1. Choosing & Using
Accommodations
Grades 3-12
How to Select, Administer,
and Evaluate Use of
Accommodations for
Instruction and Assessment
of Students with Disabilities

2. OUTCOMES for this session:
1. Expose students with disabilities to grade level
academic content standards
2. Learn about accommodations and modifications for
instruction and assessment
3. Select accommodations and/or modifications for
individual students
4. Administer accommodations and/or modifications
during instruction and assessment
5. Evaluate and improve accommodation and/or
modification use

3. Accommodations or Modifications?
Modifications
Accommodations
Do NOT fundamentally alter or DO fundamentally alter or lower
expectations or standards in
lower expectations or standards instructional level, content, or
in instructional level, content, or performance criteria.
performance criteria.
Provide student meaningful and
Provide equal ACCESS to productive learning experiences
learning and equal based on individual needs and
OPPORTUNITY to demonstrate abilities.
what is learned
Grading and credit is the Grading and credit are
SAME as typical students DIFFERENT

4. Outcome 1
Expose students with disabilities to grade level
academic content standards

5. STUDENT PARTICIPATION IN
ASSESSMENTS
 The participation of students with disabilities
in assessments is required by the following
federal and state laws:
– No Child Left Behind (NCLB)
– Individuals with Disabilities Education
Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA)
– California High School Exit Examination
(CAHSEE)

6. ASSESSMENTS FOR
ACCOUNTABILITY
 Assessments for Accountability help to
measure:
– How successful schools are in including all
students in standards-based education
– How well students are achieving standards
– What needs to be improved for specific groups of
students

7. INCLUDE ALL STUDENTS IN
INSTRUCTION AND ASSESSMENTS
 To include all students in standards-based
instruction and assessments:
– Provide accommodations/modifications during
instruction and assessment to increase access
– Use alternate assessments for students with
significant cognitive disabilities (CAPA)

8. PRIMARY CONSIDERATIONS
1. Teachers qualified to teach content areas
and who know how to differentiate
instruction for diverse learners
2. IEPs that provide specialized instruction
(e.g., reading strategies, study skills)
3. Accommodations and modifications which
increase access to instruction and
assessment

9. Accommodations OR
Modifications?
 Accommodations do not reduce learning
expectations. They provide access.
 Modifications or alterations refer to practices
that change, lower, or reduce learning
expectations.

10. Examples of Modifications
 Requiring a student to learn less material than is
required to meet grade level standards
 Reducing assignments so a student only needs
to complete the easiest problems or items
 Revising assessments to make them easier or
change the content being assessed
 Giving a student hints or clues to correct
responses on assignments and tests

11. EQUAL ACCESS TO GRADE LEVEL
CONTENT THROUGH
ACCOMMODATIONS
 Remember that equal access to grade level
content is the goal
 Every IEP team member must be familiar
with state and district content standards and
where to locate standards and updates
 Collaboration between general and special
educators is key

12. BENEFITS OF COLLABORATION
 Definition: General and special education
staff working as a team for the benefit of
students with disabilities
 Promotes understanding of general and
special education staff roles and
responsibilities

13. COLLABORATION
 Provides opportunities to gain new skills
(e.g., general educator’s knowledge of
content—special educator’s knowledge of
specialized instructional techniques)
 Serves as a support building process that
fosters the creation of a collaborative school
culture

14. ROLES IN COLLABORATION
 Who are the stakeholders?
 How often do they meet?
 Who is responsible for generating materials?
 Who implements each accommodation?
 Who is responsible for collecting data on
the use of the accommodation?
 What are the agreed upon standards for
grading the student?

15. Outcome 2
Learn about accommodations and
modifications for instruction and assessment

16. ACCOMMODATIONS
 Definition: Accommodations are practices
and procedures in the areas of presentation,
response, setting, and timing/scheduling that
provide equitable instructional and
assessment access for students with
disabilities.
 Accommodations reduce or eliminate the
effects of a student’s disability and do not
reduce learning expectations.

17. ACCOMMODATIONS APPLICATIONS
 The use of accommodations is linked through
each of these areas:
Classroom
instruction
Classroom State & district
assessments assessments
Content standards

18. ACCOMMODATIONS CATEGORIES
 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.
– Example – book on tape for a literature
assignment.

19. ACCOMMODATIONS CATEGORIES
 Response Accommodations
– Allow students to complete assignments, tests,
and activities in different ways or to solve or
organize problems using some type of assistive
device or organizer.
– Example – use of calculator, fill in the blank
instead of essay.

