SAT Prep for Students with Learning Disabilities

The ACT and SAT are the two most commonly taken standardized tests for college admissions in the United States. While preparing for and taking the tests tends to be overwhelming, SAT prep for students with learning disabilities, such as ADHD, dyslexia,  dysgraphia, dyscalculia, or dyspraxia requires approaches different from traditional prep strategies and plans.

With greater awareness around learning difficulties, students and their parents look for tutors with the know-how to adapt instruction for diverse learning needs. Learning disabilities stem from neurobiological and genetic differences that influence how the brain processes information. 

These differences can create challenges in specific areas such as reading, writing, mathematical reasoning, or information processing, requiring students to work harder or use alternative strategies to achieve the same academic outcomes as their peers.

However, such students can request special accommodations when they take the SAT or ACT, such as extended time to take the test, an assistant to read questions out loud, or a specific seating arrangement (students with ADHD, for example, may be able to take the test in a private room, or a room with fewer students). The basic fee remains the same.

In this blog post, we’ll explain what learning difficulties are, what SAT accommodations for learning disabilities are available, and how to go about SAT prep for students with learning disabilities.
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Understanding learning disabilities in the context of standardized exams

In SAT or ACT preparation settings, tutors encounter five types of learning disabilities:

1. Dyslexia: It is the most prevalent learning disability that affects how students decode, read, and comprehend text. Such students struggle with reading fluency, accurate word recognition, and spelling. Thus, it affects their ability to process SAT Reading passages and interpret question stems efficiently. These challenges extend beyond the verbal sections, too, as mathematical word problems and science-based reading passages also require strong decoding skills.

2. ADHD: Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder affects a student's executive functioning, including sustained attention, impulse control, and working memory. During lengthy standardized tests, students with ADHD may struggle to maintain focus, manage time effectively across sections, and resist distractible thoughts or environmental stimuli. Research shows that 11.4% of U.S. children aged 3–17 years (7.1 million) received an ADHD diagnosis in 2022.

3. Dyscalculia: This mathematics-specific learning disability affects number sense, mathematical reasoning, and the ability to perform calculations accurately. Students with dyscalculia may have difficulty understanding mathematical concepts, remembering math facts, or following multi-step problem-solving procedures—challenges that directly impact SAT math performance.

4. Dysgraphia: It primarily affects written expression and fine motor skills related to writing. Students may produce illegible handwriting, struggle with organizing thoughts on paper, experience physical fatigue when writing, or have difficulty with grammar and syntax. While the digital SAT has reduced some handwriting demands, dysgraphia can still impact students' ability to take notes or organize their thinking during test preparation.

5. Dyspraxia: This neurological condition affects motor planning and coordination, impacting both gross and fine motor skills. Students with dyspraxia may struggle with tasks requiring precise hand movements, spatial organization, or coordinated physical actions. In testing contexts, this can affect their ability to navigate test booklets, manage materials, or maintain comfortable positioning during extended testing periods.

These learning disabilities don't reflect intellectual capacity but rather represent different neurological processing patterns that require specific accommodations and teaching approaches. 
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Getting Familiar with ACT and SAT accommodations

Both the ACT organization and the College Board (SAT) offer different accommodation options to students with learning disabilities, depending on their situation. The main accommodations available are:

SAT accommodations for learning disabilities

ACT accommodations for learning

How to help families apply via the College Board’s Services for Students With Disabilities (SSD)

The application process requires coordination between families, schools, and testing organizations. 

For SAT accommodations, the College Board now uses an online SSD platform where school coordinators can submit requests digitally, upload documentation, and track application status in real-time. This streamlined system has improved processing times and communication between schools and the College Board.

For ACT accommodations, applications are still primarily handled through traditional mail or fax submission by school SSD coordinators, though ACT has been gradually implementing more digital processes. Applications should be submitted 4-7 weeks before the intended test date, with appeals potentially requiring additional time.

Step-by-step accommodation request process

To support your students with learning disabilities in their preparation for the SAT or ACT, you can add accommodation details directly to student profiles in EdisonOS, allowing you to customize practice sessions with appropriate timing, format modifications, and specialized reporting. 

This ensures students practice under conditions that mirror their approved accommodations, while providing parents with accurate progress tracking that reflects their child's accommodated performance levels.
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SAT subject-specific tips for students with learning disabilities

Each section of the SAT presents unique challenges for students with learning disabilities, and understanding how to adapt instruction for each section helps you maximize students' potential.

Reading/Writing

Students with dyslexia and language processing disorders need systematic approaches to tackle the SAT's reading and writing demands.

Phonics-based decoding: Regular practice with morphology—understanding prefixes, suffixes, and root words—helps students break down challenging academic vocabulary they'll encounter in test passages.

Vocabulary in context instruction: It teaches students how to use surrounding text clues, sentence structure, and logical reasoning to determine word meanings. Practice sessions should focus on the specific types of context clues the SAT favors: definition clues, contrast clues, and inference-based meanings.

Line-referencing techniques: It provides structure for students who struggle with reading comprehension or have difficulty locating information in dense passages. Teach students to bracket referenced lines, read one sentence before and after the citation, and identify key transition words. For students with ADHD, this strategy also maintains focus by breaking down overwhelming text into manageable chunks.

