Cognitive Assessment accommodations

Before administering the PI Cognitive Assessment (“CA”), our clients often wonder how to approach accommodations. From neurodiversity to physical disabilities, there’s a wide range of respondents who may take the Cognitive Assessment, each with different needs. A client may want to make sure they’re equipped to support someone with disabilities, or the client may be curious about how to comply with legal requirements.

Clients should feel comfortable using the Cognitive Assessment with most populations, including those of individuals with disabilities. If an assessment taker’s disability requires an accommodation in order for them to take the CA, clients are encouraged to provide such accommodations as appropriate. Most accommodations will not change the validity or interpretations of the results. 

The PI Cognitive Assessment supports extended time versions, which you can use to help provide reasonable accommodations. In this article, we’ll share recommendations on when to use an extended time version, plus other potential accommodations you might consider.

Can I administer the Cognitive Assessment to respondents who need accommodations?

Clients should feel comfortable using the Cognitive Assessment with most populations, including those of individuals with disabilities. If an assessment taker’s disability requires an accommodation in order for them to take the CA, clients are encouraged to provide such accommodations as appropriate. Most accommodations will not change the validity or interpretations of the results. 

Additionally, clients should be familiar with their country and region’s legal requirements for providing accommodations and be prepared for the types of accommodations that may be needed.

Why might an assessment taker need an accommodation?

Assessment takers may request accommodations for a number of reasons; however, for any assessment, test administrators have a responsibility to minimize irrelevant factors that might impact the results. For example, you wouldn’t administer an achievement test during a fire alarm, since it would distract the assessment takers. Similarly, when administering assessments to assessment takers with disabilities, test users should know whether the assessment is appropriate for people who have that disability, and if so, whether there are any aspects of the test design or administration that might affect the respondent’s score because of the disability. 

Assessments takers may require specific accommodations. In the case of the Cognitive Assessment, we provide extended time options that can be administered via our software. However, test users should remember that some assessment takers may need multiple accommodations (as opposed to just extended time), such as a quiet space to complete the assessment or a pencil and paper to help them work through information.

When are accommodations needed?

Nearly all industry standards or professional guidelines for assessment development mandate that assessment takers be provided with reasonable accommodations or alternative evaluation procedures to minimize irrelevant score variance and invalid decision-making. Examples of such standards include:

• The Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, National Council on Measurement in Education) 
• Principles for the Validation and Use of Personnel Selection Procedures (Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology) 
• Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) 

When considering the appropriate use of the PI Cognitive Assessment, it is important to remember that this assessment should only be considered a single data point in the decision-making process. The results of the CA can be valid input for many selection decisions; however, the results are not intended to be used in isolation. Test users should consider a variety of inputs based on their specific use case and the requirements of the job (e.g., resume review, interviews, PI Behavioral Assessment results). 

In countries, like the United States, where it is impermissible to ask about disabilities prior to employment, it is primarily the responsibility of the assessment taker to inform the administrator if they believe they need a “reasonable accommodation” to complete assessments. Because many assessment takers are not aware of their right to ask for a reasonable accommodation, administrators should proactively inform them.

For instance, an administrator might say: “One of the assessments you will be completing is a timed cognitive ability assessment. If you believe you may need an accommodation or you are unsure, please inform me before taking the assessment.” 

In countries where potential employers are permitted to ask about disabilities prior to hiring a person, it is crucial that clients discuss with the candidate whether the disability may affect the assessment.

What accommodations might be needed for the Cognitive Assessment? 

In cases where a disability might prevent the respondent from understanding the content of the assessment, use of that particular assessment is not recommended.

At a very high level, one can consider three categories of disabilities: 

• Physical or sensory disabilities
• Psychological disabilities
• Cognitive disabilities

One can also consider their interactions with three aspects of PI’s assessments:

• Context
• Content
• Response

Context 

Context refers to the conditions under which the assessment is administered, as well as aspects of the assessment design, such as instructions and language format. Common context accommodations for assessments may include things like extended time, private testing rooms, extra resources, or special equipment like screen magnifiers.

The PI Cognitive Assessment is a 12-minute timed assessment. There are also 18-minute (time-and-a-half) and 24-minute (double-time) versions of the assessment. The process for requesting and determining requirements for extra time will vary by company, locality, and country.

Content 

The PI Cognitive Assessment contains questions that evaluate numerical, verbal, and abstract reasoning. The questions that measure abstract reasoning involve recognizing patterns or differences in shapes on screen. Accordingly, the PI Cognitive Assessment is not appropriate to use with assessment takers with visual impairment severe enough that it would prevent them from recognizing the shapes on a screen. Alternative selection procedures should be used for such candidates.

Response 

There may be situations where a disability makes it difficult for an assessment taker to provide their responses. For example, a respondent with a physical disability may not be able to input responses to the assessment on a computer. 

In certain conditions, some might wish to employ a human aid, such as a reader or a scribe to help the respondent take the assessment and record their responses. While this remains an option for the PI Behavioral Assessment, we do not recommend the use of readers or scribes for the PI Cognitive Assessment due to its timed nature, as well as the abstract reasoning questions.

If an assessment taker requires a reader or scribe, we recommend using alternative selection procedures instead of the PI Cognitive Assessment. As previously mentioned, the PI Cognitive Assessment is not appropriate for use with assessment takers with visual impairments that would preclude them from recognizing shape patterns on screen.

Conclusion 

The PI Cognitive Assessment is appropriate for the general adult population, including most populations of individuals with disabilities. Given that the assessment can be delivered on most devices without a proctor, most assessment takers are not expected to need any accommodations to take the CA. Nevertheless, test users are encouraged to explain to the assessment taker how the assessment is administered and proactively let them know that they may request reasonable accommodations in order to ensure that they are able to provide their responses and produce valid assessment results. Test users should be familiar with local and regional laws relating to disabilities, especially as they relate to employment and assessment.