Takeaways for Policy Makers

Policy makers have important roles in the extended time accommodations process:

• Creating policies that are informed by both legal standards and empirical research on accommodations

• Developing enforcement mechanisms to ensure that best practices are being followed

• Ensuring that trainings are offered to staff who make accommodation decisions

Takeaways for policy makers from our research:

• Among both 4th and 8th graders, which school a student attended had a substantial impact on whether the student received extended time accommodations; schools appear to have different thresholds and decision-making processes.

• In our study, students who used test features such as text-to-speech (i.e., had the computer read words aloud to them) or Zoom (i.e., zoomed in to enlarge text or figures) spent more time on test items. Therefore, students who use these features may need more time to take tests.

• In our study, among students who were receiving extended time accommodations, those students who reported putting forth more effort on the test also spent more time on test items. Therefore, if a student who has extended time accommodations does not use their extended time, this may be because of motivation problems. For instance, the student may be giving up on difficult items that they don't think they can answer.

• Most students (in either 4th or 8th grade) who received extended time accommodations didn't use any of their extra time, and of those who used it, most didn't gain any more points during the extra period of time.

What policy makers can DO, based on this research:

• In accommodations manuals (or similar documents), emphasize that students who use text-to-speech when taking exams will often needed extended time accommodations as well, to properly use the text-to-speech.

• In accommodations manuals (or similar documents), suggest that school staff (a) monitor students' use of extended time accommodations, (b) investigate why students who don't use their extended time aren't doing so, and (c) revisit accommodation plans (IEPs and 504 plans) to revise them if a student doesn't actually need extended time.

• In accommodations manuals (or similar documents), consider letting readers know about how much of the variability in which students receive extended time accommodations appears to be based on which school they attend. If your manual provides a standardized decision process, this may help the situation.