Learning Disabled, Need Some Advice

[retro]

Hey folks. I have dyslexia. As a consequence my spelling is very poor. My mental math isn't much better. In day-to-day life it's something I can work around quite trivially, thanks to spellcheck and a four-function calculator.

I'm starting from scratch at just shy of age 40. At some point I'm going to need 6 credits in composition. Like a lot of you, I'm going to test out of as many credits as humanly possible. Because of my the effect of my learning disability, I'm afraid I'll blow the written portion of any test just from bad spelling. I already know I'll need some accommodation for my ADHD, extra time.

Obviously, I prefer a pass/fail situation to a GPA grade where my learning disabilities are a factor.

So, my questions are:

1. What are some exam strategies that are likely to work better for me?
2. I realize I could take the Ed4Credit.com or Study.com courses and get credit. In light of my situation, what are the proctored / graded portions of the courses like?
3. Has anyone here ever gotten meaningful dyslexia accommodation in a test environment? I've had terrible luck in this department. "No, you can't have a speller's dictionary... No, you can't have a four-function calculator, etc."

[nosey561]

Hey folks. I have dyslexia. As a consequence my spelling is very poor. My mental math isn't much better. In day-to-day life it's something I can work around quite trivially, thanks to spellcheck and a four-function calculator.

I'm starting from scratch at just shy of age 40. At some point I'm going to need 6 credits in composition. Like a lot of you, I'm going to test out of as many credits as humanly possible. Because of my the effect of my learning disability, I'm afraid I'll blow the written portion of any test just from bad spelling. I already know I'll need some accommodation for my ADHD, extra time.

Obviously, I prefer a pass/fail situation to a GPA grade where my learning disabilities are a factor.

So, my questions are:

1. What are some exam strategies that are likely to work better for me?
2. I realize I could take the Ed4Credit.com or Study.com courses and get credit. In light of my situation, what are the proctored / graded portions of the courses like?
3. Has anyone here ever gotten meaningful dyslexia accommodation in a test environment? I've had terrible luck in this department. "No, you can't have a speller's dictionary... No, you can't have a four-function calculator, etc."

Given your situation, I would avoid time-pressured high stakes exams,such as CLEP,etc.The final exams on straighterline or study.com are only 25% of your grade. Davar Academy gives you 3 months to complete a course.Trust yourself-if you are concerned about exam strategies,high-stakes exams may not be the right path for you.

[retro]

Given your situation, I would avoid time-pressured high stakes exams,such as CLEP,etc.

Okay, for writing I'll attempt to do just that. I do think I'll be just fine in a math testing environment, given some extra time, provided I am permitted a basic calculator. My most intensive math course is likely stats (I'll be a business major) so that helps. It's a lot easier to handle than advanced algebra or trigonometry and my notes say I'm permitted a basic calculator.

So, given the Study.com or Davar approach:

1. In the final, or any of the tests really, am I permitted to spell-check my submissions? I presume they both use ProctorU.
   
2. Is there an online course/testing environment that fulfills the composition requirement that is pass/fail instead of GPA-based?
   

[TexasTink]

A couple things about Study.com -
The finals vary between being worth 1/3 and 2/3 of your grade. It depends on if there are any essays required for the course which makes the final worth less percentage of your overall grade. If you get 100% on your quizzes (which isn’t too hard as you get 3 chances and can see the answers), then you only need a 55% on the final to pass.
None of the finals I have taken for Study have had written answers- it’s all multiple choice- even the English Comp classes. You also are given 100-120 minutes to do the final exam. There are anywhere from 70-120 questions on the final.
The English Comp courses and all the UL courses do require essays to pass the class. However, you do them on your own time and with your own word processor. So you have the ability to spell check and go however fast or slow you like. It always took me awhile to write my essays!
I’m not sure where you’re looking to go to school, but Study.com courses transfer into TESU as pass/fail and not whatever grade you got with Study.com for the course so that also takes some pressure off the classes.

I’ve taken several Cleps and they can be quite stressful as everything rides on that one test. (They’re also pass/fail) I took several that were worth 6 credits though so the payoff for me was worth it. I don’t know what kind of accommodations CLEP offers, but I do remember seeing something about them on their website. I also never took a CLEP Test that required writing. There are some, I just avoided them.

