What Are Accommodations?

Accommodations are changes in the teaching content while students expectations remain the same. These are practices and procedures in the areas of presentation, response, setting, and timing/scheduling that provide equitable access during instruction and assessments for students with disabilities.

Accommodations are intended to reduce or even eliminate the effects of a student’s disability; they do not reduce learning expectations. The accommodations provided to a student must be the same for classroom instruction, classroom assessments, and district and state assessments. It is critical to note that although some accommodations may be appropriate for instructional use, they may not be appropriate for use on a standardized assessment. There may be consequences (e.g., lowering or not counting a student’s test score) for the use of some accommodations during state assessments. It is very important for educators to become familiar with state policies regarding accommodations during assessments.

Typically, accommodation use does not begin and end in school. Students who use accommodations will generally also need them at home, in the community, and as they get older, in postsecondary education and at work. Accommodations for instruction and assessment are integrally intertwined.

Description of Accommodations Categories

Accommodations are commonly categorized in four ways: presentation, response, setting, and timing and scheduling:

1. Presentation Accommodations

Allow students to access information in ways that do not require them to visually read standard print. These alternate modes of access are auditory, multi-sensory, tactile, and visual.

Students who benefit most from presentation accommodations are those with print disabilities, defined as difficulty or inability to visually read standard print because of a physical, sensory, or cognitive disability.

• Sample Presentation Accommodations are:
  • Large Print – Large print editions of tests and instructional materials are required for some students with visual impairments.
  • Magnification Devices – Some students with visual impairments read regular print materials and enlarge the print by using magnification devices. These include eyeglass-mounted magnifiers, free standing or handheld magnifiers, enlarged computer monitors, or computers with screen enlargement programs.
  • Sign Language – Sign language interpreters may be required for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. Sometimes an interpreter is only needed or allowed to sign instructions and to assist in communication.
  • Braille – Braille is a method of reading a raised-dot code with the fingertips.
  • Tactile Graphics – Tactile graphic images provide graphic information through fingers instead of eyes. Graphic material (e.g., maps, charts, graphs, diagrams, illustrations) is presented in a raised format (paper or thermoform).
  • Talking Materials – Many classroom materials are now available with auditory components. These include calculators, “talking” clocks, thermometers, timers, and voltmeters.
  • Screen Reader – A screen reader is a computer application that converts text to synthesized speech or to Braille (read with an auxiliary Braille display)

2. Response Accommodations

Allow students to complete activities, assignments, and assessments in different ways or to solve or organize problems using some type of assistive device or organizer.

Response accommodations can benefit students with physical, sensory, or learning disabilities (including difficulties with memory, sequencing, directionality, alignment, and organization).

• Sample Response Accommodations are:
  • Scribe – A scribe is someone who writes down what a student dictates by an assistive communication device, pointing, sign language, or speech.
  • Word Processor – A student types on a word processor. This option may increase a student’s independence and reduce the need for a trained scribe.
  • Speech-to-Text – Speech-to-text conversion or voice recognition allows students to use their voices as input devices. Voice recognition may be used to dictate text into the computer or to give commands to the computer.
  • Note-Takers – Students may have another student take notes or use an electronic note-taking device. Portable note-taking devices are small, lightweight devices equipped with a Braille or typewriter-style keyboard for input and synthetic voice.
  • Tape Recorder – A student uses a tape recorder to record class work or test responses rather than writing on paper.
  • Calculation Devices – If a student’s disability affects mathematics calculation but not reasoning, a calculator or other assistive device (e.g., abacus, arithmetic table, manipulatives, or number chart) may be used.
  • Spelling and Grammar Devices – The use of a dictionary may be allowed on assignments that require an extended response or essay.

3. Setting Accommodations

Setting accommodations change the location in which a student receives instruction or participates in an assessment, or the conditions of an instructional or assessment setting. Students may be allowed to sit in a different location than the majority of students in order to reduce distractions to themselves or others, or to increase physical access or access to special equipment.

Setting accommodations can benefit students who are easily distracted in large group settings and who concentrate best in a small group or individual setting. Changes in location also benefit students who receive accommodations (e.g. reader, scribe, frequent breaks) that might distract other students. Students with physical disabilities might need a more accessible location, specific room conditions, or special equipment.

• Sample setting accommodations are:
  • Reduce Distractions to the Student – A setting accommodation to reduce distractions would allow a student to do individual work or take tests in a different location, usually in a place with few or no other students.
  • Reduce Distractions to Other Students – Some students use accommodations that may distract other students, such as having a reader or scribe. In addition, some students might perform better when they can read and think out loud or make noises that distract other students.
  • Change Location to Increase Physical Access or to Use Special Equipment – Occasionally a setting might be changed to increase physical access for a student. For example, a student who uses a wheelchair with a specially designed tabletop and assistive technology may not have adequate space in an auditorium with theater seating.

4. Timing and Scheduling Accommodations

Increase the allowable length of time to complete an assessment or assignment and perhaps change the way the time is organized.

Timing and scheduling accommodations are most helpful for students who need more time than generally allowed to complete activities, assignments, and assessments. Extra time may be needed to process written text (e.g., a student with a learning disability who processes information slowly), to write (e.g., a student with limited dexterity as a result of arthritis), or to use other accommodations or equipment (e.g., assistive technology, audiotape, scribe).

• Sample timing and scheduling accommodations are:
  • Extended Time – Extended time may require a student’s IEP team to determine a fairly specific amount of extra time to complete assignments, projects, and assessments. For timed tests, a standard extension may be time and one half.
  • Multiple or Frequent Breaks – Breaks may be given at predetermined intervals or after completion of assignments, tests, or activities. Sometimes a student is allowed to take breaks when individually needed.
  • Change Schedule or Order of Activities – If possible, schedule assessments and activities that require focused attention at the time of day when a student is most likely to demonstrate peak performance.

Accommodations Manual: How to Select, Administer, and Evaluate Use of Accommodations for Instruction and Assessment of Students with Disabilities https://osepideasthatwork.org/node/109. (Links to an external site.) Retrieved on 10/6/2018.