Accomodations and Modifications

Documentation

Statement must include:

• What: the specific adaptation needed

• When: the condition that trigger the adaptation

• Where: the environment(s) in which the adaptation is needed

• Who is responsible for implementing the adaptation

Remember:

Avoid using phrases which introduce ambiguity, such as, “as needed,” “may,” and “and/or.” Accommodations and modifications need to be phrased as “student will.”

"Formula" for documenting accommodations and modifications:

• In [where], [when] the student will be provided with [what] by [who].

• Example: "In all school settings [where] when unexpected behavior is observed [when], reality statements [what] will be utilized by all staff working with XXX [who] to recover instructional control and prevent escalation. For example: 'Why don’t you lower your voice. That will keep the conversation between the two of us' or 'Why don’t you take a deep breath. This doesn’t have to get any bigger.'"

Accommodations

Presentation accommodations allow a student to:

• Work with fewer items per page or line

• Have a designated reader

• Hear instructions orally

• Have another student share class notes

• Be given an outline of a lesson

• Use visual presentations of verbal material, such as word webs and visual organizers

• Be given a written list of instructions

• Learn content from movies/videos instead of reading

Timing accommodations allow a student to:

• Take more time to complete a task or a test

• Have extra time to process oral information and directions

• Take frequent breaks, such as after completing a task

Organization skills accommodations allow a student to:

• Mark texts with a highlighter

• Have help coordinating assignments in a book or planner

Response accommodations allow a student to:

• Give responses in another form (e.g., oral or written)

• Dictate answers to a scribe

• Use a spelling dictionary

• Use a standard calculator or table of math facts

Scheduling accommodations allow a student to:

• Take more time to complete a project

• Take a test in several timed sessions or over several days

• Take sections of a test in a different order

• Take a test at a specific time of day

Setting accommodations allow a student to:

• Work or take a test in a different setting, such as a quiet room with few distractions

• Sit in a specific location (for example, near the teacher)

• Use special lighting or acoustics

• Take a test in small group setting

Modifications

Modifications change what or how much a child is taught. The goal is to gear the curriculum to the child’s capability. In some cases, a skill that would normally be taught at a certain grade level is changed, eliminated, or postponed.

For example, if a fifth grader hasn’t mastered her multiplication facts, she could continue to work on multiplication and division problems while other students move on to fractions. In language arts, a student might use books written at a lower reading level. A student who has problems with spelling might be expected to learn fewer new spelling words each week. Additional examples of common modifications are included below:

Presentation modifications allow a student to, for example:

• Receive more prompting and cueing to help the student determine the right answers

• Read class material written at an easier level of understanding

Assignment modifications allow a student to, for example:

• Complete fewer or different homework problems than peers

• Write shorter papers

• Complete alternate assignments and projects

• Complete problems where aspects of the problem have already been completed

Curriculum modifications allow a student to, for example:

• Learn different material (such as continuing to work on multiplication while classmates move on to fractions)

• Get graded or assessed using a different standard than the one for classmates (e.g., pass/fail grading)

• Be excused from particular projects

Assessment modifications allow a student to, for example:

• Take a practice version of a test prior to the real assessment

• Select from two rather than four answer choices on a multiple-choice test

• Answer fewer or different test questions

Modifications Hierarchy

The categories below are helpful in that they illustrate the broad range of potential modifications and the significant latitude that IEP teams have to change learning expectations in order to make a setting accessible to a special education student. Determining which of these categories a modification would fall under is incidental and relatively unimportant. The important takeaway is to understand the full scope of potential modifications.

Parallel Participation

Students do something similar to what everyone else is doing. Performance expectations are adjusted through the provision of additional cues or through minor adjustments to the format of a task. For example:

• "In his general education science and social studies classes, when assignments are presented, Chris's teacher will provide him with curriculum materials that have been pre-modified to include additional cues regarding the location of answers. For example, if a worksheet includes fill-in-the-blank items, page numbers or a comparable reference notation will be added to Chris's copy of the worksheet prior to the beginning of class."

• "In his general education classes, when assignments or assessments are presented, Ben's teacher will provide him with copies that have been pre-modified with all questions formatted as multiple-choice."

Partial Participation

Students do some of what everyone else is doing; parts of the task or performance expectation are eliminated. For example:

• "In her general education classes, when writing activities are assigned, Rachel's teacher will provide her with assignment expectations that involve ideas/content but not specific length requirements. When grading these assignments, Rachel's teacher will grade her based on her written ideas/content and oral presentation of the written material, but grading will not incorporate grammar or writing mechanics."

• "In math class, when assignments or assessments are presented, Ben’s teacher will provide him with pre-modified materials. Questions will remain at the core concept or parent function level with guided notes and examples being provided as well. For example, if an item asks students to graph y = 2x^2 + 3, Ben will be asked to graph y = x^2."

• "In her general education classes, when assignments or assessments are presented, Maggie’s teachers will provide her with materials that have been pre-modified to reflect her lower reading skills: (1) simplified vocabulary, (2) shortened text that focuses on key concepts, and (3) multiple choice items will be limited to two choice options."

Alternative Participation

Students do something different. The student is able to access a setting (e.g., a general education classroom) and participate in routines with the whole group; however, when task and performance expectations exceed the student's capability, they are provided with task materials and expectations that are fundamentally different from those given to the rest of the class. For example:

• "During her general education social studies class, when assignments or assessments are presented, Sarah's teacher will provide her with alternative tasks with outcome expectations that pertain to her IEP goal in the area of functional academic skills rather than grade-level learning targets. For example, while other students learn to locate each state and name the capital, Sarah will be expected to locate the colors of the states on a map."

• "During his general education English class, when students are assigned a grade-level text, John's teacher will provide him with a version that has been modified to a grade level of 4-5 (Lexile score of 740-1010). John's teacher will also provide him with modified reading reflection questions that reflect these lower reading level texts and include only literal comprehension questions (rather than inferential or figurative questions)."