When I was first approved to receive extended time accommodations for low vision, I remember wondering how that would work in a middle school or high school setting where students had a single class period to take an exam or work on a timed assignment. My teachers were also confused on how to implement extended time accommodations during the school day and why I needed them to begin with, so it wasn’t until late high school or early college that I finally understood how to use extended time accommodations effectively. Here is a list of tips and strategies for requesting, implementing, and utilizing extended time accommodations for low vision in an effective way, and what worked from my student perspective.
What is extended time?
Extended time is a type of timing accommodation that provides students with additional time to complete timed activities, assignments, exams, and/or assessments. The materials themselves are not modified and students are expected to complete the same tasks or questions, they just have more time to do so. Extended time accommodations are a type of disability-related accommodation and may be listed on an IEP, 504 plan, college disability accommodations, testing accommodations, or student assistance plan for a variety of different disabilities.
Extended time is different than assignment deadline extensions, though some students may be approved for both. Assignment extensions often require that students request an extension either on the day the assignment is assigned or at least 24 hours before the due date. The exact amount of time will depend on what accommodations are approved or what the teacher feels is appropriate, though approved accommodations will overrule the teacher’s preference.
Related links
- Common Classroom Accommodations For Low Vision
- A to Z of Assistive Technology for Reading Digital Text
Reasons why students with low vision may use extended time
There are many reasons why a student may be approved for extended time accommodations or other timing accommodations, though students will need to provide supporting documentation from a specialist justifying why they need extended time accommodations. For students with visual impairments, common reasons for requesting extended time accommodations include:
- Accommodating vision breaks when reading large amounts of text or visually demanding material.
- Supporting the use of assistive technologies such as screen readers, text-to-speech, or screen magnification that require careful reading and attention to detail.
- Using magnification may require students to make adjustments when navigating between questions, especially when enlarging graphics
- Screen readers and/or text-to-speech may be used with a slower speaking rate to capture relevant details.
- Providing extra time to read slowly and carefully, identifying character-level details such as math symbols or reading graphs/charts that are visually complex.
- Options for writing more slowly and legibly, or using a keyboard for typing answers.
- For students with chronic pain, migraine, or that have additional disabilities/conditions, extended time can help with pacing and give much-needed time for cognitive breaks.
- Use of a scribe or reader for documenting answers requires more time.
As a student with low vision, I often would receive higher grades on assignments where I had extended time because I didn’t feel pressured to rush through questions and answer everything before the end of class. I would have time to read things more closely and write legibly so that I wasn’t misreading numbers or letters or trying to guess what I was looking at. I didn’t always use the extended time, but it helped to have it so that I could spend time enlarging things.
Related links
- Activity Ideas For Vision Breaks
- Disability Accommodations For Fluctuating Eyesight
- Ten Ways To Reduce Eye Strain From Screens With Technology
- Disability and Classroom Accommodations For Chiari Malformation
- How I Receive Accessible Quizzes and Tests in the Classroom
Examples of extended time accommodations
The most common extended time accommodations include the following options:
- 150% extended time or time-and-a-half. This extends a 60 minute time limit to 90 minutes.
- 200% extended time or double time. This extends a 60 minute time limit to 120 minutes
- 300% extended time or triple time. This extends a 60 minute time limit to 180 minutes.
For quizzes, tests, or other exams, extended time accommodations are often used in one continuous block. For example, if students are expected to complete a test with a 60 minute time limit, a student approved for extended time accommodations may have 90 minutes to complete the same test and will not be allowed to leave the testing area until finished. Students are not required to use all of their extended time, but it is available if they need it.
Other examples of extended time accommodations can include:
- Using alternative testing environments or small group testing instead of completing assignments in the mainstream classroom.
- Completing timed assignments at a different time, such as earlier in the day or after school.
- Use of time-saving strategies such as writing answers in the test booklet (to avoid using bubble sheets) or access to a keyboard for typing.
- Short, supervised breaks for water or moving around (e.g. walking around a room).
- Completing timed assignments with a remote proctor or taking quizzes/tests at home or in the library.
- Dividing exam sections across multiple sessions or days, working on one or two sections per session.
