504 plan essential accommodations and modifications

504 plan essential accommodations and modifications full#

Decide which accommodations are needed to ensure that the student is on equal footing with those who do not have a disability. Choosing Accommodations Wisely and PurposefullyĮach accommodation needs to be matched to the individual student’s educational needs.

A student’s IEP team is responsible for making formal decisions related to accommodations (or modifications, if warranted). Modifications change instructional content and knowledge-and their assessment accommodations do not. Accommodation or Modification?Ĭhoosing between an accommodation or a modification is a decision critical for future educational choices. If the validity of a test item or the content of instruction is affected or altered, the change is a modification-not an accommodation. Modifications can be allowed for both testing and instruction. Assessment modifications might include use of a calculator on a test of math facts accuracy or text in audio-format when reading comprehension is the target skill being measured.

A modification in curriculum content might be to teach different, lower level concepts and information (e.g., continuation of work on multiplication when other students move on to fractions). An instructional modification (i.e., homework assignments) might be assignment of math problems requiring a lower level of math knowledge-skill. Modifications to curriculum content, homework assignments, or assessments change the nature of instruction and assessments and what students are expected to learn-but they have the advantage of allowing interaction with other students in the classroom and school. Modifications Are Different from Accommodations An accommodation does not change item or test validity. Without accommodations, an assessment may not accurately measure the knowledge and skills of a student with a learning disability (e.g., dyslexia). Assessment (testing) accommodations are changes in assessment materials (e.g., large print) or procedures (e.g., extended time) that allow students to demonstrate their abilities-not their disabilities-during tests and exams.

504 plan essential accommodations and modifications full#

Classroom accommodations make it possible for students to learn and demonstrate their learning through full participation in classroom instruction. Accommodations make it possible for students with dyslexia to demonstrate their learning without being hindered by their disabilities.Īppropriate accommodations need to be an integral part of the normal cycle of teaching and testing- never reserved only for periods of assessment. Accommodations do not change the content of instruction, give students an unfair advantage, or change the skills or knowledge that a test measures. Accommodations are adjustments made to allow a student to demonstrate knowledge, skills, and abilities without lowering learning or performance expectations and without changing what is being measured (e.g., providing text in audio-format when academic knowledge is the target skill being measured). The purpose of accommodations is to ensure equal access to the full school experience for students with dyslexia or other learning disabilities (e.g., providing extended exam time for a student who has slow processing speed affecting academic fluency). Accommodations do not change the content of instruction, give students an unfair advantage, or change the skills or knowledge that a test measures.Accommodations, provided for both testing and instruction, change the way students access information and demonstrate their knowledge, skills, and abilities they do not change academic standards or expectations.