APCA provides reasonable testing accommodations in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Under the ADA, a disability is a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. Having a diagnosed impairment does not necessarily mean that an individual is disabled as defined by the ADA, and not all disabilities require test accommodations.
If you have additional questions after reading the information below, please contact the Compliance Department at accommodations@inteleos.org for further assistance.
Test accommodations are adjustments or modifications of standard testing conditions designed to allow Candidates with disabilities equal access to the examination without compromising its validity, providing an unfair advantage, or imposing undue burden on APCA.
The following is a list of the testing accommodations generally provided by APCA:
- Extended Testing Time (all tests are timed)
- 25% (time and one quarter)
- 50% (time and one half)
- 100% (double time)
- Use of Private Room
- Frequent/Extended Breaks
- Use of Zoom Text
All requests for testing accommodations are reviewed on a case by case basis, taking into account the unique nature of each individual’s limitations due to their disability and the accommodations necessary to ensure equal access to the examination.
While your treating professional’s suggestions and your own preferences will be given considerable weight, some accommodations may be impossible or not permissible because they would fundamentally alter the nature of the test or result in invalid scores. Examples of this include untimed testing and delivering the examination orally or using pencil and paper (all APCA examinations are computer-based).
Items listed in Pearson VUE’s ‘Comfort Aid List’ do not require pre-approval from APCA. You can bring these items with you to the test center on the day of the examination and use them during your appointment. Click here to see the list of approved Comfort Aids.
All Comfort Aids are subject to visual inspection by Pearson VUE test center staff, without exception.
Test-taking is not considered a major life activity therefore test anxiety (with no other clinical diagnosis, e.g a generalized or severe anxiety disorder) is not eligible for test accommodation consideration.
The answer to this question is dependent on whether you need to check your blood sugar while testing and/or have immediate access to other blood sugar management supplies.
When considering which option best meets your needs, please keep in mind that APCA provides breaks to all Candidates who request one however the examination clock does not stop.
Accommodation Approval Not Required
Accommodation approval is not required if you are able to answer yes to all of the below statements:
- I can check my blood sugar on breaks outside of the secure testing room on the day of my appointment, AND
- My diabetic device is not paired with a smartphone, AND
- I can wait to access my blood sugar testing supplies and other blood sugar management items (candy, food, juice) in my locker when I take an unscheduled break, AND
- I do not require additional examination time to compensate for the time spent checking my blood sugar or accessing food/beverage items from my locker.
If your answer to any of the above statements is no, accommodation approval is required.
Accommodation Approval Required
Accommodation approval is required if you answer yes to any of the below statements:
- I need to be able to check my blood sugar and/or access blood sugar management items immediately regarding my blood sugar inside of the secure testing room (requires testing in private room).
- My diabetic device is paired with a smartphone.
- I need immediate access my blood sugar testing supplies and other blood sugar management items (candy, food, juice) while testing (requires testing in private room).
- I require additional examination time to compensate for the time spent checking my blood sugar or accessing blood sugar management items from my locker.
APCA supports test-takers that require an exception to express their breast milk during their examination.
Expressing Breast Milk
The ability to express breastmilk at a suitable location within the test center requires pre-approval as a testing accommodation. If you wish to request this accommodation, please submit:
- A completed APCA Testing Accommodations Request Form, AND
- A current letter typed on official letterhead and signed by your primary physician or other health care provider confirming your status as a nursing mother.
Breastfeeding
On the day of the examination, Candidates are not permitted to leave the building once they have started the appointment check-in process.
Children are not allowed in the test center. If you prefer to breastfeed, you must do so outside of the testing facility either before entering the facility for your appointment or upon exiting the building after you have finished your examination appointment.
APCA examinations are delivered globally in English. English-as-a-second-language (ESL) is a life circumstance, not a disability, and as such, accommodations are not provided for this.
Testing accommodations are meant to enhance access to the test, not improve the likelihood of a particular outcome such as finishing the test, earning a certain score, or “reaching one’s potential”.
Your documentation should address the functional limitations that would prevent you from accessing the examination without accommodations and provide a detailed rationale for the accommodations you are requesting.
Test accommodation requests must be submitted with an examination application. APCA will not consider accommodation requests from individuals who have not yet applied for the examination for which they are seeking accommodations.
Should you decide to move forward with requesting testing accommodations, you must:
- Indicate you are requesting testing (“special”) accommodations in your examination application by clicking Yes in the ‘Special Accommodations’ section of the application (screenshot provided below):
- Upload the appropriate accommodations documentation to your MY APCA user account within 21 days of application submission, along with any documentation required to substantiate eligibility for the examination.
The documentation requirements are dependent on your accommodation history with APCA. Please review the Documentation Requirements tab for more information.
Testing accommodations must be requested at the time of application. If you are a Candidate requesting accommodations after an application has been approved, you must:
- Cancel your current examination appointment with Pearson VUE (if you do not have an appointment scheduled, skip to step 3).
- E-mail the Pearson VUE cancellation confirmation e-mail that you receive to APCA at accommodations@inteleos.org. This appointment was scheduled for standard administration conditions and the appointment time cannot be modified.
