If you have students who are part of an educational institution who are allowed extended time by law for state exams (IEP, 504, etc.), then they will also get extended time for the ACA Exams… but you’ll need to invest some extended time to make sure students get what they need!


Please Note: THIS PAGE IS OUR ADVICE AND TIPS FROM EXPERIENCE, BUT WE DO NOT SPEAK FOR CERTIPORT. YOU WILL NEED TO CONFIRM THIS INFORMATION AND PROCESS WITH CERTIPORT DIRECTLY. 




1. Go Straight to the Source


OK- we’re great at developing fun curriculum, but this is far beyond our scope. We want to give you the best help we can, but there are so many variables we don’t want to misdirect or misinform anyone. Certiport’s page on Accommodations for Disabilities is your best reference point for details and help. This page is a guideline with some tips and tricks… but not the definitive resource. We’re just trying to help with some loose guidelines that should help, but you’ll need to rely on Certiport directly for details and specific answers.


2. Time and Paperwork


Two of my least favorite things -- and things many designers kinda stink at -- but that’s what you’re in for! Every school and district seems to have a different way of handling this, so get on this soon so you have time to get things done. You need to assume it takes Certiport about 10 days to do their part… so leave yourself some time to get your part done.


Our advice: Start the paperwork at least 30 days before you plan on beginning testing. 


3. Recruit Help


Most schools and districts have a specific person who’s appointed to take care of student IEP records and can pull reports for you. Try to find who that is and enlist their help in the process. This person can help you find the information you need in your own school’s system or can point you in the right direction if they can’t get the info for you. It’s often the guidance counselor or database clerk for your school who can help you or point you in the right direction. You probably can’t handle this alone.


4. Get Organized


This process can be daunting -- especially for the organizationally challenged! Below are some tips from one of our newest team members, Jessica Campbell:


  • Have a record of student logins and passwords. We strongly recommend forcing a username/password convention or using the school’s system for usernames/passwords, but if you can’t, be sure to have student info recorded somewhere.
  • Have proof of diagnosis. You will also need to submit proof of their diagnosis. Go to the guidance counselor and ask for the paperwork that the parents have to submit in order to set up an IEP; sometimes this is a letter from a doctor. They also will accept the Certification of Disability form that attaches to the IEP. They won’t, however, accept the IEP itself, unless it includes the child’s diagnosis. Contact Certiport if you aren’t sure your documentation is appropriate.
  • Prefill forms to eliminate errors and problems. The form that students need filled out is the Exam Accommodation Request Form from Certiport. We strongly suggest filling these out for the students to eliminate problems so that all parents have to do is sign them.  If you want them to fill them out, they normally take twice as long to get back!
  • Make yourself the secondary email. The student’s email address used to sign up for their Certiport account MUST be email address #1. We strongly suggest making your email address email #2 so you also get a record and confirmation that the request is approved, and what the testing accommodations are so you can be sure to stay in compliance.
  • FAXES ONLY. These forms MUST be faxed, and can not be emailed. You can email for questions and such, but the official documentation MUST be faxed to the number on the bottom of Certiport’s form.
  • ACCOMMODATIONS EXPIRE. The accommodations EXPIRE after two years. If you teach students for multiple years, we recommend saving a copy of all the paperwork you send in, so that in two years you don’t have to hunt everything down all over again.

The tips above are things that experienced teachers have learned over the years, but again, you must do the research and confirm the process with Certiport in case of a change or inaccuracies here. This page is only a guide to getting organized to prep the paperwork.. but actually prepping the paperwork is beyond the scope of this page and can vary based on location, legal/privacy issues, etc.


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