is a checklist for tests/assignments a reasonable accommodation

[Anonymous]

Is a checklist for instructions for tests and assignements a reasonable accommodation for a child? Does anyone's child have this? My child continually misses items on tests/assignments
because of not being able to follow multi-step directions. I realize this would probably be a pain for the school to create

[Anonymous]

How old/what grade?

[Anonymous]

She is 8 and in 3rd grade...her grades have gone down a little bit this year along with her MAP testing.

[Anonymous]

My high school student has something in his 504 about rubrics or organizers and assistance chunking out large assignments. He has not had to request it recently but it’s along the lines of what you described.

[Anonymous]

Yes, it is, but in my experience it is really rarely followed because it generates a lot of work for the teacher.
I have been able to get them to do things like check to make sure her name is on the sheet, and check to make sure she filled out all the questions (not turning the test over was a major problem for my kid) -- if not, the teacher hands it back.

If you are in MCPS, most longer assignments have a rubric, so you can get the teacher to give the rubric. But that's often educational gobble-dy-gook.

There'sa lso methods you can teach for reading instructions -- like underline different parts in different colors. You can try practicing that with your child. I'm not great at that, but I've seen people teach that skill. (E.g., underline all the verbs in the instruction in red, so that you know you have three things to do if there are three parts to the instruction: "Read the story. Correct any grammatical errors. Then write a new ending." Underline Read; Correct; Write, so you know there are three steps to the assignment. You can also underline any direct objects in blue. Story. Errors. Ending. Again -- three tasks.

[Anonymous]

There is an response accommodation option on the IEP called "monitor test response." The teacher would check the test/quiz and hand it back to the student if they've not responded to all questions. Similarly, if bubble responses are required, the teacher will monitor and make sure the child is marking responses in the correct area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is an response accommodation option on the IEP called "monitor test response." The teacher would check the test/quiz and hand it back to the student if they've not responded to all questions. Similarly, if bubble responses are required, the teacher will monitor and make sure the child is marking responses in the correct area.

My DC had monitor test response accommodation and an accommodation “mark in test booklet” and then teacher would transfer answers to bubble sheet.

[Anonymous]

It’s a reasonable accommodation, one I’ve seen many times for various steps. Just a suggestion it might go over better though if you come up with a plan or example yourself with the help of the teacher before you present it during the IEP meeting. It’s not terrible time consuming to make such a list but you want to make sure you only put things that are necessary and find a way to fade it out and have that grading procedure written into the IEP as well.

I’d stick to a list that can be completed in the same order each time and if possible can be utilized at home and school for homework/lessons as well as tests. If they are missing the basics on tests then they probably need more access to this “accommodation” than just for tests. I’d do this more for the fact that you can help teach it in a way where the checklist can be faded out over a period of time and acts as a bridge rather than a crutch.

IME too many accommodations are written in but rarely correctly written out as well. You want to keep up with utilizing accommodations as teaching tools as next year there will likely be something else that needs extra attention and might need more attention. Don’t just put it in for tests with the expectation that it will still be there in 5 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s a reasonable accommodation, one I’ve seen many times for various steps. Just a suggestion it might go over better though if you come up with a plan or example yourself with the help of the teacher before you present it during the IEP meeting. It’s not terrible time consuming to make such a list but you want to make sure you only put things that are necessary and find a way to fade it out and have that grading procedure written into the IEP as well.

*fading, not grading


I’d stick to a list that can be completed in the same order each time and if possible can be utilized at home and school for homework/lessons as well as tests. If they are missing the basics on tests then they probably need more access to this “accommodation” than just for tests. I’d do this more for the fact that you can help teach it in a way where the checklist can be faded out over a period of time and acts as a bridge rather than a crutch.

IME too many accommodations are written in but rarely correctly written out as well. You want to keep up with utilizing accommodations as teaching tools as next year there will likely be something else that needs extra attention and might need more attention. Don’t just put it in for tests with the expectation that it will still be there in 5 years.

[Anonymous]

Mine had checklists for many things. I seem to remember test instructions was on the list. But he had an IEP and this was done by a special Ed teacher.