Students with disabilities often take tests using extended time accommodations, which provide students with additional time to complete tests in order to reduce the impact of their disability on their scores. At the postsecondary level, students with disabilities must take the initiative to seek and request accommodations, and their perceptions of…

The Americans With Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 expanded the legal definition of disability to establish broader coverage for individuals with disabilities, including college students, than the definition in the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990. The new interpretation of the definition of disability shifted the main purpose of…

Research highlights the importance of faculty awareness regarding the varying needs of students with disabilities and the ways in which these students may better be supported within the postsecondary educational setting. However, there is a dearth of research regarding how instructional and assessment accommodations are offered in a rural…

Stephanie Enyart reflects on few key aspects of what the blind and low vision community has gained because of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Although it is true that blind people received individual accommodations before the legal requirements arose, the ADA created a duty to accommodate in many new instances and on a broader range of…

In this article, we describe current research findings on assessment accommodations and universal design within the context of emerging interactive digital assessment tasks that employ simulations such as in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). STEM education in many classrooms now includes digitally based activities such as…

Requesting accommodations in postsecondary settings requires students to understand their disabilities and needs and describe those needs to higher education faculty and staff. Young adults often have limited accurate knowledge and understanding of their abilities and disabilities. This qualitative study used in-depth semi-structured interviews to…

This paper explores how to balance test security and accessibility on licensure, credentialing, and certification exams. It examines K-12 test security policies related to educational assessments across states to discover lessons learned about how to meet accessibility needs of individuals with disabilities while minimizing test security risks. It…

The purpose of this chapter is to review what has happened, and what is likely to happen, as accessibility and accommodations research and practice for content assessments are advanced to ensure the appropriate inclusion and validity of assessment results for English learners (ELs) and students with disabilities. A description of accommodations…

Educational policies mandate the consideration of accommodations so that students with disabilities become proficient in the objectives outlined by state academic content standards and demonstrate proficiency on high-stakes assessments. However, neither policies nor empirical research provide sufficient guidance for educators to effectively select…

As students with disabilities attend postsecondary education and request accommodations on high-stakes exams, documentation of their disability and how it impacts their learning is even more important. This overarching reality is a result of several factors. These include the legal protections for individuals with disabilities, changes in the…

Unprecedented increases in the use of technologies throughout postsecondary education and the workplace are redefining traditional concepts of accessibility during testing for college students with learning disabilities. High stakes testing practices are under pressure to change. The challenge for professionals is to ensure that tests are designed…

Purpose: Every year increasing numbers of candidates request special accommodations for high-stakes medical licensing examinations, due to ADHD, on the basis of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This poses significant challenges for both the applicant and the medical boards and has significant financial, legal, and ethical implications.…

In 1970, this first program supporting college students with language-based learning disabilities was a radical pioneer. While an exemplar for 40 years, there are fresh challenges today in the form of competition for diminished numbers of 18 year olds. To better understand what helps and what matters to students, research needs to go beyond most…

Students with disabilities and special needs have faced challenges in accessing educational content, and in taking traditional pen-and-paper tests. How might technology improve the process, while making statewide tests truly accessible to all students? NimbleTools is the first computer-based test delivery system that incorporates principles of…

Psychological disorders lead to functional limitations that can impact a student's performance in school. These students are eligible for accommodations if they can demonstrate that a specific disability exists and that it substantially limits one or more major life activity. The most common functional limitations reported by this population…