I have used those words interchangeably for years! Aren’t they the same thing? In reality, our students require a great deal more accommodations than they do modifications. With accommodations, we are not changing our learning expectations for the students—they are expected to learn what the other students are learning—rather we are providing more access to that learning for them by making some adjustments to the environment. And interventions are another thing altogether!
Here’s a break down:
Modifications are the changing, lowering or reducing of learning and assessment expectations. This includes allowing a student to learn less material than is expected of other students (reducing the number of items on an assignment or the common “shortened assignments”) or revising assignments or tests to make them easier (reminding student of their reading strategies right before testing reading). Modifications may be appropriate during instruction. If they are necessary during large-scale assessments, such as the HSGQE, pre-approval must be obtained from the state.
Accommodations are practices and procedures in the areas of presentation, response, setting, or timing/scheduling that provide equitable instructional and assessment access for students with disabilities.
An Intervention is something that is added to your existing instructional strategies to teach new skills, build fluency in a skill, or encourage a child to apply an existing skill to new situations or settings. Interventions are good educational practice.
Our IEP forms include the following section for modifications and accommodations:
Thanks to Dan Kaasa, Jill Ramponi and Staci Gonzales for the information provided in this article.
Other websites for intervention help:
www.interventioncentral.org
www.gosbr.net/reading
www.studentprogress.org