The only test I took that had writing as part of the test itself was my Music History TECEP. I used almost all the time for that test because I’m a slow writer and not confident in writing essays on the fly. Fortunately they had a spell check as part of their word processor!

For my two math classes with Study.com, I was allowed to have a non-graphing scientific calculator. I’m horrible at math so I was incredibly grateful for that, even though I didn’t know how to use half the functions on it!

[MNomadic]

-For study.com, you can resubmit your essays multiple times for a higher grade if you need.
-study.com statistics isn't very heavy on math, it focuses more on concepts and vocab.
-DSST principals of advanced English composition satisfies English composition 2 requirements at tesu and is all multiple choice(no essays!)

[retro]

None of the finals I have taken for Study have had written answers- it’s all multiple choice- even the English Comp classes. You also are given 100-120 minutes to do the final exam. There are anywhere from 70-120 questions on the final.

That's good to know. In that case, the only disability accommodation I'm likely to need would be a request for extra time on timed tests. I expect that won't be a problem.

The English Comp courses and all the UL courses do require essays to pass the class. However, you do them on your own time and with your own word processor. So you have the ability to spell check and go however fast or slow you like.

Also good to know.

I’m not sure where you’re looking to go to school, but Study.com courses transfer into TESU as pass/fail and not whatever grade you got with Study.com for the course so that also takes some pressure off the classes.

I'm not sure, yet. I'm using University of Michigan's grad school requirements as a rule-of-thumb measuring rod. Every school will be different, but if I use their entrance requirements as a guide I don't expect difficulty.

 I don’t know what kind of accommodations CLEP offers, but I do remember seeing something about them on their website.

I read that, too. I expect asking for extra time and maybe a short break or two won't be a problem.

For my two math classes with Study.com, I was allowed to have a non-graphing scientific calculator.

As near as I can tell, most testing environments permit a non-graphing non-programmable calculator. Many test environments simulate a Texas Instruments TI-30XS Multiview calculator in software. So, I bought that specific model knowing it would typically be permitted. A rare few tests only allow for a four-function calculator; that's okay too.

[eriehiker]

You know, some of these providers are so new that they might never have been faced with accommodation situations. I might do something like contact the owner of, say, onlinedegree.com to see if they have avenues for accommodations. In fact, I think if ACE or NCCRS don't make accommodation a part of credit recommendations, I think a nice little lawsuit would be appropriate.

[retro]

-For study.com, you can resubmit your essays multiple times for a higher grade if you need.

Good to know. I did not know that.

-study.com statistics isn't very heavy on math, it focuses more on concepts and vocab.

That's a real relief. Thanks for the tip!

-DSST principals of advanced English composition satisfies English composition 2 requirements at tesu and is all multiple choice(no essays!)

Cool. I'll swap out the Study.com course I had in mind with the DSST test. Thanks!

---

You know, some of these providers are so new that they might never have been faced with accommodation situations.

Right. But "extra time" and a 10 minute sanity/restroom break or two thrown in shouldn't be a big deal. It's basic ADA stuff.

I think if ACE or NCCRS don't make accommodation a part of credit recommendations, I think a nice little lawsuit would be appropriate.

I think the testing center in my area will have it's stuff together enough not to be too difficult. I'm not a person given to solving problems through litigation. I'm just trying to know more specifically the enforcement I'm going to be walking into and anticipate where the problems are likely to be, so that I can have all of my ducks in a row.

[dfrecore]

In light of your issues, I would certainly not recommend CLEP, DSST, TECEP or Davar - 100% of the grade is based on a test. Instead, I would do SL, Study.com, Ed4Credit, etc.

You are able to get to a point in all 3 of those providers, where you can see what you need on the final exam. Many times, esp with SL, you've already passed the course before you take the final, at which point you can fully fail the final and still pass the course - so no pressure there. I've taken a couple of Study.com courses (LL, no papers/projects) and each time, I've only needed a 55-58% on the final to pass the course, which I knew I could easily do.

[retro]

In light of your issues, I would certainly not recommend CLEP, DSST, TECEP or Davar - 100% of the grade is based on a test.

I'm going to try it a time or two and see how I do.

Many times, esp with SL, you've already passed the course before you take the final, at which point you can fully fail the final and still pass the course.

Is Straighterline a PASS/FAIL grade (like CLEP) or is it a GPA grade? If it makes a difference, it's highly likely I'll be going to TESU.