We Heard What You Said: How ETS Helps Takers With Disabilities
Every year hundreds of prospective teachers with disabilities take one or more of The Praxis Series™ assessments on their way to obtaining teacher licensure and working in the classroom.
To make certain that test takers with disabilities have a fair opportunity to demonstrate their skills and knowledge, ETS's Office of Disability Policy (ODP) coordinates a set of company policies and procedures designed to increase access to ETS assessments. Information about policies and procedures is easily available online at www.ets.org/disability.
About 10,000 people per year request some kind of accommodation on an ETS graduate or professional examination.
"It's critical that classroom teachers reflect the diversity of the society at large," says Loring Brinckerhoff, Director of the ODP. "ETS carefully reviews the content of its assessments to make certain they are fair. The Office of Disability Policy strives to make testing fair and accessible for test takers with disabilities."
Meeting ADA Mandates
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) mandates that testing agencies must provide individualized test accommodations. Because no single type of test accommodation is adequate or appropriate for all individuals with a given type of disability, ETS has no blanket policies on disability category.
The ODP oversees the work of a panel of 32 outside experts who review requests for accommodations for ETS graduate and professional programs. Members of the review panel include college disability-service providers and ADA compliance officers, psychologists, neuropsychologists, special education faculty, and private evaluators. The panelists review more than 2,100 cases per year.
Review Process
Reviewing a request for accommodation can take up to six weeks and candidates must submit their request by the date indicated in the test bulletin.
Once accommodations are approved, ETS will send the test taker a confirmation letter. Test takers should receive a letter of authorization about six weeks after they submit their request. "Accommodations involving alternate test formats for individuals who are blind or have low vision may require approximately eight weeks after accommodation approval so test materials can be produced in the required format," said Ruth Lowe, Assistant Director of the ODP.
Paper-Based and Computer-Based Assessment Accommodations
Typical accommodations that may be approved for paper-based testing include:
- Extended testing time
- Additional breaks
- Use of magnifying glass, color overlays, or a straightedge
- Separate testing room
- Large-print materials
Thomson Prometric, which provides computer-based testing services to ETS, can provide a number of accommodations, once they are approved by ETS. They include:
- Extended testing time
- Additional breaks
- Selectable background and foreground colors
- Separate room
- Anti-glare screen
- Screen magnification
- Large monitor
- Kensington Trackball mouse
- HeadMaster Plus mouse
- Quill mouse
- IntelliKeys keyboard
- Ergonomic keyboard
- Keyboard with touchpad
- Adjustable height tables
A Wealth of Information Online
The ETS Web site provides a wealth of information for candidates requesting accommodations. Candidates can visit www.ets.org/Praxis, select Praxis I or Praxis II, choose the Download Library tab and find the Request for Nonstandard Testing Accommodations document as well as other related material.
The ETS Web site also has a page devoted to information for test takers with disabilities and the professionals who must document the need for accommodations. This information, which ranges from Tips for Test Takers with Disabilities to Tips for Evaluators, is available at www.ets.org/disability.
Applicants with learning disabilities, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or physical or psychiatric disabilities can also find documentation requirements online at www.ets.org/disability. Materials available include:
- Policy Statement for Documentation of a Learning Disability in Adolescents and Adults
- Policy Statement for Documentation of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Adolescents and Adults
- Guidelines for Documentation of Physical Disabilities and Chronic Health Conditions in Adolescents and Adults
- Guidelines for Documentation of Psychiatric Disabilities in Adolescents and Adults
- ETS Vision Documentation Report
All Requests Are Confidential
ETS cannot and does not share any information about a request for accommodation with anyone except the test taker making the request. Also, most score reports do not indicate whether a test taker requested or was granted an accommodation. In rare instances, when an accommodation significantly alters what is tested (e.g., if an entire section must be omitted), a statement may be included with the score report indicating that the test was taken under nonstandard conditions.