In order to be considered for extended time accommodations, the student will need documentation from a doctor or other specialist that justifies their need for extended time. It is generally easier to get approved for 150% extended time than 200% extended time or 300% extended time.
Related links
- How To Create A Disability Services File
- How To Get Disability Accommodations In Community College
- Testing Accommodations For Low Vision Students
- Remote Testing Accommodations For Low Vision
- How To Come Up With Sample Accommodations
Subject-specific extended time accommodations: extra time for math
For almost all of my classes, I was approved for 150% extended time for quizzes, tests, and timed assignments. The exception to this was math and science classes, where I was approved for 200% extended time. Because math and science classes often require careful attention to character-level details (meaning that students have to read every single number, letter, and symbol), it takes a lot longer for me to read and magnify information, especially when it comes to things like exponents and subscripts in smaller font sizes. I also use text-to-speech or screen readers more often in these settings to ensure that I am reading everything as intended, which takes even more time.
Another barrier for math when I was in middle school and early high school was that I didn’t have access to a calculator that I could see, and would have to complete a lot of calculations by hand while my classmates were allowed to use calculators. I did not have this problem as often in college, but it would still take me longer to write out scratch work legibly or read equations with Greek characters.
Related links
- Math Test Accommodations For Low Vision
- How To Create An Accessible Formula Sheet
- Adapting Digital Equations: Math Problems and Low Vision
- Adapting Page Layouts: Math Problems and Low Vision
Implementing extended time accommodations in middle school and high school
As I mentioned at the beginning of the post, it was challenging for my instructors and I to implement extended time accommodations because I had several classes in one day and couldn’t exactly miss half of my next class. Here are some strategies that were used successfully for implementing extended time accommodations in a middle school or high school classroom setting, from my perspective as a student:
- Using study hall between 2nd period and 3rd period to complete timed assignments that began during 2nd period.
- Having the instructor create quizzes or tests that would take 60 minutes to complete, and providing the entire 90 minute class block for testing.
- During midterms or finals, students may be permitted to take exams during another session instead of with their class to accommodate for extended time.
- For virtual classes, having the option to complete timed assignments at home or in another setting with remote or in-person proctoring.
- Taking quizzes or exams for in-person classes during a free period or block reserved for virtual classes.
- Informing students about quizzes or tests in advance so they can plan accordingly. Surprise quizzes were more challenging to accommodate on a day where a test for another class was already scheduled during study hall.
Some examples of unsuccessful ways for implementing extended time accommodations from my student perspective include:
- Having students miss band class or other fun electives to take a quiz or test with extended time. To be clear, I understand why this strategy was used, but I would feel tempted to rush through assignments to get back to class more quickly.
- Utilizing extended time in an unfamiliar environment that a student has never been to before. Especially if the environment has a lot of competing sensory input— I still vividly remember the scented candle and hallway noises in the room where I took a science test!
- Having a student stay after school when they are already very fatigued from a full day of classes. However, I was fine with this if I had breaks during the day— it was more challenging if I had been working on the same task for an entire class period and then had to stay even longer without breaks.
- Telling a student that they use their extended time accommodations when they left the room to go enlarge materials or get them in an accessible format— time that was not spent actually completing the assignment or exam.
I share these examples not to imply that I knew more than my instructors, case manager, or other allied professionals, but rather to provide context for why these options did not work well for me and why other students may find these environments challenging as well.
Related links
- My Experience With Virtual Classes in High School
- Dear High School Teacher
- Quiet Places At School For Students With Visual Impairments
- Low Vision Accommodations For Print Materials From My Low Vision IEP
Implementing extended time accommodations in college and university settings
A lot of my classes are hybrid courses or have a lot of digital assignments, and my university also has a dedicated Disability Services testing center where students can complete timed assignments in a reduced distraction environment. College and university students also often have a more flexible schedule than middle school or high school students since they aren’t always taking several classes in a row. Here are some strategies that were used successfully for implementing extended time accommodations in college/university from a student perspective:
- Taking quizzes and exams for in-person classes at the Disability Services testing center. Students schedule quizzes or exams in advance and can use all of their extended time if needed.
- For online assignments, instructors edit the time limit for specific students to provide additional time.
- If a timed assignment is scheduled for a night class when the testing center is closed, students can schedule earlier in the day if needed to accommodate extra time.
