ACCESS Rochester
Classroom Assessments
A learning disability may effect the way a student should be evaluated. If so, a special arrangement may be necessary.
- Allow students to take examinations in a separate quiet room with a proctor. Students with learning disabilities are especially sensitive to distractions. Testing services are available at Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning and can be arranged through the Local Coordinator.
- Grant time extensions on exams and written assignments when there are significant demands on reading and writing skills.
- Avoid overly complicated language in exam questions. Clearly separate the questions in their spacing on the exam sheet. The use of answer sheets, especially computers, should be avoided for a student with perceptual deficits. Such forms can be especially troublesome when such a student is transferring answers.
- Permit the use of a dictionary, computer spell checks, a proofreader, or, in mathematics and science, a calculator. In mathematics, the student may understand the concept, but may make errors by misaligning numbers or confusing arithmetical facts.
- When necessary, allow the student to use a reader, scribe, word processor, tape recorder or laptop.
- Consider alternative test designs. Some students with learning disabilities may find essay formats difficult, and a student with perceptual impairment is likely to have trouble with matching tests.
- Consider alternatives or supplementary assignments that may serve evaluation purposes, such as taped interviews, slide presentations, photographs, essays, or hand-made models.