Accommodations vs. Modifications in Schools 101

Common Accommodations and Modifications in School

There are many ways teachers can help kids who are struggling in school. Here are some common accommodations and modifications that schools and families can discuss as possible options for kids. The term "accommodation" may be used to describe an alteration of environment, curriculum format, or equipment that allows an individual with a disability to gain access to content and/or complete assigned tasks. They allow students to pursue a regular course of study for that grade level. Along with accommodations, you may also hear the term modifications.  They're not the same thing - one alters HOW and the other WHAT!

Accommodations change how a child learns or accesses the curriculum.

Modifications change what a child is taught or expected to do in school. 

Common Accommodations

Presentation accommodations (changes the way information is presented)

• Listen to audio recordings instead of reading text
• Learn content from audiobooks, movies, videos, and digital media instead of reading print versions
• Work with fewer items per page or line
• Work with text in a larger print size
• Have a “designated reader”—someone who reads test questions aloud to students
• Hear instructions spoken aloud
• Record a lesson, instead of taking notes
• Get class notes from another student
• See an outline of a lesson
• Use visual presentations of verbal material, such as word webs
• Get a written list of instructions

Response accommodations (changes the way kids complete assignments or tests)

• Give responses in a form (spoken or written) that’s easier for them
• Dictate answers to a scribe who writes or types
• Capture responses on an audio recorder
• Use a spelling dictionary or digital spellchecker
• Use a word processor to type notes or give answers in class
• Use a calculator or table of “math facts”

Setting accommodations

• Work or take a test in a different setting, such as a quiet room with few distractions
• Sit where they learn best (for example, near the teacher)
• Use special lighting or acoustics
• Take a test in a small group setting
• Use sensory tools such as an exercise band that can be looped around a chair’s legs (so fidgety kids can kick it and quietly get their energy out)

Timing accommodations

• Take more time to complete a task or a test
• Have extra time to process spoken information and directions
• Take frequent breaks, such as after completing a worksheet

Scheduling accommodations

• Take more time to complete a project
• Take a test in several timed sessions or over several days
• Take sections of a test in a different order
• Take a test at a specific time of day

Organization skills accommodations

• Use an alarm to help with time management
• Mark texts with a highlighter
• Use a planner or organizer to help coordinate assignments
• Receive study skills instruction

For more information on ACCOMMODATIONS, please visit:

https://www.understood.org/en/learning-thinking-differences/treatments-approaches/educational-strategies/accommodations-what-they-are-and-how-they-work

Modifications For kids with learning and thinking differences, school can be challenging. If a child is struggling, one possible strategy is giving him less schoolwork or simpler assignments. This is called a . It’s not the same as an accommodation. While modifications can make school easier for kids, they can have serious drawbacks, too. Modifications change these expectations. They’re typically used when a child has trouble keeping up in school. Modifications means that the child is not learning expectations from his/her grade – therefore the teacher is teaching different expectations from a different grade (close, but not the same expectations as what the grade expects).  In order to “modify” the curriculum for the student, the teacher needs an IEP – it is the law!  You cannot modify a child’s learning without an IEP and parent consent.

Most schools have academic standards for what kids are expected to learn in each grade. These apply to reading, math and other subjects. For instance, third graders are usually expected to learn multiplication (the third grade curriculum), but if the child has an IEP indicating the curriculum taught and marks are based on a modified programme, that child is not learning from the Gr. 3 expectations.  The teacher is modifying down to grade 2 or even grade 1 – the teacher modifies as needed to get the student successful.  The hope and efforts are all to close the gap and get the student up to par!

·         Modifications are changes to what your child is taught or expected to do in school.

·         Modifications aren’t the same as accommodations, which are changes to how your child learns.

·         Only students with an IEP can have modifications. IEP is MANDATORY

Common Modifications

Assignment modifications

·         Complete different homework problems than peers (different grade level)

·         Answer different test questions

·         Create alternate projects or assignments

Curriculum modifications

·         Learn different material (such as continuing to work on multiplication while classmates move on to fractions - different grade level)

·         Get graded or assessed using a different standard than other students

·         Be excused from particular projects

For more information on MODIFICATIONS, please visit:

https://www.understood.org/en/learning-thinking-differences/treatments-approaches/educational-strategies/modifications-what-you-need-to-know

Learn about accommodations and modifications

Please visit:

https://www.understood.org/en/learning-thinking-differences/treatments-approaches/educational-strategies/common-classroom-accommodations-and-modifications