Placement Testing and Deaf Students: Guidance for Disability Services Professionals

Understanding access needs during placement exams is essential to creating an equitable testing experience for deaf students. Whether your college uses the Accuplacer or another assessment tool, disability services professionals play a key role in ensuring that testing accommodations are aligned with each student’s communication preferences and learning history.

Why Placement Test Accommodations Matter

Placement exams often serve as the first academic hurdle for incoming students. For deaf students, these assessments may present additional barriers—not because of ability, but because of how the test is designed and delivered. Two key equity challenges are important to understand:

Deaf students have diverse language experiences. Many enter school without early access to a primary language and have varying exposure to English and/or American Sign Language (ASL). Even with interpreters, some students may require additional support to access classroom content and engage in learning experiences with peers.
Most tests are not designed with deaf students in mind. Test language can be unfamiliar, overly complex, or structured in a way that creates linguistic barriers. These obstacles are unrelated to the knowledge or skills the test measures.

Providing appropriate accommodations ensures that all students can demonstrate what they know—without facing additional challenges caused by language access.

Working with the Student: Start with a Conversation

Every deaf student’s experience is different. Asking the student to describe their past experiences with testing, barriers they’ve encountered, and what has worked for them will help you make informed decisions. This student-centered approach aligns with the interactive process and supports the development of reasonable, effective accommodations. Explore more about the interactive process here.

Determining When an Interpreter is Appropriate

A helpful starting point is understanding the test construct (what the test measures) and the test purpose (why it’s being given). For example:

Math Placement Tests: If a student struggles with written English but has strong math skills, interpreting the test questions into ASL may help reduce language barriers. The interpreter would sign the questions, allowing the student to focus on computing and selecting the answer independently.
English Placement Tests: When the test measures written language ability, interpreting test content is likely inappropriate. However, interpreting directions or prompts may be helpful so that the student understands what is being asked before independently producing a response.

Aligning Accommodations with the Purpose of the Exam

Consider these key questions:

What is the test measuring?
Is the language used on the test a barrier to demonstrating content knowledge?
Would interpreting directions or prompts improve access without altering the exam’s purpose?

For example, interpreting test directions on a sociology exam may be appropriate if the test is focused on assessing content knowledge, not English language skills.

Key Takeaways for Disability Services Professionals

Due to their language acquisition and communication experiences, deaf students may need testing accommodations that differ from those of other students with disabilities.
Equitable testing means measuring what the test intends, not a student’s ability to decode complex English syntax.
The use of interpreters during placement tests depends on the purpose of the exam and the nature of what’s being measured.
Collaborating directly with the student to understand their needs is essential for identifying reasonable accommodations.