What to do

Test proctoring by DSPS is done in in the ARC (Accommodations Resource Center) which is through the large electronic doors on the first floor of San Gabriel, SG 108 and 110.

What not to do

A student’s right to confidentiality is protected by law.  Please don’t ask them what their disability is or why they need accommodations.  Be assured we have done that and we are abiding by the law.

If there is something you want to change about the arrangements the specialist has listed on the form, please talk to the specialist, not the student.

Don’t tell the student you can accommodate him in the classroom.  You don’t know that.  You don’t want to insist on an arrangement that would have negative consequences for the student.  Talk to the specialist.

How students benefit from test proctoring accommodations

Students with learning disabilities may need extra time for a myriad of reasons.  They may be slow to process what they read or slow to retrieve information from memory, or slow to retrieve expressive vocabulary.  They may need the extra time to proofread their work for visual errors, like reading a + as a x sign.

Students with physical impairments may need the extended time to utilize adaptive technology or for breaks.

Students with chronic illness or psychiatric disorder may be heavily medicated, and need time to work through the brain fog. 

Students with clinical anxiety disorder use the time and a quiet room to calm themselves. 

Students with attention deficit disorder or Autism may need extra time and a quiet room to focus their attention on the task. 

Is it an unfair advantage

It has been falsely asserted that any student would score higher, given more time.  What is true about course material is that either you know it or you don’t, and if you don’t know it, no amount of extra time will help. 

At Glendale College, we typically authorize double the amount of time given to the rest of the class. 

Test accommodations allow students with disabilities the opportunity to access the information they do know, so that you can fairly grade their mastery of your course material.

We have never met a student who liked having a disability.  They may appreciate using DSPS services, but every one of them would prefer not having to use them.