Extended Testing Time for College Students with Learning Disabilities

In the USA and in many other countries, laws and regulations require reasonable and effective accommodations for persons with disabilities to afford them opportunities equal to those available to persons without disabilities. With many more students with learning disabilities attending college or university, it is important to know whether such accommodations are effective. The most commonly afforded accommodation for students with learning disabilities is extended time in which to take examinations. Although many studies have been done of extended time in standardized examinations, this appears to be the first study to examine the overall outcomes of the use of extended time at the post-secondary level. The study compares the grades of post-secondary students who used the extended testing time accommodation as opposed to students entitled to the accommodation who did not use it. The results indicate that there is a moderate, statistically and practically significant advantage to using extended time.