How is extra time for exams justified for students who qualify for academic accommodations?
Various factors account for the need for extra time on tests for students with learning disabilities or ADHD. These include: • speed of processing • visual perceptual deficits • difficulty with mechanics of syntax, spelling and punctuation • reading comprehension deficits. Research on the effects of extended time on exams has shown dramatic improvements for students with learning disabilities, but only marginal improvement for students without learning disabilities (UC Berkeley, 1991 and the University of Toronto, 1993). Rather than providing an unfair advantage in the class, extended time for exams allows these students to demonstrate their level of mastery of the course objectives, rather than reflecting the deficits innate to their learning disabilities. In other words, it levels the playing field. The most common accommodation is extended time for testing. In specific circumstances, students may also require the use of readers and/or scribes or a modification of test format, which
