MCAP Testing Accommodations: What Maryland Parents Need to Know About IEP and 504 Assessment Rights

The Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) is the state's primary standardized testing system for grades 3 through 8 and high school. For students with disabilities, MCAP is not a one-size-fits-all experience. Maryland law requires that students with IEPs and 504 plans receive documented accommodations during state assessments — but only if those accommodations are properly recorded, match what the student uses in daily instruction, and meet the state's eligibility criteria.

This is where many families run into problems. The accommodations your child receives during daily classroom instruction don't automatically translate to MCAP. Each accommodation must be explicitly documented in the IEP or 504, captured in a Personal Needs Profile (PNP), and must satisfy the Maryland Assessment, Accessibility, and Accommodations Policy Manual (MAAAM) criteria. Getting this wrong can mean your child takes a high-stakes state assessment without the supports they are entitled to — and need — to demonstrate what they actually know.

The Three-Tier System: Accessibility Features vs. Accommodations

MSDE's MAAAM categorizes student supports during MCAP into three distinct tiers. Understanding these tiers is critical, because they determine who can use what — and what needs to be documented in an IEP or 504.

Tier 1: Accessibility Features — Available to All Students These are tools and supports available to every student without any documentation requirement. Examples include: adjusting screen contrast, using a scratch pad, zoom and magnification features in the online testing platform, line reader tools, and text-to-speech for science and mathematics. Any student can use these during MCAP.

Tier 2: Selected Accessibility Features — Requires Advance Designation These features are available to all students, but must be identified in advance via the student's testing platform profile. They cannot be spontaneously activated on test day. Examples include: color contrast settings, answer masking, and print-on-demand for online tests. These do not require an IEP or 504 — any student can be designated to use them — but they must be set up ahead of time.

Tier 3: Accommodations — Restricted to Students with IEPs, 504 Plans, or EL Plans These accommodations are restricted to students with documented disabilities or English Language plans. They can only be used during MCAP if they are formally listed in the student's IEP or 504 plan, are identified in the student's Personal Needs Profile in the testing system, and are part of the student's regular instructional routine. Examples include: extended time (1.5x or 2.0x), human reader (for ELA under strict print-disability criteria), text-to-speech for ELA, ASL video, scribe, calculator accommodations beyond standard, and specialized response methods (e.g., large-print test forms).

The Personal Needs Profile: What It Is and Why It Matters

The Personal Needs Profile (PNP) is the mechanism MSDE uses to formally record each student's designated accessibility features and accommodations in the MCAP testing platform. Think of it as the bridge between your child's IEP or 504 and what actually appears on their testing screen on test day.

The PNP must be completed by school staff before testing begins, based on the accommodations documented in the IEP or 504. Parents should request a copy of their child's PNP before state testing windows open and verify that every accommodation in the IEP or 504 is correctly reflected.

Common PNP errors that parents should watch for:

• An accommodation is listed in the IEP but not entered in the PNP (so it's unavailable on test day)
• The accommodation in the PNP doesn't exactly match the IEP language (e.g., IEP says "extended time" but doesn't specify 1.5x or 2.0x — the testing platform requires a specific multiplier)
• A new accommodation was added to the IEP mid-year but the PNP was never updated

If you discover a PNP error before testing, contact your child's IEP chair or 504 coordinator immediately and get the correction in writing.

The Critical Rule: Instructional Use Must Come First

Maryland's most important MCAP accommodation rule is one that catches parents off guard: accommodations cannot be introduced for the first time during state testing. An accommodation must be regularly used during daily instruction and classroom assessments before it can be applied to MCAP.

This means that if your child's IEP is updated in March to add a text-to-speech accommodation right before the spring MCAP window, the school is not required to provide that accommodation on the MCAP — because the student hasn't been using it in instruction. The accommodation must be woven into daily classroom practice first.

The practical implication: review your child's IEP or 504 accommodations at the beginning of the school year, or well before any annual review, and confirm that the accommodations listed are actually being used daily. If teachers are not providing them, the accommodations won't count for MCAP.

Key MCAP Accommodations for Students with IEPs

Extended Time. One of the most commonly requested accommodations. The MAAAM permits 1.5x and 2.0x extended time for eligible students. The specific multiplier must be documented in the IEP (not just "extended time" generally). Some IEPs say "time and a half" — verify that this is translated to "1.5x" in the PNP.