Math

Mathematical reasoning challenges many students with learning disabilities, not because they lack mathematical ability, but because traditional presentation methods don't align with their processing strengths.

Visual aids: They transform abstract concepts into concrete understanding—graphical representations of algebraic functions, geometric diagrams for word problems, and number lines for integer operations provide the visual scaffolding many students need.

Structured note-taking systems: They help students with executive functioning challenges organize their problem-solving approach. Templates that include spaces for "Given information," "What I'm solving for," and "Steps to solution" provide consistent frameworks that reduce cognitive load. Students learn to identify question types and apply appropriate problem-solving templates, building both confidence and accuracy.

Color-coded problem steps: Students might use blue for given information, red for formulas, and green for final answers. This system helps students with attention difficulties track their progress through multi-step problems while providing visual organization for students with dyslexia who may struggle with dense mathematical text.

Essay

Though the SAT essay is optional, students who choose to write need specific supports to demonstrate their analytical thinking within time constraints.

Scaffolding ideas: It involves teaching students to quickly identify the author's argument, evidence types, and persuasive techniques within the first few minutes of reading time.

Mind mapping techniques: Simple graphic organizers that connect the author's claims to specific evidence and analysis create visual roadmaps for essay structure. Students learn to identify 2-3 key persuasive techniques and map supporting evidence for each, ensuring their essays remain focused and well-supported.

Dictation tools and assistive technology: For students approved for speech-to-text accommodations, practice sessions should include using voice recognition software to compose essays, learning to speak punctuation, and editing dictated text for clarity and flow.
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How to keep students with learning disabilities focused and confident

SAT prep for students with learning disabilities should involve implementing targeted strategies for engagement, confidence-building, and sustainable pacing.

Strategic use of timers and breaks

Rather than overwhelming students with full-length practice tests immediately, begin with shorter, focused intervals that match their attention spans. Students with ADHD often benefit from 15-20 minute focused work periods followed by five-minute breaks, gradually extending these intervals as their stamina builds.

Digital timers that show time elapsed rather than time remaining can reduce anxiety for students who become overwhelmed by countdown pressure. Some students respond better to analog clocks that provide visual segments representing work and break periods.

Gamified practice sessions transform test preparation into engaging experiences by implementing point systems that reward effort and strategy use rather than perfect scores. Design collaborative challenges where students work toward shared goals or compete against their own previous performances rather than comparing to neurotypical peers. Transform progress tracking into interactive activities through visual charts, graphs, or journals that help students recognize growth patterns that might otherwise feel invisible.

Positive reinforcement and low stakes mock tests

Strengths-based feedback focuses on connecting effort to specific learning strategies rather than offering general praise, providing comments like "using the elimination strategy helped you identify the correct answer more efficiently" instead of simply saying "good job." This approach helps students understand which strategies work for their specific learning profile while celebrating process-focused achievements such as improved strategy use, persistence through challenges, and thoughtful error analysis rather than just correct answers.

Low-stakes practice assessments reduce performance anxiety by framing practice tests as "information gathering" rather than evaluation, emphasizing that mistakes provide valuable data about areas needing attention while creating practice conditions that mirror students' actual accommodation settings.

Monitoring burnout and adjusting pacing

Recognizing burnout signals requires understanding that students with learning disabilities often expend significantly more energy than their peers to achieve similar outcomes. Watch for increased emotional reactivity, regression in previously mastered skills, physical symptoms like headaches or stomach issues, or avoidance behaviors around practice materials.

Cognitive load management prevents overwhelming students' processing capacity by alternating between different types of demands—following intensive reading practice with hands-on math activities, or balancing analytical work with creative problem-solving approaches.

Students with learning disabilities often need more processing time between learning and retention, requiring patience with consolidation periods. Develop self-advocacy skills by teaching students to recognize their own fatigue signals and communicate needs effectively, learning to request breaks, ask for clarification, or suggest alternative approaches when standard methods aren't working.
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Tracking progress with EdisonOS for students with learning disabilities

Effective progress monitoring for students with learning disabilities requires more nuanced tracking than traditional test prep metrics. EdisonOS enables tutors to build individualized SAT or ACT journeys with customized learning paths that mirror students' actual accommodation conditions.

EdisonOS also provides tutors with comprehensive assessment creation and tracking tools that can be adapted to support students with learning disabilities. 

The platform's Build Your Own Tests (BYOT) feature allows tutors to create customized assessments using either the 5000+ question library or their own materials, enabling them to design practice tests that focus on specific skill areas.

The detailed reporting system generates scaled scores, section analysis, skill analysis, and time analysis that help tutors identify patterns in student performance—particularly valuable for understanding how learning disabilities impact test-taking across different question types and time constraints.

Tutors can also use the platform's question analytics feature to show students how their performance compares to peers and track difficulty levels, while the session logs functionality provides documentation of student progress that can be shared with parents through automated email reports.

In addition, through detailed session notes and collaborative feedback systems, tutors can refine strategies based on what works best for each student's specific learning profile, creating increasingly personalized approaches that support both academic achievement and long-term self-advocacy skills.

To see how EdisonOS can transform your approach to supporting students with learning disabilities, schedule your personalized demo today.