The validity and comparability of entrance examination scores after accommodations are made for students with LD. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 34 (5), Sep-Oct 2001, 462-471. Using a sample of college students with LD and a control sample, the authors

Every year, thousands of college and university applicants with learning disabilities (LD) present scores from standardized examinations as part of the admissions process for postsecondary education. Many of these scores are from tests administered with nonstandard pro-cedures due to the examinees ’ learning disabilities. Using a sample of college students with LD and a control sample, this study inves-tigated the criterion validity and comparability of scores on the Miller Analogies Test when accommodations for the examinees with LD were in place. Scores for examinees with LD from test administrations with accommodations were similar to those of examinees with-out LD on standard administrations, but less well associated with grade point averages. The results of this study provide evidence that although scores for examinees with LD from nonstandard test administrations are comparable to scores for examinees without LD, they have less criterion validity and are less meaningful for their intended purpose. ver the past 20 years, increas-~ ing numbers of students with learning disabilities (LD) have been attending colleges and universi-ties (Feldman & Messerli, 1995; Hen-derson, 1992; Jarrow, 1991). As part of the admissions process to colleges and universities, applicants must pro-vide scores from standardized, norm-referenced entrance examinations, such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) or the Graduate Record Exami-nation (GRE), to the institutions to which they are applying. Scores from postsecondary education entrance ex-aminations provide useful information for college admissions officers when they select from among applicants to their school’s academic programs. Whereas it may be difficult for college admissions officers to discern appli-cants ’ potential to succeed from some-what subjective information (e.g., grade point average, letters of refer-ence), scores from standardized en-trance examinations are designed to be objective because theoretically all ex-aminees take the test under the same conditions. As a result of legislation such as the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and Section 504 o