ADA Requirements - Testing Accommodations

What Kind Of Documentation Is Sufficient To Support A Request For Testing Accommodations?

All testing entities must adhere to the following principles regarding what may and may not be required when a person with a disability requests a testing accommodation.     

• Documentation.  Any documentation if required by a testing entity in support of a request for testing accommodations must be reasonable and limited to the need for the requested testing accommodations.  Requests for supporting documentation should be narrowly tailored to the information needed to determine the nature of the candidate’s disability and his or her need for the requested testing accommodation.  Appropriate documentation will vary depending on the nature of the disability and the specific testing accommodation requested.      

Examples of types of documentation include:

• Recommendations of qualified professionals;

• Proof of past testing accommodations;

• Observations by educators;

• Results of psycho-educational or other professional evaluations;

• An applicant’s history of diagnosis; and

• An applicant’s statement of his or her history regarding testing accommodations.

Depending on the particular testing accommodation request and the nature of the disability, however, a testing entity may only need one or two of the above documents to determine the nature of the candidate’s disability and his or her need for the requested testing accommodation.  If so, a testing entity should generally limit its request for documentation to those one or two items and should generally evaluate the testing accommodation request based on those limited documents without requiring further documentation.

• Past Testing Accommodations.  Proof of past testing accommodations in similar test settings is generally sufficient to support a request for the same testing accommodations for a current standardized exam or other high-stakes test.

  • Past Testing Accommodations on Similar Standardized Exams or High-Stakes Tests.  If a candidate requests the same testing accommodations he or she previously received on a similar standardized exam or high-stakes test, provides proof of having received the previous testing accommodations, and certifies his or her current need for the testing accommodations due to disability, then a testing entity should generally grant the same testing accommodations for the current standardized exam or high-stakes test without requesting further documentation from the candidate.  So, for example, a person with a disability who receives a testing accommodation to sit for the SAT should generally get the same testing accommodation to take the GRE, LSAC, or MCAT.    

• Formal Public School Accommodations. If a candidate previously received testing accommodations under an Individualized Education Program (IEP)³ or a Section 504 Plan,⁴ he or she should generally receive the same testing accommodations for a current standardized exam or high-stakes test.  If a candidate shows the receipt of testing accommodations in his or her most recent IEP or Section 504 Plan, and certifies his or her current need for the testing accommodations due to disability, then a testing entity should generally grant those same testing accommodations for the current standardized exam or high-stakes test without requesting further documentation from the candidate.  This would include students with disabilities publicly-placed and funded in a private school under the IDEA or Section 504 placement procedures whose IEP or Section 504 Plan addresses needed testing accommodations.

  • Example.  Where a student with a Section 504 Plan in place since middle school that includes the testing accommodations of extended time and a quiet room is seeking those same testing accommodations for a high-stakes test, and certifies that he or she still needs those testing accommodations, the testing entity receiving such documentation should generally grant the request.

• Private School Testing Accommodations.  If a candidate received testing accommodations in private school for similar tests under a formal policy, he or she should generally receive the same testing accommodations for a current standardized exam or high-stakes test.  Testing accommodations are generally provided to a parentally-placed private school student with disabilities pursuant to a formal policy and are documented for that particular student.  If a candidate shows a consistent history of having received testing accommodations for similar tests, and certifies his or her current need for the testing accommodations due to disability, then a testing entity should generally grant those same testing accommodations for the current standardized exam or high-stakes test without requesting further documentation from the candidate.

  • Example.  A private school student received a large-print test and a scribe as testing accommodations on similar tests throughout high school pursuant to a formal, documented accommodation policy and plan.  Where the student provides documentation of receiving these testing accommodations, and certifies that he or she still needs the testing accommodations due to disability, a testing entity should generally grant the candidate’s request for the same testing accommodations without requesting further documentation.

• First Time Requests or Informal Classroom Testing Accommodations.  An absence of previous formal testing accommodations does not preclude a candidate from receiving testing accommodations.  Candidates who are individuals with disabilities and have never previously received testing accommodations may also be entitled to receive them for a current standardized exam or high-stakes test.  In the absence of documentation of prior testing accommodations, testing entities should consider the entirety of a candidate’s history, including informal testing accommodations, to determine whether that history indicates a current need for testing accommodations.

