Extended Time for Assessments
Extended Time for Assessments is an accommodation that provides students with a set amount of additional time to demonstrate what they know. Extended Time can be applied to a range of timed assessments including quizzes, tests, midterms, and exams. The extended time is in addition to the standard time allocated by the instructor, determined on an individual basis factoring in the verified nature and severity of the impairment, and the course requirements or restrictions ensuring extended time would not alter the explicit learning outcomes.
Who is this for?
Extended Time for Assessments may be necessary to support equitable learning opportunities for learners:
- Whose disability impacts their reading accuracy, rate, or fluency and or causes significant reading fatigue.
- Needing extra time to mitigate issues around focus, attention, hyperactivity, and or impulsivity.
- More time to read test questions due to vison impairment, vision loss, or blindness or neurological or cognitive impairments.
- Requiring breaks due to disability related fatigue or stamina.
- Who require more time or the use assistive technology due to physical barriers to writing caused by temporary, episodic, or persistent disability.
- Requiring breaks for medical reasons, including taking medication.
- Experiencing significant pain due to persistent, episodic, or temporary medical conditions.
- Needing additional time to process information and/or produce a response.
- To mitigate barriers related to clinical anxiety.
This accommodation supports students to:
- Record or otherwise demonstrate their learning.
- Have sufficient time to read and process questions.
- Have sufficient time to formulate and convey responses.
- Self-regulate due to mental health disabilities.
- Manage pain and/or restricted movements due to persistent or episodic physical disabilities such as chronic pain, concussions, or physical disabilities.
- Factor time for loss of concentration or focus due to attention deficits, concussions, or other cognitive disabilities.
- Access and respond to exam content due to vision loss requiring assistive technology, Braille, enlarged print, or individualized support such as a reader or scribe.
- Attend to medical needs such as taking medication, managing pain, or monitoring blood sugar levels.
- Rest, necessitated by a medical issue affecting stamina.
- Use assistive technology such as text-to-speech, speech-to-text, magnifiers, or other tools.
What it is
Extended Time is approved to compensate students for the time they use to cope with their disability symptoms or functional limitations, ensuring they have equitable time to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding.
Consider that in addition to evaluating what a student knows, timed assessments evaluate extraneous skills such as:
- Concentration.
- Sitting for extended periods.
- Reading and writing ability.
Time spent on those peripheral competences may hinder the student’s ability to demonstrate what they know about the assessment material.
What it’s not
Extended Time for Assessments does not:
- Allow for unlimited time.
- Change the format or number of questions.
- Change modality from in-person to take-home.
- Provide students with an advantage.
- Offer students additional time to edit, refine, or double-check responses.
- Guarantee a student will finish an exam.
- Address general test anxiety not related to diagnosed disability.
- Address general concerns about grades or finishing exams on time not related to diagnosed disability.
How can I support this in my classroom?
If students are completing timed assessments in Brightspace (even if writing in accessibility services testing centre) set up quiz accommodations for the student allowing for the prescribed extended time. Consult with appropriate departments if using another LMS.
If students are using an accessibility services testing centre, ensure timely cooperation with staff and invigilators including delivery of material in accessible formats.
If possible, reduce the number of traditional exams and quizzes in favour of more authentic assessments. Consider offering flexible options for when, where, and/or how students demonstrate learning.
Additional Notes
Timing may be an essential academic requirement of some assessments. In such cases, instructors must contact the accessibility services office to discuss potential options.
