IB and Special Ed - Can Students With Disabilities Take IB?
American public schools are subject to ADA and IDEA regulations. These regulations have been put in place to provide services to students with disabilities in order to "level the playing field" and often include accommodations such as a teaching assistant, extended time on exams or use of a computer. Parents of children with learning disabilities know the angst that can come from simply trying to obtain services for their child in the regular classroom setting. For those whose children seek to challenge themselves with advanced level exams such as IB or AP, TAIB wants to provide you with the information available from both IBO and the College Board/ETS, regarding each organization's process for obtaining approval for SE accommodations.
IB
The most critical information regarding accommodations for IB can be found in what was formerly called the Vade Mecum, but which IBO has renamed the "Handbook of Procedures".
This handbook refers readers to the IB publication "Candidates with Special Needs" guide, (which of course they don't bother to link) so we will do that for you:
IBO refers to extended time as being 25%, or 15 extra minutes per hour. You will find this figure listed in the above documents. IBO requires Form D1 (linked in the above Handbook of Procedures) and medical documentation to be sent to Cardiff 12 months in advance of the IB exam.
Parents of children with special needs should be aware of the following caveat IBO includes in its literature:
"When requesting additional time it is important to bear in mind that too much time may be tiring for a candidate and, therefore, counterproductive. Similarly, more time spent on a task does not necessarily improve the quality of the response given by a candidate."
Please check the summary chart at the bottom of this page for the Similarities and Differences of each organization's application procedures and SE accommodation policies.
IB Vocabulary
amanuensis [ipa: əˌmænjuˈɛnsɪs] is a Latin word adopted in various languages, including English, for certain persons performing a function by hand, either writing down the words of another or performing manual labour. in·vig·i·la·tor\-ˈvi-jə-ˌlā-tər\ noun: to keep watch ; especially British : to supervise students at an examination
College Board - Advanced Placement (AP)
The College Board website is very easy to navigate and filled with almost all of the information you need to know. We are also providing you with a link to ETS, the firm that marks College Board exams, for information validating "time and a half" or 50% as the "Basic Standard" for extended time. The College Board application review process takes at least seven (7) weeks, but encourages students and schools to submit the paperwork as early as the year before, if possible.
