Testing Accommodations
One of the most popular services provided by the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) to professors and their students with disabilities is proctoring of accommodated testing. Proctoring professors' exams for students with disabilities requires responsive communication between faulty and SSD staff.
It All Starts with the Accommodation Letter
A student requesting testing accommodations should meet with his or her professor within the first few weeks of a course. At this meeting, the student should discuss the type and method of accommodation he or she will need. The faculty member should request that the student bring a letter from SSD to verify the student's eligibility for such accommodations. The student should present this letter to the instructor at an individual meeting where the student can answer further questions that his or her professor may ask.
Professors Proctoring Exams vs. SSD Proctoring Exams
Faculty members may determine where accommodated tests are to be administered. Because SSD has only 3 staffpersons and 9 seats with desks in the office, and because students often want to ask questions of professors or TAs during exams, it is greatly appreciated whenever professors arrange testing accommodations themselves. If a faculty member has more than 4 students in his or her class requesting testing accommodations, SSD may not have adequate space or staff to proctor. In these situations, SSD will likely contact the faculty member and work out a mutually agreeable plan for proctoring the exam.
The student should remind his or her professor at least one week before each test that he or she is receiving testing accommodations. If a professor or TA is unable to proctor the student's exam, the student can request to take the exam at the SSD office, again, at least one week prior to the exam.
If a student plans to have the SSD office proctor his or her exam, the student is responsible for turning in a completed Test Request Form one week prior to each exam he or she needs to take in the SSD office. Once SSD has received a completed Test Request Form, SSD will send an email to the instructors 2 business days before the exam and ask the following:
- What is the length of time given to your class to complete this exam?
- What time is the exam scheduled?
- If there is a scheduling conflict for a student or our office due to extended time required to complete an exam, would you prefer the student take the exam earlier or later than your planned administration time?
- Are any aids, such as calculators or notes permitted?
- How would you like to handle test delivery? (Most instructors email the exam to SSD at ssd@northwestern.edu; however, some prefer to drop off and pick up exams. Exams may also be faxed. SSD prefers that the professor/TA picks up completed tests, but if this is not possible and the professor agrees, the student can return the completed test in a signed, sealed envelope.)
Unless specifically allowed by the instructor, books, notes, cell phones, or any test-related material will not be allowed into the testing room. Students are permitted to exit the testing room only to use the rest room.
If a change in testing arrangements is necessary, SSD must be notified as soon as the student or professor knows of the change. If a student wishes to reschedule an exam, SSD staff must have written or verbal approval from the instructor.
There is an alternate Late Test Request Form that students must provide to professors in the event of less than one week's notice. The Late Test Request Form requires the professor to answer the above test-related questions on the form and sign it as opposed to corresponding via email. SSD will therefore not send an email to professors requesting tests that are scheduled via the Late Test Request Form.
Additional Considerations When SSD Proctors Exams
If your exam requires blue books, we appreciate it whenever you can provide them to us.
Instructors are requested to send exams to SSD at least 24 hours in advance. This ensures that SSD can read the exam (since exams are usually sent electronically and sometimes require specialized software to be loaded) and that the student won't be waiting nervously for his or her exam to arrive.
Repeated failures of a student to show up for a proctored exam may result in loss of privileges to take exams at the SSD office. It is the student's responsibility to talk to the professor regarding his or her failure to show up for the exam, and if possible, to reschedule the exam.
Students are told specifically not to take tests without the accommodations for which they have been approved. If the accommodation, as arranged by the faculty member, is not appropriate or if a faculty member refuses to make an approved accommodation, the student should refuse to take the test and notify SSD and the school or college responsible for the course immediately.