Professionals in the disability services offices of colleges and universities have the opportunity to interact one-on-one with prospective students and learn about them and their needs for accommodations. ETS depends on documentation submitted by the test takers to make decisions about reasonable testing accommodations. You can assist your students in obtaining accommodations for ETS tests by writing a letter of support that goes above and beyond the information provided on the Certification of Eligibility: Accommodations History form.
Some suggested questions to answer in your letter of support include:
- What was the basis for your decision to provide this candidate with accommodations at your institution?
- What did you observe about this candidate during your intake interview that might support the need for testing accommodations?
- Has the candidate used testing accommodations consistently, or are the accommodations used only for a specific type of test (for example, only for essay tests)?
- If the candidate was granted extended test time, did they use all of the allotted extended time or only a portion of the extended time?
- Has the candidate shown improvement in test scores or course grades since receiving accommodations?