Providing Exam Accommodations

Exam accommodations are among the most commonly requested academic accommodations for students with disabilities. Exam accommodations are requested for a number of reasons. Most often, it is assumed that the student has a learning disorder or ADD/ADHD. While many of the requests are due to such diagnoses, a good number of the requests are based upon other concerns such as visual acuity, fine motor skills, required medication which results in slowed processing or memory recall, etc. For suggestions on how to arrange for exam accommodations, please see the Arranging for Exam Accommodations section below.

The following are the most commonly requested exam accommodations:

  • Extended Time: Extended time on tests is requested when a student may need time above and beyond what is typically allowed to complete an exam. This accommodation request will be followed by either a "1.5x" or "2.0" meaning either time and a half or double time for the exam. Only on very rare instances will an accommodation request for more than double time. While a student with an accommodation of extended time on test may not need the full amount requested each time (because it is impossible to predict the format and nature of every exam) the allotted time should always be made available to the student who has officially requested such through a Student Academic Accommodation Request (SAAR) form.
  • Separate Location: Many times, students may need a separate location for testing. This may be due to any number or reasons including difficulties with external distractions necessitating that a student be tested in a distraction-reduced environment, or because a student needs to "sub-vocalize" (speak the test questions and/or their answers out-loud) in order for them to fully comprehend the information. In many cases, students may be fine with taking the exam with only one or two other students, but for others, having any distractions around make it very difficult for them to concentrate and focus. It is important to discuss with the student early on regarding what specific needs they have concerning a separate location so that you can be better able to accommodate them.
  • Alternative Format: Many times, students may need a separate location for testing. This may be due to any number or reasons including difficulties with external distractions necessitating that a student be tested in a distraction-reduced environment, or because a student needs to "sub-vocalize" (speak the test questions and/or their answers out-loud) in order for them to fully comprehend the information. In many cases, students may be fine with taking the exam with only one or two other students, but for others, having any distractions around make it very difficult for them to concentrate and focus. It is important to discuss with the student early on regarding what specific needs they have concerning a separate location so that you can be better able to accommodate them.

Arranging for Exam Accommodations

Exam accommodations are requests directly of the faculty member teaching the course. Every attempt is made to ensure that requests are made well in advance to allow for ample time to make the necessary arrangements. Disability Services is not able to provide or arrange for rooms or proctors for students with exam accommodations. All useable space within the Academic Support Center is currently being used to house professional staff. If you have a student who has requested exam accommodations, here is a suggested procedure for making those arrangements:

  1. Determine if you have space readily available to you, such as your office, or if you have a teaching assistant, their office space. If not, then...
  2. Contact your department chair or administrative staff to request any available space within the department. This is generally the most often method used. Administrative staff often can "proctor" exams simply by having the student leave all but their exam and writing implement at the front desk eliminating the need to have someone directly in the room. If there is no space available through the department, then...
  3. Email classroom@simmons.edu with the date and time needed for the accommodation. If you know the dates of all of your exams, you can contact them at the beginning of the semester when you receive the accommodation request. Every effort will be made to ensure that you have the needed space. If a proctor is needed, you will still need to arrange for this. If your department has student workers, they may be available to proctor. It is important that proctors know that the accommodations are intended to be confidential and that they should not share information about the student whose exam they are proctoring.