Need Accommodations For Standardized Testing? Read This

Accommodations play a critical role in ensuring everyone has the best chance of scoring their best on the SAT and ACT. However, accommodations also play an integral role in another standardized test: Advanced Placement (AP) exams.

Tiffany Sorensen, a professional tutor and contributing education writer with Varsity Tutors and US News, recently discussed what accommodations are available for AP exams and how students can go about requesting them.

EXAMPLES OF ACCOMMODATIONS

There are more than two dozen types of accommodations for test takers on the AP exams. Most will require documented disability and need to be approved by College Board in advance.

Here are a few examples of accommodations, according to US News:

• Access to a magnifying machine
• Access to a computer for essay writing
• Braille and large-print answer sheets
• Extended time Assistance from a scribe or sign language interpreter
• Preferential seating
• Frequent breaks
• Permission for food/medication in the testing room
• One-to-one testing

HOW TO REQUEST FOR ACCOMMODATIONS

As noted, accommodations must be approved by College Board.

“If you have already been granted accommodations for the PSAT or SAT, which are administered by the College Board, you are likely eligible for those same accommodations for your AP exams,” Sorensen writes. “There’s no guarantee, however, given differences in test format and administration.”

To request for accommodations, you’ll need to submit a parent consent form online as well as possibly history of your previous testing accommodations.

“All required documents will be uploaded to the College Board’s Services for Students with Disabilities online portal, which is managed by SSD coordinators,” Sorensen writes. “However, families should work closely with coordinators to ensure that all the application requirements have been satisfied.”

The deadline to request accommodations for spring 2022 AP exams is Jan. 18, 2022.

Sources: US News, College Board