommodations easier.The change has occurred disproportionately at the most prestigious and expensive institutions. At Brown and Harvard, more than 20 percent of undergraduates are registered as disabled. At Amherst, that figure is 34 percent. Not all of those students receive accommodations, but researchers told me that most do.
I question whether these “challenged” students can get hired in the stressful corporate world? Or rather, are these students “privileged” that can slide in jobs smooth by professional class parental relationships?
Opinions?
It would be interesting to see a study on the actual impact of the accommodations. Do they allow the individuals to achieve? How well? How much accommodation happens in the private sector? Is there any trend there?
I have a high school child that has an accommodation. She is ranked in the top 50 of her class out of 1000+. Her struggle is ADHD and anxiety. She has difficulty NOT putting in too much effort on everything thing she does, which causes her to procrastinate as well as not being able to know when a project is done (overthinks and overworks the project beyond what the teacher asks).
Some of that she will learn to deal with through maturity and through adult brain vs teenager brain. Some of it she will likely develop some coping mechanisms. None of it is reflecting of her knowledge, intelligence, or desire to work.
Her accommodation allows her to turn in work late (in some cases) and to take extra time on tests. Of course, there is no way to know what impact if any this will have on her chosen profession but since both test time as well as homework deadlines are arbitrary, I doubt it will have a major impact.
Accommodations should be available for those who actually need them. As the article points out, many students / parents are gaming the system.
“A parent in Scarsdale, New York, who works in special education told me that it’s become common for parents of honors students to get their kids evaluated so they can have extra time on tests. The process usually starts when kids see that their peers have accommodations— or when they bring home their first B. “It feels in some ways like a badge of honor,” she said. “People are all talking about getting their children evaluated now.” In 2019, a Wall Street Journal analysis found that one in five Scarsdale High School students was considered disabled and eligible for accommodations on college entrance exams—a rate more than seven times higher than the national average.”
Some accommodations are getting out of hand, like bringing your mom to class…
“Other accommodations risk putting the needs of one student over the experience of their peers. One administrator told me that a student at a public college in California had permission to bring their mother to class. This became a problem, because the mom turned out to be an enthusiastic class participant.”
Reminds me of a student I had in summer school. She slacked off, didn’t pay attention, and the administration agreed to allow her mom to sit with her in class. When I flunked her daughter, the mom was bewildered. “How can you flunk my daughter when I sat with her and did all her work?”
One in four Gen Zers have brought a parent to a job interview over the past year, according to a new survey of nearly 1,500 Gen Zers by ResumeTemplates.com.
I find the above VERY HARD to believe.
Roughly one-quarter have had their parents submit job applications on their behalf.
I definitely believe the above.
“Over three-quarters of Gen Zers (77%) say they have brought a parent to a job interview when they were job searching,” study authors for ResumeTemplates, a virtual career-planning hub, revealed in the report
OK a repeat of the first link.
Wait for it: More startling, an alarming 79% of the hapless bunch admitted that once they get the job, their parents continue communicating with their managers — routinely asking for promotions, pay increases and days off on behalf of their not-so-little ones.
Judas Priest! Is the collapse of USA nigh?
The parents of gen Z are the children of the baby boomers [gen X]. It seems the parenting skills of the baby boomers were severely lacking which they pasted along.
When, back in the Morning in America 1980’s, I was regularly providing counseling to depressed, suicidal, and/or simply terrified (religion!) gay teens I learned that what was useful was to ever so gently push them towards a stance embodying
YOU MUST DEAL WITH REALITY OR DIE
and then to help them with whatever came next.
I still find that useful, even (especially) when dealing with myself.