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Accommodations v. modifications on IEPs
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Visit the U.S. Department of Education website at www.osepideasthatwork.org for more information.
An important step in the IEP process is the discussion of the student’s need for accommodations and/or modifications in order to receive a free and appropriate public education (FAPE).
Generally speaking, accommodations describe what forms of assistance the student may need to perform the same school work (instructional) as their typically developing peers or demonstrate his/her knowledge (assessment) of the subject without the impediment of the disability. Modifications discuss changes (curriculum, assessment, grading or all of them) to what the student is expected to learn and demonstrate.
For example, a student with memory, processing speed and reading comprehension issues, an appropriate accommodation might be to extend the time the student is given to take a test (beyond that of the other students). An example of a modification would be to shorten the test itself so the student is required to answer fewer questions than the other students and graded on the lower number of questions.
Accommodations address how a student gets to the same end result as other students; modifications change the end result.
Naturally, schools are reluctant to make modifications for students with disabilities unless it is absolutely necessary. But too often, students’ curricula are modified when no such modification is called for on the IEP.
Examine the example above of a student with memory, processing speed and comprehension difficulties. The student is taking a geography test to locate and name the 50 U.S. states by filling in the names of the states on a blank map. The class is expected to finish in 30 minutes.
Appropriate accommodations for this student (given his specific needs) could include:
Extra time to take the test (in proportion to the extent of his disability if that can be ascertained);
One or more breaks during the test to help the student from becoming overly anxious or becoming fatigued;
Breaking the test into two or more parts so the student can test over multiple sessions;
Allowing the student to retake the test a number of times that is calculated to be appropriate to his disability if that can be ascertained);
Access to a list of the state names (if you are only testing to see if students know which state is where in relationship to the other states and issues such as spelling, etc., are not a graded part of the test).
Inappropriate accommodations (or actually modifications) might include:
Grading the student on the number of states the student attempted to identify and not counting the ones not attempted as incorrect;
Filling in some of the state names and having the student name the remainder;
Providing a list of state names when other students would be marked off for incorrect spelling (a potential solution may be to provide the postal code abbreviations);
Ignoring spelling errors for the student with disabilities when the other students are marked off for such errors.
The bottom line is there are no universal accommodations or modifications. What may be an accommodation to one student under some circumstances may be a modification to another student and/or under different circumstances.
Some schools/districts, by default, will include a statement on report cards sent home for students with IEPs that some of the grading may reflect modifications. However, if there are no modifications listed on a particular student’s IEP, then this statement should not be present on that student’s report card.
If a student has modified assignments, testing or grading, it is essential that they are well documented and the student’s parents fully understand the extent and nature of the modifications. Anything less creates an atmosphere of a moving target and it could be impossible to determine what the student has actually learned.
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