Teacher kneeling to look at student's work at his desk

Accommodations and Modifications for the Classroom

In a busy classroom, it can be daunting to meet the varied learning needs of all your students. Knowing you’re also responsible for implementing instructional accommodations and modifications in students’ IEPs and 504 plans can make it feel even more challenging. But with the right information, you can provide these important supports to help all students thrive.

Here are key concepts to keep in mind and steps you can take to implement accommodations and modifications for your students.

Accommodations and Modifications: Key Concepts

These important ideas can help you implement accommodations and modifications effectively.

Accommodations and modifications are not the same thing. An accommodation changes how students access and learn the same material as their peers—without lowering the academic expectations. A modification changes what students are taught or expected to learn.

Fair does not mean equal. Students and some teachers may worry that having extra supports in place for some students gives them an unfair advantage. But it’s important to remember that all students have individual strengths and needs. Accommodations and modifications are designed to level the playing field. Focusing on equity can help give everyone a chance to thrive in the classroom.

Collaboration is critical. Partnering with special education staff and related service providers can help you understand the purpose of the accommodations and modifications. It also gives you the chance to work through challenges you’re having in implementing these supports. Some accommodations may be easy to use in the classroom. Others might require more time to learn to use—for both you and your students.

Don’t be afraid to ask your colleagues for help if you’re not sure how to implement an accommodation, modify a lesson, or use a specific type of assistive technology.

Students and their families are key partners. Ongoing communication and trusting relationships can help you learn more about how students are doing with the supports they’re receiving. At first, some students might not feel confident coming to you to talk if they have concerns about using their accommodations. You can check in with parents to ask: Do the students feel comfortable using the accommodations? Do they find the accommodations easy to access? How could you work together to make the supports even more helpful?

Planning with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) can eliminate extra work. Applying UDL principles in your lessons can meet the needs of the whole range of students in your classroom. By proactively anticipating barriers to learning, you can build in supports that help all students access the material. And by making these supports available to all students, you’re recognizing that students who have IEPs and 504 plans aren’t the only ones who have challenges.

Students may not need to use an accommodation for every lesson. Most students who learn and think differently spend the majority of their school day in the general education classroom. But these students vary in the amount of support they need. Some need accommodations in just one or two classes or subjects. Others might need them across the board.

If students are successful during a lesson, they may choose not to use their accommodations for that lesson. If your students’ work is up to the same standards as their peers’ work, you don’t need to insist that they use accommodations. You just need to provide these supports as an option.

Accommodations vs. Modifications

Table that defines accommodations, modifications, and the differences in how they are implemented
	Accommodations	Modifications
Classroom instruction	Accommodations can help kids learn the same material as their peers. This allows them to meet the same expectations. A student with dyslexia, for example, might listen to an audio version of a book. But it’s still the same book that the rest of the class is reading. Likewise, a student who has trouble focusing might get seated next to the teacher, but still has to do all the regular class assignments.	Kids who are far behind their peers may need changes to the curriculum they’re learning. These are called modifications. For example, a student could be assigned shorter or easier reading assignments, or homework that’s different from the rest of the class. Kids who receive modifications are not expected to learn the same material as their classmates.
Classroom tests	Accommodations for testing can be different from those used for teaching. For example, using spellcheck might help a student with writing difficulties take notes during class. However, it wouldn’t be appropriate during a weekly spelling test. At the same time, this student might benefit from having extra time to complete the spelling test or using a keyboard if the physical act of writing is difficult.	Modifications in testing often mean that a student covers less material—or material that is less complex. For example, a spelling test may require the class to study 20 words. However, a student with modifications might only have to study 10 of them. Or there might be two different lists of spelling words. With a modification, what the student is tested on is different.
Standardized testing	Statewide tests allow some accommodations like extra time or taking a test on a computer. It’s best if these are the same accommodations a child uses to take class tests.	Some students take what’s called an alternate assessment. This state test includes modifications to the regular test. Questions might be fewer or not cover the same material as the standard exams. Also, the results are interpreted differently. Before parents agree to an alternate assessment, it’s important that they know what the impact will be on their child’s academic and work future.
PE, music, and art class	Accommodations for “special” classes like PE, music, and art can be helpful for some kids. These are similar to accommodations in the classroom. Kids might get extra time to learn to play an instrument. Or they may be allowed to complete an art project in a different format.	Sometimes, an assignment in a class like PE, music, or art is unreasonable for a child. When this happens, a modification may be made. For example, the PE teacher might reduce the number of laps a student needs to run. The music teacher might not require a child to learn how to read music.

Explore

Look at some common accommodations and modifications.
Explore accommodations for meeting different needs.

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Next module, we’ll dive deeper into how to implement IEPs in your classroom.

Citation

Accommodations and Modification in the Classroom