Welcome back to a new school year! As I reflect on the school year seemingly just completed, I would have retired in June if I had stayed in public education. I applaud each of you who show up for the students every day, and as a kindred spirit in the classroom or office, I want to provide you with some updates that the Accommodations Department has implemented while you were recharging your education batteries.
Before we dive into the key reminders, make sure you've bookmarked this great resource for students to utilize at home for free test practice and for school officials to better understand audio accommodations as they are presented for online and paper testing. It contains text-to-speech and pre-recorded audio practice as well as compatibility tests for screen readers in addition to the link for ordering alternate format practice tests.
Practice Tests for Examinees Using Accommodations
For those who are new to the role of Test Accommodations Coordinator (TAC), be sure to request TAC access to The Test Accommodations and Accessibility System (TAA) in order submit accommodation and support requests. The guiding policy for requesting accommodations can be found on our page on the website. Resources can be found at Success.ACT.org as well as ACT.org.
Changes have been made to the English learner supports for the ACT. For starters, one and one-half time, single day is now the only support that needs to be approved because schools can now offer small group testing, translated test directions, and (authorized) bilingual dictionaries as designated supports. Please note that we do not approve multiple day testing for EL students, unless there is an additional disability which would possibly require multiple day testing. A new video, Requesting English Learner Supports Using TAA, is available to demonstrate how to request for EL support in the Test Accommodations and Accessibility System (TAA) process going forward. To review what accommodations are available, please refer to your designated Accessibility Supports Guide. In addition, we also have updated the expiration policy for the approved EL support of extended time. Going forward, EL support approvals for extended time will be approved for two years instead of one. For example, an EL support request submitted for the 2025-2026 school year will have an expiration date of July 31, 2027. This should eliminate the need for reconsiderations for most of the EL students you serve. It is still recommended to check the decision notification letter to make sure the expiration date is in the future and not the past.
The Test Accommodations and Accessibility System (TAA) was updated earlier this summer to eliminate issues with documents not uploading. Going forward, the names of files being submitted for requests must be strictly alphanumeric in nature. No spaces, punctuation, or special characters will be accepted by TAA. If you run into an issue uploading a document, please check that the file name follows these parameters and that the file size is 10 mb or smaller. You can begin submitting requests in TAA for spring testing on September 8th.
Speaking of documentation, please be sure you are submitting documentation in full. For accommodation requests, we ask that you submit the entire IEP/504 Plan/official accommodations plan/diagnostic documentation and not just the page with the actual accommodations listed. Plans should include the examinee’s name, date of birth, and the date the plan was implemented and, if applicable, when it expires. For accommodation requests in particular, the Policy for Requesting Accommodations for the ACT Test webpage has additional information on the subject, as well as a link to the Criteria for Diagnostic Documentation. For EL support documentation, please see our new resources English Learner Supports Documentation Requirements and English Learner Documentation Comparison Video.
Testing for fall contracts is right around the corner. Initial requests for accommodations and supports must be submitted by the deadline per your contract for state or district testing. If you have questions about your contract, please speak with your district test coordinator. Prior approvals for accommodations and EL supports still need attention for fall testing. You must assign the correct state or district test administration in TAA. If the prior approval was for EL Supports, make sure the decision letter notes that the supports have not expired. If they have, please submit for reconsideration by the reconsideration deadline per your Schedule of Events.
As always, the Accommodations Team is here to support you in understanding the accommodations process. We have Office Hours specific for Fall 2025 State and District Testing on several occasions. You can see the dates/times and sign up for any of those hours by completing this Accommodations Office Hours Webinar registration form. For additional information about state and district testing accommodations, please see the previously published article “Top Ten Things to Do to Assure Students Test with Accommodations – State and District Testing”. Please note that anything in this post supersedes this prior article.
The State and District Accommodations Department can be reached at actstateaccoms@act.org or by calling 319-337-1788. We are open 7:00-5:00 Central Time Monday-Friday.