Educational Accommodations for Students With Disabilities: Two Equity-Related Concerns

Educational accommodations are frequently given to students with disabilities. For instance, students might be given a copy of class notes or provided additional time to complete a test. One purpose of accommodations is to improve educational equity, putting all students on equal footing. However, r...

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Main Author: Benjamin J. Lovett
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-12-01
Series:Frontiers in Education
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2021.795266/full
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description Educational accommodations are frequently given to students with disabilities. For instance, students might be given a copy of class notes or provided additional time to complete a test. One purpose of accommodations is to improve educational equity, putting all students on equal footing. However, research on current accommodations practices raises two distinct equity-related concerns. First, students from privileged backgrounds are more likely to receive certain accommodations even without adequate evidence of need; this can provide an unfair boost in performance and widen gaps among students. Second, when students from less privileged backgrounds are given accommodations, the incentive for schools to provide academic remediation, compensatory strategies, and coping skills is lessened, leaving these students in a worse position when accommodations are not available outside of educational settings. Implications for practice are discussed.
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spelling doaj.art-f03bb4dcf4e94e529e75a97ea56b9b5b2022-12-21T23:11:58ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Education2504-284X2021-12-01610.3389/feduc.2021.795266795266Educational Accommodations for Students With Disabilities: Two Equity-Related ConcernsBenjamin J. LovettEducational accommodations are frequently given to students with disabilities. For instance, students might be given a copy of class notes or provided additional time to complete a test. One purpose of accommodations is to improve educational equity, putting all students on equal footing. However, research on current accommodations practices raises two distinct equity-related concerns. First, students from privileged backgrounds are more likely to receive certain accommodations even without adequate evidence of need; this can provide an unfair boost in performance and widen gaps among students. Second, when students from less privileged backgrounds are given accommodations, the incentive for schools to provide academic remediation, compensatory strategies, and coping skills is lessened, leaving these students in a worse position when accommodations are not available outside of educational settings. Implications for practice are discussed.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2021.795266/fulleducational accommodationsstudents with disabilitieseducational equitydisability accommodationsassessment
spellingShingle Benjamin J. Lovett
Educational Accommodations for Students With Disabilities: Two Equity-Related Concerns
Frontiers in Education
educational accommodations
students with disabilities
educational equity
disability accommodations
assessment
title Educational Accommodations for Students With Disabilities: Two Equity-Related Concerns
title_full Educational Accommodations for Students With Disabilities: Two Equity-Related Concerns
title_fullStr Educational Accommodations for Students With Disabilities: Two Equity-Related Concerns
title_full_unstemmed Educational Accommodations for Students With Disabilities: Two Equity-Related Concerns
title_short Educational Accommodations for Students With Disabilities: Two Equity-Related Concerns
title_sort educational accommodations for students with disabilities two equity related concerns
topic educational accommodations
students with disabilities
educational equity
disability accommodations
assessment
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2021.795266/full
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