In its “Higher Education: Testing Companies Most Commonly Granted Extra Time to Accommodate Individuals with Disabilities” report issued this week, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) examined the types of accommodations requested, how those requests are evaluated, the accommodations granted, and the challenges associated with granting those accommodations. The GAO reviewed data from the six testing companies that administer the ACT, AP Exams, GMAT, GRE, LSAT, MCAT, PSAT and SAT and interviewed officials from the companies.
The GAO analyzed data come from 2019 to 2020 and considered relevant laws and possible ADA violations. The Department of Justice issued a technical assistance document in 2015 to clarify ADA requirements.
Officials from the testing companies said they considered factors such as how a disability would affect an individual’s ability to take the test under standard conditions. They also considered whether an accommodation could impact a test’s validity. One example that could impact validity was someone requesting less choices in a multiple-choice test.
The most requested area of accommodation is extra time at 55%. Alternate test format was also requested at 6% along with auditory or visual assistance at 6% and adjustments to the testing environment at 22%.
In 2019-20, the most common accommodations granted were for extra time or adjustments to the testing environment. Extra time was also the area with the largest discrepancy between requested and granted. There was minimal discrepancy between requested and granted for auditory or visual assistance. Across five of the six testing companies with available data, 86% of individuals received all their requested accommodations, 9% received some, and 5% were denied all requested accommodations. These rates varied among individual testing companies.
“There is some variability across the companies,” said Melissa Emrey-Arras, director of education, workforce and income security at the GAO.