- Students may be permitted to use remote proctoring to complete timed assignments at home or in the library with extended time. Some instructors will create a different test to preserve academic integrity.
- Indicating when quizzes, tests, or other timed activities were scheduled to take place in the syllabus, which helps with planning in advance.
- Completing labs or timed assignments during office hours with a teaching assistant or other proctor.
Some examples of unsuccessful ways for implementing extended time accommodations from my student perspective include:
- Setting incorrect time limits for timed assignments. Instead of having 150 minutes to complete an exam, my professor set the time limit as 15 minutes for my profile— I ended up having to retake the exam on a different day because they had no idea how to fix it. I didn’t notice until the exam automatically submitted because I couldn’t see the timer countdown in small print.
- Announcing in front of the entire class that a particular student gets extended time. While I am open about having low vision, I was startled when the proctor abruptly said my name and mentioned in front of everyone that I had been approved for extended time on this test.
- Giving a student with extended time accommodations even more questions. I had an instructor misinterpret my accommodations and they gave me 150% more questions than the other students— I didn’t find out about this until they had mentioned the other students had fewer questions.
- Assuming that extended time means that I have to work nonstop or at the same pace for the entire duration of the period. Taking short vision breaks and resting my eyes helps a lot with managing eye strain.
Compared to high school, I find it much easier to use extended time accommodations in my classes now that I am in university, mostly because of the testing center and the option to take tests and quizzes outside of class time in online/hybrid classes.
Related links
- What To Bring To The Disability Services Testing Center
- Tips For Taking Online Classes As An On-Campus Student
- How I Use WebAssign With Low Vision
- ALEKS Accessibility For Visual Impairment
- How I Receive Accessible Quizzes and Tests in the Classroom
Implementing extended time accommodations for exams and standardized tests
In middle school and high school, I used extended time accommodations for things like standardized tests and exams much more often than I did in the classroom setting. I was very grateful to have extended time since these types of exams were much more visually demanding, especially when it comes to things like the SAT and ACT. Here are examples of successful strategies for implementing extended time accommodations for tests and exams:
- Completing pre-test forms hours or days in advance of testing, such as score submission forms or other testing information. This saves a lot of time on test days and gives students the option to preview the testing environment.
- Explain to the student how they can use the extended time accommodations. Some exams require students to use all of their extended time— if they finish early, they still have to wait until their extended time “runs out”
- Provide a clock or timer that the student can see to help them with time management— wall clocks may be too far away to see.
- For students, plan to take vision breaks and rest eyes to help with minimizing visual fatigue. One strategy that can help is to plan to take a short break after completing a certain number of questions.
- If applicable, research whether there is a penalty for unanswered questions. Some exams may not penalize students for not completing all of the questions, while others will grade missing questions as incorrect. This can help with time management as well.
Examples of unsuccessful strategies for implementing extended time accommodations for standardized tests and exams from my student perspective include:
- Taking exams in a noisy environment with a lot of people talking. I failed an AP exam because the “reduced distraction” environment was right next to a break room.
- Having the exam computer abruptly shut down during the test due to circumstances beyond the student’s control, resetting the test and requiring them to start from the beginning with less time. Keep a backup of answers!
Some testing organizations will automatically approve a set amount of extended time for students with disabilities. For example, students with visual impairments may be guaranteed 150% extended time if they provide documentation of their vision loss.
Related links
- SAT Accommodations for Low Vision
- ACT Accommodations For Low Vision
- AP Exam Accommodations For Low Vision
- Virginia SOL Test Accommodations And Low Vision
More resources on extended time accommodations for low vision
- One of the other reasons I use extended time is because of dysgraphia, a specific learning disability characterized by poor handwriting. Learn more at Assistive Technology For Dysgraphia
- When I had to use a screen reader due to an eye infection, I noticed that it was taking me much longer to read information. Applying for additional extended time was one of the Seven Unexpected Disability Accommodations For Virtual Learning
- If there are flickering or flashing lights in the classroom, I will often get disoriented and have trouble focusing— extended time gives me a “buffer” in case this happens. Learn more at How I Talk To Professors About Photosensitivity
Published January 14, 2021. Updated August 2025