Are students with disabilities entitled to changes in standardized testing conditions on entrance exams for institutions of postsecondary education?
It depends. In general, tests may not be selected or administered in a way that tests the disability rather than the achievement or aptitude of the individual.3 In addition, federal law requires changes to the testing conditions that are necessary to allow a student with a disability to participate as long as the changes do not fundamentally alter the examination or create undue financial or administrative burdens.4 Although some institutions of postsecondary education may have their own entrance exams, many use a student’s score on commercially available tests. In general, in order to request one or more changes in standardized testing conditions, which test administrators may also refer to as “testing accommodations”5, the student will need to contact the institution of postsecondary education or the entity that administers the exam and provide documentation of a disability and the need for a change in testing conditions. The issue of documentation is discussed below.
