Changes will have to be made for some California students taking the Medical College Admission Test following a judge’s recent ruling forcing test administrators to arrange special accommodations for students who qualify under the state standard of disability — a more inclusive measure compared to federal statutes.
The Americans with Disabilities Act defines the term “”disability”” as “”a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of such individual.””
However, according to the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, the definition is “”having any physiological disease, disorder, condition, cosmetic disfigurement or anatomical loss [that] limits an individual’s ability to participate in major life activities,”” thereby broadening the number of standards under which California students can be identified as “”disabled.””
Four plaintiffs with dyslexia and other learning disabilities brought the class-action lawsuit forward in May 2005. When the plaintiffs requested more time on their exams due to their disability constraints, the MCAT administrators denied them under the reasoning that the plaintiffs did not qualify for extra time under the federal definition of disability.
Disability Rights Advocates brought the lawsuit against the Association of American Medical Colleges, which argued that though a disability may have an effect on reading speed, it does not affect intelligence and other abilities needed to become a physician.
Roger Heller, an attorney from the DRA, stated on the organization’s Web site that “”until this trial, the Association of American Medical Colleges was out of touch with the medical facts regarding learning disabilities and why accommodations like extra time make sense.””
In his ruling, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Ronald Sabraw ordered the AAMC, which administers the MCAT, to follow state law when in California and offer proper accommodations to all test-takers with established disabilities.
The ruling, if upheld, may push schools to make changes in their admissions processes, though no official statement regarding potential changes has been released by the AAMC.
The AAMC asserted that allowing different standards for disability may affect the consistency of the scores when weighed by medical schools. Admissions officials use the test as a measure of performance.
“”The AAMC continues to believe that it is appropriate to apply a single, fair national standard when evaluating requests for extra testing time and other accommodations on the MCAT,”” AAMC Director of Public Relations Retha Sherrod stated in a press release. “”[T]he standard should not have the effect of altering the comparability of MCAT scores or undermining the usefulness of the MCAT in helping medical schools evaluate students.””
The DRA expects the decision to have a “”rippling effect”” on similar testing agencies, although the AAMC intends to appeal the decision and set a national “”disability”” standard for the MCAT.
“”The AAMC intends to appeal this decision so that we can continue to apply a fair national standard for all MCAT examinees,”” Sherrod stated. “”The court has indicated that its decision will be automatically stayed pending the outcome of that appeal.””
