Helping Learners Request CAEC Accommodations

The three tiers of support

Section 5 of the Administration Guide sorts supports into three tiers. Knowing which tier a need falls into tells you whether a learner has to ask, when, and whether documents are needed.

1. Universal supports: built in, no request needed

These are tools inside the digital test platform, available to every candidate on every digital CAEC test. The guide's examples are a screen colour overlay, a text highlighter, a line reader, and a zoom feature. Learners do not request them in advance.

The catch: universal supports are not available on paper tests. A learner who relies on zoom or an overlay and is booked for a paper sitting loses those tools unless something else is arranged.

2. Special arrangements: changes to the environment

The guide describes these as environmental conditions that make a candidate more comfortable without affecting the legitimacy of the test. Its examples:

• additional breaks
• audio (text-to-speech) and dictation (speech-to-text)
• a private writing space or privacy screens
• noise blockers
• large-print copies of paper tests
• coloured overlays or coloured paper for paper tests

Special arrangements must be requested before the learner starts a test. The guide tells candidates to contact their home province or territory before booking to discuss the details.

3. Accommodations: targeted, documented, approved

Accommodations are targeted supports for a medically diagnosed condition or for extenuating circumstances, as determined by the province's CAEC jurisdictional administrator. The guide lists:

• input assistance or a scribe
• braille format
• a reader
• a calculator for Part I of the Mathematics test (normally a no-calculator section)
• special arrangements requested with supporting medical documentation and diagnosis

If a calculator is approved for Math Part I, the guide limits it to one without fraction, bracket, or exponent functions. For any support that is not on the list, the guide says to ask the jurisdictional administrator.

Provinces sort supports differently

The guide gives provinces and territories the authority to set their own approval process, and in practice they also file supports under different tiers. Extra time is a good example. The national guide does not list it in any tier, and the three provinces we checked do not agree on where it belongs:

• Ontario: TVO ILC lists extra time as an accommodation, along with stop-the-clock supervised breaks, a reader or scribe, and braille.
• Manitoba: the province's request form lists extended time and additional breaks as possible accommodations, which it ties to a medically diagnosed condition or extenuating circumstances.
• Saskatchewan: the province lists extended writing time and additional breaks as special arrangements, and notes that availability may vary by location.

Provincial rules can also be stricter than the guide. Manitoba's form and Saskatchewan's page both list a calculator on Math Part I as not permitted, even though the national guide allows it as an approved accommodation. Never promise a learner a specific support. Tell them what the guide allows, then check with the provincial provider.

Who decides, and how long it takes

Each province or territory names at least one CAEC jurisdictional administrator, and that person approves accommodations. Testing centres deliver the supports once they are approved. The learner, not the instructor, is responsible for working with the testing centre or province to complete the request, and can flag an accommodation request in the digital platform when booking.

Under the guide, decisions are made within 60 days of the date all documentation is received. The clock starts when the file is complete, not when the learner first asks. Provinces add their own steps:

• Ontario: requests go through the learner's CAEC Portal, under Accommodations Request, with documents uploaded there. TVO says the learner can only schedule a test once a CAEC team member has reviewed the request.
• Saskatchewan: accommodation requests must be made 60 days before the scheduled test, using the province's request form.
• Manitoba: staff contact the learner within 5 business days to set up a phone appointment, and decisions are processed within 30 business days of receiving all required documents.

For every other province and territory, have the learner ask their CAEC provider directly. Our registration by province guide lists who runs the test where.

If the answer is no: a learner who is denied an accommodation can appeal directly to the jurisdictional administrator. Help them read the decision carefully. If it points to missing information, a fuller letter from a professional may strengthen the appeal.

What is never allowed

The guide is blunt here. A dictionary, thesaurus, or translator is not a universal support, special arrangement, or accommodation for the Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, and Reading tests, and is not permitted under any circumstance.

This matters most in settlement and EAL programs. If a learner leans on a translation app during practice, start weaning them off it early, because no request will get it approved for test day. The tests are offered in English or French, so a learner who is stronger in French may be better served by writing in French. Manitoba's form also rules out an interpreter to reword questions.

The guide's code of conduct also lists unauthorized assistive technology as misconduct. If a learner relies on their own assistive technology, raise it with the provider as part of the request rather than bringing it on test day.

What you can do: a checklist for instructors

In week 1: spot learners who may qualify

Make these questions part of your intake conversation, asked privately and without pressure:

• Did you have an IEP, extra time, or a scribe in school?
• Has a doctor, psychologist, or other professional ever assessed your learning, vision, hearing, or attention?
• Do you have a health condition that affects how long you can sit, focus, or write?
• How do you find reading on a screen for an hour or more?

Then watch the first timed practice. A learner who finishes a third of the questions, rereads every line, or needs to stand up every twenty minutes is telling you something.

Help gather documentation

Requirements vary, so use your province's list. Ontario's is a useful model of what a strong file looks like. TVO accepts an IEP from an Ontario school or a psycho-educational report, or a letter from a qualified professional on official letterhead, dated and signed, describing the needs and their impact on the test, with recovery timelines for temporary conditions.

• Help the learner request old school records early. Archives can be slow.
• If the learner needs a new letter, help them book the appointment and bring a short note listing the CAEC tests and their timing, so the professional can describe the impact on the test specifically.
• Documents in another language: the guide requires certified translation for ID that is not in English or French, at the candidate's cost. It says nothing specific about medical or school reports, so ask the provider before the learner pays for a translation.

Start the request well before the test date

Work backward. If documents take a month to collect and the decision can take up to 60 days after that, a learner who needs an accommodation should start roughly three months before the date they hope to test. Special arrangements may need less lead time, but they must be requested before the test, and the guide tells candidates to contact their province before booking.

Practise with the supports they will actually have

• Teach every learner the universal supports by name, so on test day they know a line reader and a zoom tool are there. Ask your testing centre whether a demo of the platform is available.
• Run practice in the format of the real sitting: on a screen for digital, on paper for paper.
• If a scribe or reader is approved, rehearse with one. Dictating a persuasive response is its own skill. Our lesson on planning and outlining under time helps learners plan before they speak.
• Prepare everyone for Math Part I without a calculator, even if a request is pending. Start with fractions and mixed numbers and order of operations, and see our Math Part I guide.

Prepare for paper vs digital differences

The guide calls the digital platform the ideal form of administration. On paper, the built-in tools disappear, and the guide lists large print and coloured overlays or paper as special arrangements for paper tests instead. Paper answers for Reading, Math, Science, and Social Studies are entered into the platform by centre staff, and the guide warns that this carries some potential for discrepancies. If a learner is going to write on paper, request any paper-specific arrangements at the same time. Our post on digital and paper sittings covers the basics.

Sources

The tiers, decision timeline, appeal route, and prohibited aids come from the CAEC Test Administration Guide (sections 2.3, 2.4, 3.3, 3.4, 3.8, 3.10, and 5). Provincial details come from these official pages, checked in October 2026.

• TVO ILC: CAEC accommodations (Ontario)
• Government of Manitoba: CAEC Special Arrangement or Accommodation Request Form
• Government of Saskatchewan: Canadian Adult Education Credential