Paying for proof to get accommodations
- Topic
- Equity and access
- Kind
- Policy and health systems
Prompt
At your university, students need a professional assessment to receive extra time on exams, and a private assessment costs about $2,000. A classmate argues this means the accommodation mostly reaches students whose families can afford it. Is this fair, and what, if anything, should change?
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After you practice: what this question tests and how to approach it
What this question tests
- Critical thinking
- Ethical reasoning
- Health systems and advocacy
How to approach this question
This panel interview question tests whether you can see how a reasonable safeguard becomes a barrier to equity when it costs money, and propose changes that keep the safeguard working. Acknowledge why universities want an assessment, since it helps make sure extra time reaches the students who need it. Then name who is left out by a $2,000 price, such as students from low-income families and first-generation students. Weigh options such as university-funded assessments, sliding-scale fees, accepting evidence from lower-cost sources, or designing exams that need fewer individual accommodations, and name the risks of each, including misuse. Finish with a clear judgment on whether the current system is fair and the change you'd make first.
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