20. ACCOMMODATIONS CATEGORIES
 Setting Accommodations
– Change the location in which a test or assignment
is given or the conditions of the assessment
setting.
– Example – let the student take the test in tutorial
or a learning strategies class.

21. ACCOMMODATIONS CATEGORIES
 Timing/Scheduling Accommodations
– Increase the allowable length of time to complete
a test or assignment and may also change the
way the time is organized.
– Example – the student works for a specified
period of time and then takes a short break.
– Example – student is given a specified extended
amount of time to complete an assignment or test.

22. Modification/Accommodation
Sorting Activity
 In small groups, identify the listed items as:
– ACCOMMODATIONS
– MODIFICATIONS
 Discuss what characteristics each group has
in common

23. Case Carrier Responsibilities for
Accommodations/Modifications,
Assessments and Grading
 Share information with team
 Clarify difference between
accommodations/modifications with team members
 Ensure accommodations and modifications are
specifically documented on the IEP at the annual IEP
 Share with team at the beginning of marking period
both what accommodations/modifications will be
used and how student will be graded

24. Outcome 3
Select accommodations and modifications for
instruction and assessment

25. Documenting
Accommodations/Modifications
 Need to be specifically identified in the
accommodations/modifications section
 Share with each person responsible for
instructing the student
 Verify whether accommodations or
modifications were used with staff at
progress reporting periods

26. WHAT DOESN’T WORK
 Checking off every accommodation available
on the IEP form, hoping “something” will work
 Adding accommodations to an IEP for state
assessments when the student does not use
the accommodation on a regular basis for
instruction and assessment
 Unspecified timing and scheduling
 Lack of communication with staff

27. QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER FOR USE
OF ACCOMMODATIONS
 What are the student’s learning strengths
and needs?
 How does the student’s learning needs affect
the achievement of grade level content
standards?

28. QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
 What specialized instruction (e.g., learning
strategies, organizational skills, reading
skills) does the student need to achieve
grade level content standards?
 What accommodations will increase the
student’s access to instruction and
assessment by reducing the effects of the
disability?

29. REVIEW CURRENT
ACCOMMODATIONS
 What accommodations are currently used by
the student during instruction and for
assessments?
 What are results for assignments and
assessments when accommodations were
used and not used?
 Are there effective combinations of
accommodations?

30. REVIEW CURRENT
ACCOMMODATIONS
 What difficulties did student experience when
using accommodations?
 What is student’s perception of how well
accommodations “worked”?
 What are perceptions of parents, teachers
and specialists about how well
accommodations “worked”?

31. BASED ON THIS REVIEW
 Decide whether the student should
– Continue using an accommodation “as is”
– Use an accommodation with changes
– Have an accommodation discontinued

32. OF THE ACCOMMODATIONS THAT MATCH
THE STUDENT’S NEEDS, CONSIDER:
 The student’s willingness to learn to use the
accommodation
 Opportunities to learn how to use the
accommodation in classroom settings
 Conditions for use on state assessments

33. PLANNING USE OF NEW
ACCOMMODATIONS
 Plan how a student will learn to use each
new accommodation
 Be certain there is sufficient time to learn to
use instructional and assessment
accommodations before test day
 Plan for the ongoing evaluation and
improvement of accommodations use

34. INVOLVE STUDENTS
 Involve students in selecting, using, and
evaluating accommodations
 The more input students have in selecting
their accommodations, the more likely the
accommodations will be used
 Students should see accommodations as
adding value to their daily life—not only in
school—but for postsecondary, career, and
community life

35. Outcome 4
Administer accommodations and modifications
during instruction and assessment

36. COORDINATING THE LOGISTICS
 Accommodations and modifications during
instruction
 Logistics of providing the
accommodations/modifications must be mapped out
 Case carrier is responsible for coordinating
assessment accommodations and modifications
 Prepare for the implementation of accommodations
prior to, on, and after day of assessment

37. Tips for Using Accommodations &
Modifications
 Before instruction
– adapting lesson plans
– adapting physical environment
– preview content and access prior knowledge

38. Tips for Using Accommodations &
Modifications
 During instruction
– graphic organizers
– adapting teaching techniques
– adapting media
– adapting the format of content

39. Tips for Using Accommodations &
Modifications
 After instruction
– study guides
– assessment

40. Outcome 5
Evaluate and improve
accommodations/modifications use

41. USING FORMATIVE EVALUATION
 Use formative evaluation to turn over useful
information quickly to make improvements in
accommodation use
 Useful information can be obtained from
members of the IEP planning team—
evaluation is a team effort
 Formative evaluation is based on the
premise of using information for continuous
improvement

42. QUESTIONS TO GUIDE EVALUATION
 What accommodations are used by the student
during instruction and on assessments?
 What are the results of classroom assignments and
assessments when accommodations are/are not
used? If student not demonstrating expected
performance level, did student have access to
instruction in assessed content, receive
accommodation, or was accommodation not
effective?

