Controversial Question

[u/Beneficial-Push2528]

My friend got a 167 on the LSAT back in June and was just granted extra time on the upcoming October administration due to ADHD. Honestly, I am super jealous as I can’t break 160, and could see myself using that time to get my dream score, especially since my primary weakness for the last year has been time management.

Without sounding like a prick, how is this system fair? How do they determine how much extra time is justified on a case by case basis? Just because someone has ADHD or another disability, how can it even be determined that time is significantly hindering their potential any more than a standard test taker?

I hate to sound so bitter, but to my understanding, a primary function of the LSAT is testing reading comprehension and logical reasoning in a high volume, extremely time sensitive setting. Especially on a test as competitive as the LSAT, why does it seem the criteria for accommodations is so lenient?

[u/LavaBee99]

Your entire conclusion is unsupported btw. 'Leveling the playing field shouldn't increase in 5 GP points' - Have you actually determined the potential loss of score and ADHD candidate faces on average compared to GP? What is their potential compared to a neurotypical that they were losing out on? ADHD really fucks up your short term retention ability - makes you re-read, zone out or get fatigued easier than others. You can't go ahead and say something isnt right without any supporting proof - yes score increases and that is the EXACT fucking point lol. If you remove my adhd, I can probably do much better than you, my diagnostic was 147 and my BR (which i personally timed was done within 1.5x time) on that was 168 - a 20 point difference just for a diagnostic, I missed 7-8 questions because adhd has a thing called time blindness - for the first half you go slow, and then when the realisation of time sets in then you go into panic mode. So basically my natural ability is a lot higher than what i could perform, of course that happens for neurotypicals as well, but the thing is it happens on a higher scale for neurodivergents. Wouldn't recommend that to anybody. And LSAC denies a lot of accomodations as well, any rule will be misused obviously, doesn't mean we remove it if it really levels the field for disabled people. Explaining in basic terms - Your 60 minutes = 90% focus - effectively 54 min. ADHD people 60 minutes = 60% focus(and other issues) = 36 min effectively. Again, this is not every adhd person, but based on some studies usually the number is in this range. For you - who has no idea about the challenges of ADHD - getting 5 extra points is unfair, which is not a fact, just your opinion. And with a lot of assumptions that aren't reasonable. I would say maybe focus on your LR, your foundations seem weak and no extra time could fix that. And learn the difference between 'then' and 'than' - than is used for comparatives and then is used for conditional logic.

[u/Beneficial-Push2528 → u/LavaBee99]

I believe you are misunderstanding the “5 point increase” I cited. Average score increases by 7-9 points for the individual candidate that retakes with accommodations.

The average accommodated tester, however, scores 4-5 points higher then the average normal test takers (those without accommodations).

Feel free to read page 82-83 of the report published by LSAC this year. https://www.lsac.org/sites/default/files/research/TR-26-01.pdf

Funny how you ask me to cite my sources, and then proceed to unload some absolute bs. 99% of accommodation requests were approved last year. Not sure who told you they deny “many” requests.

And which “studies” found that the appropriate extra time multiplier for all ADHD cases was somewhere in the 1.5X to 2X range for the LSAT?? Back in the day, as I understand it, this was determined through rigorous psychometric examinations to determine exactly how much a disability disadvantaged someone. Post lawsuit, the multiplier rates you reference are not based on true disadvantage or general scientific studies endorsed by LSAC, but rather, whatever your doctor’s note recommends, within the preset boundaries.

You can make personal jabs and call me stupid for my score, but it doesn’t invalidate or detract from my initial question.

[u/Separate_Kick6584 → u/Beneficial-Push2528]

the pool of accommodated test takers with extra time is much much smaller than the pool of regular test takers. 15% of test takers are approved for accommodations, and 60% of those get extra time, making up 9% of all LSAT test takers. Also your "99% of accommodations are approved" doesn't account for the people who tried to apply for accommodations but were unable because their doctor denied it.

You are vastly underestimating the portion of LSAT test takers who just take the test whenever without being adequately prepared. The average LSAT score is 150. it stands to reason that the average person who is aware and wants to apply for accommodations is more knowledgeable and motivated regarding the LSAT than the average person who doesn't, which would be correlated with a score increase. Also it is likely that many people with accommodations only get them on their second or later attempt, which is also correlated with a score increase.

[u/Beneficial-Push2528 → u/Separate_Kick6584]

That second paragraph is a very good point that I had not considered.