Standardized testing has changed. The SAT is fully digital and adaptive. The ACT completed its transition to a digital format in 2025 and offers a shorter, section-adaptive experience for most students. Both agencies have updated how accommodations are requested, evaluated, and applied. If you are working from a 2023 or earlier playbook, some of it no longer applies.

What is actually different now

Digital delivery

Both tests are now delivered through secure testing apps on laptops or tablets. That changes what "extended time" looks like in practice. Time is tracked by the test app, and features like the on-screen calculator, annotation tools, and answer eliminator are built into the interface. For students with certain accommodations, the digital format is genuinely easier. For students who tested well in the paper world by hand-annotating passages, there is a learning curve.

Adaptive formats

The digital SAT is section-adaptive: your performance on the first module of a section changes the difficulty of the second module. This makes the exam shorter but also more sensitive to the beginning of each section. For students with attention or anxiety concerns, the first ten questions now carry a disproportionate weight, which affects how we recommend they use extended time.

Documentation review is tighter

College Board and ACT have updated their documentation guidelines, and both now more consistently reject reports that lack current, specific, and functional findings. In 2026 we are seeing:

  • More rejections of reports older than five years, especially for ADHD and anxiety-related requests.
  • Higher expectations for cognitive and achievement data (not just clinical impressions).
  • A clearer expectation that the report describe how the diagnosis impairs performance on this specific type of exam.

What accommodations are actually available

The most common approved accommodations for the digital SAT and ACT include:

  • Extended time, typically 50 percent or 100 percent additional time. Extended time is applied section by section on the digital SAT.
  • Extra or extended breaks, including between sections.
  • Small group or private testing rooms, which the digital format has made administratively easier.
  • Assistive technology, including screen readers, text-to-speech, and speech-to-text.
  • Human reader or scribe, in limited cases.
  • Preferential seating, low-distraction environment, or noise-canceling headphones.

Both agencies continue to review requests on an individual basis. Approval is not automatic even with a diagnosis. The evaluation report is what connects the diagnosis to the specific accommodation being requested.

The most common reason accommodation requests are denied is not the absence of a diagnosis, it is the absence of documented functional impairment on this type of task.

What your evaluation report needs to include in 2026

To hold up under current review standards, a psychological or educational evaluation supporting an accommodation request should include:

  1. A clear DSM-5-TR or IDEA diagnosis, dated within the last five years for ADHD and mood or anxiety disorders (some conditions have longer windows).
  2. Cognitive testing results, typically from the WISC-V, WISC-VI, or WAIS-IV/V, showing patterns consistent with the diagnosis.
  3. Achievement testing results, typically from the WIAT-4 or WJ-IV, showing performance on tasks similar to those measured on the SAT and ACT.
  4. Attention or executive function testing, when relevant, from measures like the Conners CPT or D-KEFS.
  5. A functional impact statement that describes how the diagnosed condition specifically impairs timed test performance, sustained attention, reading rate, or written expression.
  6. A specific accommodation recommendation that connects the requested accommodation to the documented impairment.

Timeline: when to start

Start earlier than you think.

  • Six to eight months before the test: complete or update the psychological evaluation.
  • Four to six months before: submit the request through your school's SSD coordinator (College Board) or directly to the ACT.
  • Two to four months before: expect a decision. If denied, an appeal is possible, but it takes weeks.
  • Test day: verify that the accommodation is loaded into the testing app in advance. Some accommodations require specific device setup.

Students with existing school-based accommodations under a 504 or IEP still need to file a formal request with the testing agency. School accommodations do not automatically transfer.

How we help

At Lifespan, we complete evaluations designed specifically to hold up under current College Board and ACT documentation standards. That means we look at the tests you will actually be taking, we document functional impairment in the specific ways review boards now expect, and we write reports that connect diagnosis to accommodation clearly. If you or your student are planning to test in the 2026 or 2027 cycle, now is the time to start.

Related services: Test & Academic Accommodations 504/IEP Accommodations