[blindlaw] LSAT and MPRE using a screen reader

[Angie Matney]

Could we perhaps work on a resolution for National Convention about these testing organizations? Is there any direct action the National Association of Blind Lawyers can take?

My LSAT horror story was partly my fault. A braille writer was left off of my accommodation request form (long story). I noticed this before the deadline to submit accommodation requests but after the original form had been sent. Of course, LSAC 
refused to allow me to amend my request. I had to take the test without anything to write with for the games section. Fortunately, they were pretty easy that year. I used a braille test and a laptop for the writing sample

Angie



On Wed, 12 Sep 2007 15:42:25 EDT, AZNOR99 at aol.com wrote:

>I had a heck of a time trying to convince the powers that be to allow me to have an electronic version of both the MPRE and the Illinois Bar Exam.  ACT, which administers the MPRE, refused on security grounds.  They said that they would allow 
me to have both an audiocassette and a live reader in the room.  But they said that they do not provide electronic versions of the exam unless the candidate is deaf-blind.  In the end, I accepted both the reader/transcriber and the audiocassette 
and it worked out.  The problem, of course, is that BarBri provides study materials electronically, so reading rate was a problem.  Perhaps ACT has changed its position, but as of August 2006, they were refusing to allow for electronic testing.
> 
>The Illinois Bar Exam was different.  They were thrilled to give me electronic versions of the Illinois Essay exam (IEE).  They gave me a flash drive with the questions, and I had to save my answers to a 3 1/2 floppy or CD they provided.  They also 
asked me to upload my answers to a secure site they had as an added precaution.
> 
>The National Conference of Bar Examiners seems to be the problem.  They also refused to furnish their questions in electronic format.  Individual states only get the MPT (Multistate Performance Test), MEE (Multistate Essay Exam), and MBE 
(Multistate Bar Exam) questions the Monday before the exam is administered.  Therefore, individual states can't transcribe or retype the questions in time for a Tuesday morning start date.  National Conference of Bar Examiners gave me the same 
answer as ACT, citing security measures for the reason they wouldn't give me a version I could use with my screen reader.  They did agree to allow me to type my essay answers and have them printed, saved, and uploaded.  But they said that an 
audiocassette and live reader were enough accommodations.  My reader was a nice woman, but she ended up serving me better as a transcriber for the MBE than a reader because she couldn't pronounce legal terminology.  The person who read 
on the cassette was a lawyer and a member of the NCBEX staff, so he did a good job.
> 
>I was afraid that I wouldn't have enough time for the cassette versions of the exam since I'd been studying with Jaws at a much quicker reading speed.  But I ended up being OK and not using any of the extended time they allowed me.  I think 
that I got myself into the mindset that I'd have to read quickly, and I'd been studying by listening, so it worked out. 
> 
>I guess my point is that it isn't necessarily individual state bars that are to blame for inadequate testing accommodations.  It's ACT and the National Conference of Bar Examiners. 
> 
>Regards,
>Ronza
> 
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