How to Get the Testing Accommodations You Need in College

Students living with disabilities can successfully navigate higher education, regardless of their unique challenges. One barrier to success many students with disabilities face in college is testing. However, testing accommodations can help.

The results can measure what students have learned by having students take the same test in as close to the same environment as possible. However, standardized tests don’t work for every student.

The law offers testing accommodations to students who need them. Keep reading to learn about testing accommodations and how to get them in college.

The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law on July 26, 1990. One ADA requirement is that testing entities, including colleges and universities, offer exams that are accessible to people with disabilities. Testing accommodations make this possible.

What exactly are testing accommodations? Here’s what an ADA requirements resource page says:

“Testing accommodations are changes to the regular testing environment and auxiliary aids and services that allow individuals with disabilities to demonstrate their true aptitude or achievement level on standardized exams or other high-stakes tests.”

Common testing accommodations include:

Getting testing accommodations in college is different from getting them in high school. Here’s how to start:

Colleges have disability services centers to help their students succeed and ensure the school meets legal requirements. If you need testing accommodations, you must register with your school’s disability services office.

Colleges have different processes for getting disability accommodations. Generally, you must register as a student with a disability on campus and provide legal or medical proof of this disability to a person qualified to make a decision about your access to these accommodations.

Gather documentation — like a recent medical report or psychological evaluation — stating your disability and a list of accommodations you’ll need that can help you succeed in college.

If you already hold proof that you meet that definition of disability under the ADA, you’ll come to the meeting with a letter from your doctor or lawyer proving this.

Along with this documentation, you can share with the disability services representative how your disability impacts your learning and daily life.

These representatives are typically not the ones who make the decision to approve your requests and testing accommodations. Some may have that authority. But these representatives are usually there to administer how the decision — typically made off campus — is met, fulfilled, or accommodated.

If you had an individualized education program (IEP) up through 12th grade, just remember that your IEP does not follow you to college, as it’s not an approved plan at the postsecondary level.

But, it can be a jumping-off point with the doctor, lawyer, or qualified campus staff member who helps you assemble your list of requested accommodations on campus.

Then, at your meeting, you can discuss and review your list at your meeting with your school’s disability services representative.

It’s essential every professor you have is aware of your approved test accommodations.

Disability services may notify your professors, or they may not. Should the latter be the case, you will need to provide your professor with the documentation from disability services stating your required accommodations.

Either way, remind your instructors before each test that you need testing accommodations. You want to avoid surprises on test day should they forget.

Additionally, some disability offices may require you to bring in a request before each test should you need them to provide a separate testing space.

Since colleges are legally bound to offer certain disability services to students who meet the definition of disability under the ADA, getting testing accommodations should be straightforward. Furthermore, many of your instructors are passionate about teaching. They will likely be happy to provide testing accommodations to help you succeed.

However, if you find the process complicated, advocates are available to help you secure accommodations.

You will invest your money, time, and energy into your education. Testing accommodations are incredibly important because you need your test scores to accurately reflect the knowledge and skills you gain from a course.

You don’t want to retake a course just because you didn’t have the testing accommodations you needed.

Some common testing accommodations include extended time to take an exam, screen readers, people to record your answers and quiet rooms.

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