43. QUESTIONS TO GUIDE EVALUATION
 What is the student’s perception of how well the
accommodation “worked?”
 What seem to be effective “combinations” of
accommodations?
 What are the difficulties encountered in the use of
accommodations for a student?
 What are the perceptions of teachers and others about
how the accommodation appears to be “working?”

44. TALKING TO PARENTS ABOUT
CERTIFICATE & DIPLOMA
 Should begin BEFORE transition to high
school
 Be data-driven and give examples
 Clearly explain diploma requirements
 Clearly explain what is gained in a certificate
program
 One is not preferable to another; it is based
on student needs and data

45. CONSIDERATIONS FOR
DETERMINING WHETHER A STUDENT
RECEIVES A CERTIFICATE OR A
DIPLOMA
 Nature of student’s disability
 Rate of past progress
 Grades and progress reports
 General education teacher input
 Use of accommodations and modifications,
and evaluation of their effectiveness

46. Accommodations & Modifications:
The Effect on Grading
 Accommodations allow students access to
content AT GRADE LEVEL and students are
still graded on grade level standards
 Modifications substantially alter or lower
grade level standards, and students are
graded alternatively according to their IEP

47. Accommodations/Modifications
Continuum
Enhancing
Environmental Participation
or Instructional & Guidance Difficulty
Change
Time
No
Functional
support Curriculum
required
Individualized Quantity Alternate
Reinforcers Input Goals
Output
Least Restrictive to Most Restrictive

48. Grading
Curriculum Standards
and Expectations
This student
meets enough ‘D-’ Grade
standards to
pass the class.
‘C’ Grade
‘B’ Grade
‘A’ Grade

49. Grading
Curriculum Standards
Student who is and Expectations
not able to
achieve a
minimum level
of proficiency
on standards
‘D-’ Grade
‘C’ Grade
MODIFIED
GRADE ‘B’ Grade
‘A’ Grade

50. Credit
 Accommodations = Graduation (diploma)
credit
 Modifications = Elective (non-graduation)
credit

51. Content Area Example: Math
 The “Modified Algebra” Exception
 Examples
– Accommodation: student uses a calculator to
compute volume of a prism; needs a copy of
teacher/student notes during instruction
– Modification: Simplified problems (one step
problems, when the expectation is two or more)
– Modifications must be based on the specific
needs of the student!

52. Content Area Example: English
 Accommodation:
– Student uses word processing device for essay
instead of hand-writing it
 Modification:
– Student produces shorter assignments on
simplified topics

53. Content Area Example: Social Studies
& Science
 Accommodation:
– Student receives copy of teacher/student notes to
enable them to listen fully to lecture
– Oral test taking (without prompting for student
responses)
 Modification:
– Student receives simplified assignments
– Removing two choices from multiple choice
questions on tests or exams

54. Content Area Example: P.E., Health &
Fine Arts
 Accommodations:
– Oral test taking (without prompting for student
responses)
– Enlarging print on worksheets or assignments
 Modifications:
– Expectation on project is lowered due to student’s
fine motor difficulty

55. Students in “Pull-Out” Special
Education Classes
 Direct or Collaborative Classes – Are the
expectations the same as general education for the
grade level/content?
 Modified (NS and SH)– A “modified” course indicates
that the standards have been fundamentally or
substantially lowered as compared to their general
education equivalents
– Students should not be receiving diploma credit for taking
“modified” courses because they haven’t met the minimum
standards for passing the course

56. Problems with Grade Inflation
 Inflating grades because of pressure from
parents who want to see their children pass
classes alongside their same-age peers
 Inflating grades via extra-credit assignments
 Failing to provide reasonable accommodations
in accordance with the IEP
 Failing to make use of differentiated instructional
strategies and co-teaching

57. Grade Inflation
 High grades and low testing scores could
signal grade inflation
 Be cautious of discrepancies between
student grades and achievement
 Consider remediation, reassessments in
place of extra-credit assignments
 Promote differentiated instruction so all
students gain equal access to content

58. Grade Inflation Cases
 Two cases against Mountain Lakes Bd of Ed.
in New Jersey
 Charges that the grades of students with
disabilities were inflated in mainstream
classes so that they could be passed through
the school system without regard to FAPE

59. How do we prevent grade inflation?
 Monitor objective assessment data for
discrepancies between student grades and
achievement
 Be prepared with concrete examples of equal
instruction and assessment