Documentation Guidelines: Extended Time

When requesting extended time, documentation should demonstrate:

• The student’s disability
• The student’s difficulty taking tests under timed conditions

What the Request Should Include

All requests should include a detailed description of the disability and an explanation of how it affects testing under timed conditions, including frequency, duration, and intensity of symptoms.

For example, requests for students with a seizure disorder should provide a description of symptom severity (e.g., frequency, duration, and intensity) as well as medication regimen.

When applying for extended time, this information is most pertinent:

• Educational history, including previous use of extended time
• Comparisons of student’s performance under timed and untimed conditions using standardized measures, if possible
• Descriptive information from school, which can be included on a Teacher Survey Form

For Students with Learning Disorders or ADHD

When requesting testing accommodations for students with learning disorders or ADHD, the most helpful information is a comprehensive cognitive and achievement battery that includes scores from both timed and extended time or untimed tests. Note: In itself, a low processing speed does not usually indicate the need for testing accommodations. In this instance, documentation should show how the low processing speed affects the student’s overall academic abilities under timed conditions.