Accommodations and English Learner Supports for State and District Testing Customers

ACT is committed to providing access to the ACT test for examinees with documented disabilities and English Learners through appropriate accommodations and English Learner (EL) supports.

Requesting Accommodations and English Learner (EL) Supports

All requests should be submitted by the school test coordinator through the Test Accessibility and Accommodations System (TAA) by the request deadline listed on the Schedule of Events for your testing program.

Review Process

 

Stage 1

Initiation

Identify students who may be eligible for accommodations and/or EL supports.

Determine if the accommodation or supports for each student are local arrangements or must be authorized by ACT. Accommodations vs. Arrangements (PDF)

 

Confirm that a signed Consent to Release Information (PDF) is on file at your school.

Stage 2:

Submit Documentation

Sign in or create an account  in TAA.

  • New accounts must be validated prior to accessing TAA, this may take up to 5 business days for this process to occur.
  • TAA User Guide (PDF)

Submit the request formally through TAA. Before submitting requests, ensure the student does not already have a record in the TAA system by doing a search. See TAA User Guide (PDF).

If the student already has authorized accommodations/EL supports in TAA, and wants to use those same accommodations/supports, associate your State or District test date with the student’s TAA record. An additional request does not need to be submitted.

You will be asked to provide:

  • examinee details
  • test date information
  • reason for the request
  • plan details
  • requested accommodations and/or supports
  • required documentation for the: accommodations and/or supports

Note: All requests with documentation that are submitted by the request deadline on your Schedule of Events will be reviewed for your State or District testing initial test date. 

See your Schedule of Events to find your request deadline.

See details about required documentation for:

Stage 3

ACT Analyst Review

ACT will review the request. Requests are normally processed in 5-10 business days.

You'll receive an email when the Decision Notification is available to view in TAA.

  • Review the decision notification.
  • Print a copy of the decision notification and provide it to the examinee.

Stage 4

Post-Review

If the request has been approved:

The student will appear on your Accommodations and Supports Roster in PearsonAccessnext.

For paper-based testing, or accommodations/EL supports which require paper-based testing, materials will be sent to your school prior to the test date.

If the request has not been approved:

If the reconsideration deadline published on your Schedule of Events has not passed, you may edit the existing request and provide additional documentation for reconsideration.

Note: If a request for reconsideration is submitted after the reconsideration deadline, the request will not be reviewed for your testing program.

Information Privacy 

ACT will treat all information provided to support accommodations and EL supports requests as confidential and will use it solely to determine eligibility. Details about accommodations or EL supports will be shared only with the testing staff and will not be released to anyone else, including score report recipients. The only exceptions are for those instances in which an examinee’s accommodation/support-related documents and information are the subject of a subpoena or other court order, or an enforceable request from a government entity.  

Resources for Testing Staff

Policies and User Guides
File Name and Link (PDF) Description 
ACT-Approved Bilingual Word-to-Word Dictionaries (PDF)Guidelines and a detailed list of approved word-to-word dictionaries for use by examinees approved for English learner supports.
Quick Start Guide for Requesting Accoms/Supports (PDF)Information for Test Coordinators about requesting accommodations for examinees with disabilities and supports for English learners.
Test Accessibility and Accommodations User Guide (PDF) Instructions for how to access and navigate the TAA system. 
  


Forms

 
File Name and Link Description 
Exceptions Statement Form and Checklist (PDF)Examinees who do not currently have an official accommodations plan, EL support plan, IEP, or 504 plan can submit the Exceptions Statement Form to support their request.
Order Form for Alternate Format Practice Tests (PDF) Is used to place an order for free alternate formats of the ACT practice test. These materials may be checked out by students or used to simulate a practice session in school. 
Teacher Survey Form (PDF)A teacher at the examinee’s school may complete this form as supporting documentation to be uploaded in TAA. It asks for specific ways in which the examinee used accommodations in their class.