Text-to-Speech for ELA. Text-to-speech for reading passages in English Language Arts is one of the most restricted accommodations on MCAP. It is only available to students with documented print disabilities (typically severe dyslexia, visual impairment, or other conditions that prevent standard print access). MSDE requires schools to complete a thorough process outlined in Appendix D of the MAAAM, including evidence that the student has a genuine print disability and that text-to-speech is used regularly in ELA instruction. Schools frequently resist providing this accommodation; pushing for it requires strong documentation from the IEP team and sometimes from an independent evaluator.

Human Reader. Available for mathematics and science for students who need oral administration. In ELA, it is similarly restricted to documented print disabilities. Must be documented in the IEP or 504 and used in daily instruction.

ASL Video. Available for students who are deaf or hard of hearing and use American Sign Language. The ASL video is presented alongside the English text for assessment items and must be designated in the PNP.

Scribe. For students who cannot write by hand or type independently due to a physical or learning disability (e.g., dysgraphia). Must be used routinely in instruction and documented in the IEP.

Maryland Alternate Assessment: The DLM

Not every student with a disability takes the standard MCAP. Students with the most significant cognitive disabilities may be eligible for the Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM) Alternate Assessment, which measures student achievement against Maryland's Alternate Academic Achievement Standards rather than standard grade-level expectations.

DLM eligibility is narrowly defined. A student qualifies only if:

1. The student has a significant cognitive disability
2. The student's IEP team has determined that standard assessments, even with maximum accommodations, are not appropriate
3. The student receives instruction aligned to Maryland's Alternate Academic Achievement Standards
4. The IEP team has documented the participation decision

DLM eligibility is not about academic performance level alone. A student who is performing two or three grade levels below peers but does not have a significant cognitive disability does not qualify for DLM. The decision belongs to the IEP team, documented annually in the IEP.

Participation in DLM has long-term implications. Students assessed on alternate achievement standards are generally working toward a Certificate of Program Completion rather than a standard Maryland High School Diploma. This distinction cannot be reversed easily. If your child's IEP team is recommending DLM, ask them to explicitly explain the connection to diploma pathway and long-term post-secondary goals.

What to Check in Your Child's IEP Right Now

If your child's IEP or 504 plan includes testing accommodations, do the following before the next MCAP window:

1. Pull out the IEP and read the accommodations section. Are all accommodations that your child uses daily actually listed? If a teacher is giving your child extended time informally but it's not in the IEP, it's not official and won't be allowed on MCAP.

2. Ask for the current PNP. Request a copy from the IEP chair or school assessment coordinator. Compare it line by line against the IEP accommodations.

3. Verify that accommodations are actually being used in instruction. Ask your child's teachers. If accommodations are being skipped in the classroom, address that immediately — both because your child isn't getting what they need and because instructional use is the prerequisite for MCAP use.

4. Confirm the DLM decision if relevant. If your child is taking the DLM, make sure the IEP documents the team's participation decision, the connection to alternate achievement standards, and the diploma/certificate pathway discussion.

The Maryland IEP & 504 Blueprint includes a MCAP accommodations checklist and guidance for requesting IEP amendments when accommodations have not been properly documented — giving you the tools to catch and fix these gaps before test day.

Accommodations vs. Modifications: The Distinction That Affects Graduation

The final critical distinction Maryland parents must understand is the difference between an accommodation and a modification — because getting this wrong has consequences that extend well past state testing into graduation eligibility.

Accommodations change how a student accesses or demonstrates learning without changing the learning standard itself. Extended time on the same grade-level test is an accommodation. Text-to-speech for the same grade-level reading passage is an accommodation. The standard hasn't changed.

Modifications change what the student is expected to learn or the complexity of the content itself. Giving a 5th grader a 2nd-grade reading passage on a state assessment isn't an accommodation — it's a modification that changes the achievement standard.

Extensive use of modifications moves a student toward Maryland's Certificate of Program Completion rather than a standard High School Diploma — and that decision cannot be reversed until the student's senior year under COMAR 13A.03.02.09. IEP teams sometimes introduce modifications without making this consequence explicit to families. Ask specifically: are we providing accommodations, or are we modifying the academic standard? The answer matters enormously for your child's future.

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