In the testing context, accommodations are intended to ensure that individuals with disabilities have the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and abilities on a level playing field with other examinees. While the use of accommodations in the exam activity will presumably enable a candidate with disabilities to better demonstrate their knowledge mastery, accommodations are not a guarantee of improved performance, exam completion, or a passing score.
There may be situations in which NCEES cannot provide a requested accommodation to a candidate with a disability because it would fundamentally alter what the exam is intended to measure, jeopardize exam security, or cause an undue administrative burden. If this happens, NCEES will work with the candidate to identify alternative accommodations that are reasonable and effective.
The need for test accommodations is individualized and considered on a case-by-case basis. Regardless of diagnosis, all examinees seeking disability-related accommodations must provide evidence that their condition rises to the level of a disability, as well as information about the resulting functional limitations they experience. Simply demonstrating that an individual meets diagnostic criteria for a particular disorder does not automatically mean that the person is disabled or entitled to test accommodations.
It is also important to understand that accommodations must be appropriate to the particular setting. Extra time or a given auxiliary aid might be appropriate for a given individual in the classroom for example, but not on a licensure exam.