- Upload the appropriate accommodations documentation to your MY APCA user account. The documentation requirements are dependent on your accommodation history with APCA. Please refer to the ‘How to Request Test Accommodations’ section for documentation requirements.
A review of requests for testing accommodations may take up to 14 days from the date all documentation is received. Please note that your eligibility period will continue during the accommodations review process.
Please refer to the ‘Accommodation Request Processing’ section for information regarding notification of request approval, denial, and need for additional information.
- An original copy of a letter dated within the past five years and typed on official letterhead from a qualified physician or health care provider who specializes in the disability. This letter must:
- Document the disability and its severity*
- Describe your limitation due to the disability*
- State exactly what accommodations are required to provide equal access to the examination.
- Contain an original signature and the physician’s or provider’s credentials.
- An original copy of a comprehensive medical evaluation/report of the diagnosed disability from the physician or health care provider, dated within the past five years.
- A completed Testing Accommodations Request Form, which must be submitted each time you apply for an examination.
* You must demonstrate not only that you have a particular disorder, but that it rises to the level of a disability as defined by the ADA; that is, your condition must be substantially limiting in a major life activity, such as seeing, hearing, working, walking, or reading. You will need to provide evidence that your functioning is limited, not just that you have symptoms of a disorder or condition.
Information documenting your current functioning and your current functional limitations is required:
- An original copy of a letter dated within the past five years and typed on official letterhead from a qualified physician or health care provider who specializes in the disability. This letter must:
- Document the disability and its severity*
- Describe your limitation due to the disability*
- State exactly what accommodations are required to provide equal access to the examination.
- Contain an original signature and the physician’s or provider’s credentials.
- An original copy of a comprehensive medical evaluation/report of the diagnosed disability from the physician or health care provider, dated within the past five years.
- A completed Testing Accommodations Request Form, which must be submitted each time you apply for an examination.
* You must demonstrate not only that you have a particular disorder, but that it rises to the level of a disability as defined by the ADA; that is, your condition must be substantially limiting in a major life activity, such as seeing, hearing, working, walking, or reading. You will need to provide evidence that your functioning is limited, not just that you have symptoms of a disorder or condition.
- A completed Testing Accommodations Request Form, which must be submitted each
time you apply for an examination.
Documentation submitted by a Candidate in support of an accommodations request is reviewed by APCA and may be forwarded to an independent medical expert for impartial professional review. All information will be kept confidential and will be used only to determine what, if any, test accommodations will be made.
Yes, APCA will contact you directly using your e-mail address and/or telephone number of record to request any required additional information.
A review of applications containing a request to receive testing accommodations may require an additional 14 days from the date all required documentation is received.
Once your application is approved, you will be sent an Examination Confirmation Letter to your e-mail address of record. The email will include the contact information for the Pearson VUE Testing Accommodations Scheduling Department. Upon receipt of the e-mail, you should contact Pearson VUE to schedule an examination appointment with the approved accommodations.
If you do not receive the e-mail or need to obtain a new copy of the letter, a copy can be downloaded from your MY APCA user account, under “My Examinations/Application Status” (found under the “Application Center” tab). This option is only available after the application is approved.
- The current functional limitations are missing from the report. Specifically, the documentation fails to show the impact of the disability on a major life activity.
- The report is limited in scope and content:
- Documentation may be primarily based on an IEP or 504 Plan from high school. Scores may be missing from the report.
- The diagnosis is based on a screening test, or the report presents a single subtest score from the WAIS-IV or the Woodcock-Johnson III that is discordantly low compared with the other subtests in the battery.
- The documentation does not establish that there is a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act. It contains no clear statement of a diagnosis consistent with DSM or ICD.
- The rationale for requested accommodations is lacking, even though a diagnosed disability exists.
- Accommodations recommended by the evaluator appear to be too sweeping and either over-accommodate the Candidate or are based on preferences rather than disability-driven reasons.
- Documentation is dated over five years ago.
- The impact of the disorder appears to be more a relative weakness than a disability that is substantially limiting.
- It appears that the disability does not affect the Candidate in multiple settings.
All supporting documentation must be received in order for APCA to make a fully informed determination regarding an accommodation request. Requests that contain illegible/ incomplete documentation or ask for accommodation that can not be provided will be denied.
If your accommodations request is denied, you will be notified by e-mail of the reason for the denial and asked to select one of the following options:
- Cancel the application. A refund will be issued, minus the non-refundable examination processing fee per examination applied for.
- Withdraw your testing accommodation request. APCA will approve your application for standard administration (provided you have met all examination eligibility requirements).
If your request contains illegible or incomplete documentation by the 60th day from the date your application was submitted and/or the APCA has not received any communication from you, the application will be canceled and a refund processed minus the non-refundable examination processing fee per examination applied for.
If your request is denied for reasons other than illegible documentation, you have 30 days from the date of the denial to appeal the decision. Appeals must contain the following information:
- A written statement detailing the specific reason for the appeal
- Any additional documentation that you feel supports your position (if applicable)
- Any additional documentation requested by APCA in the denial notice (if applicable)
Appeals must be e-mailed to accommodations@inteleos.org.
