Is it legal to limit accomodations given to learning disabled students during standardized tests?

Answer 1

Accommodations are decided upon at the IEP team meeting, which the parent is a part of. If the accommodations listed on the IEP are no being given to the child, then you need to bring that to the attention of the teacher so it can be corrected. If that doesn't rectify the situation, then contact the principal or an administrator. The IEP is a legal document, so everything on it should be provided to the child, or the school will be out of compliance.

Answer 2

The accomodations must be included in each students IEP and they will vary from student to student.

The kind or type of accomodation cannot interfere with the test objective. EX - If you are testing spelling ability, a modification would not be to spell the word for the student. However, a modification could be to allow a student a verbal/oral response verses a written response. This student would be able to demonstrate the abililty to spell the word using a non-traditional testing approach.

Timed tests are usally increased or removed the time factor for some students.

The most important is that the IEP spell out the accomodations needed, if they are not in the IEP then they do not have to provide them at all.

good luck

Answer 3

Well, this is a dilemma that has been going on throughout the country since the "No Child Left Behind" act went into effect. The problem is that while your STATE mandated IEP might allow for testing accomodations, if the assessment being given is to test for adequate yearly progress (AYP) as is mandated by the NCLB act (FEDERAL), then there are no accomodations allowed. So, I guess the short answer is to find out the reason for the testing, and if state or federal mandates the testing. If it is state, then the accomodations MUST be given by law.

Answer 4

Your daughter needs to be identified by the school eligibility committee as a child with a specific learning disability, in this case, mathematics. She will need an IEP developed and implemented which includes accommodations/modifications which are deemed necessary for her to achieve those goals. As far as accommodations on standardized test, it is critical to remember that these MUST ALSO be used during her daily instruction of math; they cannot be put in place soley for standardized testing. This is critical, since in the past, many IEPs were revised just before state testing to add accommodations - this was deemed illegal and the tests had to be re-taken. Awful situation for the students. Specific accommodations for your daughter are too numerous to mention here, but the use of a calculator comes to mind as the primary one I would suggest. There could also be modified assignments, i.e. fewer problems assigned or fewer problems on a page. The use of a grid (graph paper) is also a top math modification as it allows students to align problems more clearly. More time to complete a test is also a valuable all-around accomodation for our students, Hope these ideas help!

Answer 5

IIt depends on what you mean by limit. There are always limits on the accomodations--properly determined to (ideally) offset the disability but no more.

But it is not legal do deny reasonable accomodations.

The agency/office giving the test does have a right to require advance notifice so they can arragne accomodations. They also can (and do) require documentation of a disability. For specific details the best people to contact are those who will be administering the test (e.g., the testing office of a university.

Answer 6

Yes... On our state testing in MO, we cannot read the test to students on the reading section of the test. This will force the students into a catagory called, "level not determined". If a school district has too many students in this catagory (Including IEP students who may not be capable of reading this test) then the school district loses money, and we can lose our rating.

However, it is also a good idea not to read the this section of the test, because it gives a better idea as to what the student's reading level really is compared to his/her peers in the state. This way the test is truly testing reading skills rather than listening skills.

Also, as someone pointed out, when giving some standardized tests, there is a time limit set for all students. These tests are normed based on a time limit. IF the extra time is given, then it in validates the findings of the test. HOWEVER, if you want to know what the student knows, not based on the knoweledge of his/her peers then the test can be given with extra time.

Answer 7

Depends on which test you are talking about. In Minnesota, students can have state tests read to them.
Federal tests, however, can not. In fact there are few accommodations on federal tests. I think the only one may be to take it in a quiet room with less distractions. This is to ensure accurate results and avoid possibilites that school personell could assist children to change the results.

If you child is doing poorly on these tests and receives accomadations during the normal school day, this may not be the most accurate way to measure success. The IEP team may need to come up with another measurement system.

Hope that helps.

Answer 8

Rascal- what d'ya mean by STATE mandated IEP. IEP's fall under state law but are primarily governed by federal statutes. If a child has a handicapping condition affecting writing (ie: using hands) indeed accommodations would be permitted. Despite NCLB and IDEIA a child can also be totally exempt from taking assessments (though you're probably aware this is rare, it does occur). For these reasons, it's important the question be further explained in order to obtain an accurate answer.

Answer 9

Usually accomodations are determined prior to the testing and stated in the IEP. You cannot modify those accomodations the day of the test. As long as accomodations are given (the number of them doesn't matter) that's all they have to do.

Answer 10

In a public school, the student has to have the accomodations listed in his or her IEP. The IEP is a contract between the student (parents) and the school. A public school is bound to honor that contract. If they don't, the parent has a right to have it disputed by their 6th amendment rights (through due process). If the IEP (or ISP as it is called in a private school) is in a private school, then the school can limit what they can offer to the student.

If a school does get IDEA funds, then they are bound to uphold the laws governing IDEA, or they can have their funds taken away. But, someone has to file a complaint about it.