Accommodations

 

PCAP aims to be as inclusive as possible, and all students are encouraged to participate. If a student has the cognitive ability to understand the assessment instructions and to respond to the assessment, they should participate. The goal is to have as many students as possible participate in PCAP to provide a complete picture of the range of student achievement among Grade 8/Secondary II students.

 

Individual exemptions

The principal may exempt any student for whom the assessment may be detrimental or if the available accommodations do not meet their needs. A student should not be exempted solely due to poor academic performance, typical behavioural challenges, or self-regulation concerns.

 

Class exemptions

The principal may exempt a whole class if and only if a qualified staff person has assessed each student in the class and has determined that all the students have a special education need (SEN) code, and that all these students should not participate as a result of a lack of appropriate accommodations.

 

For more information, please see Special education needs (SEN) codes.

 

The PCAP uses a sans-serif font to support students with dyslexic reading needs. As well, available to all students, is a built-in toolbar. Please see the table below for more details.

 

Please note that text-to-speech is not permitted as an alternative format during the upcoming spring 2026 PCAP.

Resources offered to ALL students
A built-in tool bar with a variety of digital tools and formatting options

Visual formatting

The background colour and font size of the texts and questions can be adjusted via the visual formatting tool options.

Line reader

A line reader tool will be provided to assist with visual tracking and to help block distractions while reading.

Digital notepad

A notepad tool will be available to support students in organizing thoughts and planning responses.

Freehand pen, line drawer, and highlighter

A freehand drawing tool, a line drawing tool, and a highlighter tool can be engaged to use on the scenario text and questions.

Calculator (not available for spring 2026)

A scientific calculator will be provided as part of the digital set of tools. Students are also permitted to use a separate physical calculator.
Standalone physical aids
  • Bilingual dictionary (e.g., English to French) or thesaurus
  • Scientific calculator (not needed for field test)

Students are eligible to receive the following accommodations, if and only if, they receive these individualized supports or special considerations during regular school programming, or on formal assessments.

All students using one or more of the accommodations available should receive a participation code of 2A on the Student Tracking Form, and the type of accommodation(s) should be identified using the appropriate accommodation code(s) (see below).

 

Accommodations available for students with individualized supports or special considerations

Reading of instructions (Code R)

A staff member reads assessment instructions aloud to the student without altering assessment content.

Scribe (Code S)

A staff member writes down the student’s dictated responses verbatim during the assessment.

Additional time (Code T)

Additional time must be requested in advance under the Accommodations column of the Student Identification Form. Students who have been granted this accommodation may receive up to 30 minutes of additional time for each part of the assessment.

Additional or extended breaks (Code K)

Students may take an additional 15-minute break or extend their existing break by 15 minutes, depending on their individual learning needs.

Alternate environment (Code E)

Students are permitted to write in an alternate setting that will better serve their learning.

Alternative formats (not available for spring 2026)

Students receive assessment materials in an alternative format that matches their sensory or visual needs to ensure their full access to content without changing the assessment itself. For more information on alternative formats, please see Alternative formats.

 

If you have any questions about possible accommodations or how an accommodation can be implemented during PCAP, please contact CMEC at pcap-ppce@cmec.ca.