Modifications and accommodations are necessary for special needs learners in both instruction and assessments. The teacher’s objective is to facilitate learning, stimulate growth, and provide assessment on specific benchmarks, certification, or mastery.
Modifications alter choice of content and what is covered – either in scope, difficulty level, or quantity.
Purpose: to enable the student to master skills or obtain new learning appropriate to individual needs
In some cases, the teacher modifies the learning task in the beginning stages to permit the student to develop skills that are going to be needed to master the final outcome. While these are technically “modifications,” there is no alteration of the final objective.
Accommodations adjust the setting, the input or output of the student, or the conditions under which the student is working.
Purpose: to adjust the learning environment and/or working conditions in order to allow the student to gain access to instruction or to facilitate assessments
Adaptations are alterations to the presentation of instructional materials in quantity, layout, size, and simplicity of presentation. The term is frequently used as a synonym for modifications, although adaptations can be carried out in either modifications or accommodations.
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Resources for parents and teachers of students with special needs