  • Example.  A high school senior is in a car accident that results in a severe concussion.  The report from the treating specialist says that the student has post-concussion syndrome that may take up to a year to resolve, and that while his brain is healing he will need extended time and a quiet room when taking exams.  Although the student has never previously received testing accommodations, he may nevertheless be entitled to the requested testing accommodations for standardized exams and high-stakes tests as long as the post-concussion syndrome persists. 

  • Example.  A student with a diagnosis of ADHD and an anxiety disorder received informal, undocumented testing accommodations throughout high school, including time to complete tests after school or at lunchtime.  In support of a request for extended time on a standardized exam, the student provides documentation of her diagnoses and their effects on test-taking in the form of a doctor’s letter; a statement explaining her history of informal classroom accommodations for the stated disabilities; and certifies that she still needs extended time due to her disabilities.  Although the student has never previously received testing accommodations through an IEP, Section 504 Plan, or a formal private school policy, she may nevertheless be entitled to extended time for the standardized exam.

• Qualified Professionals.  Testing entities should defer to documentation from a qualified professional who has made an individualized assessment of the candidate that supports the need for the requested testing accommodations.  Qualified professionals are licensed or otherwise properly credentialed and possess expertise in the disability for which modifications or accommodations are sought.  Candidates who submit documentation (such as reports, evaluations, or letters) that is based on careful consideration of the candidate by a qualified professional should not be required by testing entities to submit additional documentation.  A testing entity should generally accept such documentation and provide the recommended testing accommodation without further inquiry.

  • Reports from qualified professionals who have evaluated the candidate should take precedence over reports from testing entity reviewers who have never conducted the requisite assessment of the candidate for diagnosis and treatment.   This is especially important for individuals with learning disabilities because face-to-face interaction is a critical component of an accurate evaluation, diagnosis, and determination of appropriate testing accommodations.

  • A qualified professional’s decision not to provide results from a specific test or evaluation instrument should not preclude approval of a request for testing accommodations where the documentation provided by the candidate, in its entirety, demonstrates that the candidate has a disability and needs a requested testing accommodation.  For example, if a candidate submits documentation from a qualified professional that demonstrates a consistent history of a reading disorder diagnosis and that recommends the candidate receive double time on standardized exams based on a personal evaluation of the candidate, a testing entity should provide the candidate with double time.  This is true even if the qualified professional does not include every test or subtest score preferred by the testing entity in the psychoeducational or neuropsychological report.

³ Under Section 309 of the ADA, any person (including both public and private entities) that offers examinations related to applications, licensing, certification, or credentialing for secondary or postsecondary education, professional, or trade purposes must offer such examinations “in a place and manner accessible to persons with disabilities or offer alternative accessible arrangements for such individuals.”  42 U.S.C. § 12189.  Under regulations implementing this ADA provision, any private entity that offers such examinations must “assure that the examination is selected and administered so as to best ensure that, when the examination is administered to an individual with a disability that impairs sensory, manual, or speaking skills, the examination results accurately reflect the individual´s aptitude or achievement level or whatever other factor the examination purports to measure, rather than reflecting the individual´s impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills (except where those skills are the factors that the examination purports to measure).”  28 C.F.R. § 36.309.  Likewise, under regulations implementing title II of the ADA, public entities offering examinations must ensure that their exams do not provide qualified persons with disabilities with aids, benefits, or services that are not as effective in affording equal opportunity to obtain the same result, to gain the same benefit, or to reach the same level of achievement as that provided to others, 28 C.F.R. § 35.130(b)(1)(iii), and may not administer a licensing or certification program in a manner that subjects qualified individuals with disabilities to discrimination on the basis of disability.  28 C.F.R. § 35.130(b)(6).  Both the title II and title III regulations also require public and private testing entities to provide modifications and auxiliary aids and services for individuals with disabilities unless the entity can demonstrate an applicable defense.  28 C.F.R. §§ 35.130(b)(7), 35.160(b), 35.164; 28 C.F.R. §§ 36.309(b)(1)(iv-vi), (b)(2), 36.309(b)(3). 

⁴ An IEP contains the special education and related services and supplementary aids and services provided to an eligible student with a disability under Part B of the IDEA, 20 U.S.C. §§ 1400 et seq. and 34 C.F.R. part 300.