The Impact of Academic Accommodations on Final Grades in a Postsecondary Setting

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine whether postsecondary students with learning disabilities (LD) and/or Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) experienced a differential increase in end-of-term grades when they used academic accommodations required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), with verbal Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores serving as a baseline predictor. There is little empirical evidence to confirm or refute the effectiveness of accommodations for postsecondary students with LD and/or ADD, highlighting the need for more statistical and comparative studies to clarify if these students benefit from specific ADA-related academic accommodations. In this study, students with ADD and LD plus ADD experienced a significant boost in grades after using accommodations, though there were mixed results for students with LD.

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Jack K. Trammell

Jack K. Trammell is Director of Disability Support Services at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia. He is completing his Ph.D. at Virginia Commonwealth University in Research and Evaluation. In addition, he writes about the Civil War and has published nine books.