Assessment for Eligibility for Services and Accommodations

A learning disability is a persistent condition of presumed neurological dysfunction that continues despite instruction in standard classroom situations. A person with a learning disability has a significant processing deficit in one or more areas, such as memory, processing speed, verbal, non-verbal, reasoning, auditory, and visual-spatial skills. A learning disability can pose a history of challenges in learning academic subjects like reading, writing, or math.

A learning disability assessment is for a student who thinks s/he will need an academic accommodation in order to accurately reflect his/her knowledge of class materials at CCSF. For example, you may understand the material well but rarely have enough time to finish your tests. This could be for a variety of reasons. The assessment may show a learning profile in which extended test time is an appropriate academic accommodation for you.

A learning disability is not simply difficulty with a challenging subject, like higher-level science or math. Nor is it a psychological issue, such as test anxiety, or an attention or focus issue like ADHD. ADHD is a distinct neurological diagnosis, typically determined by a physician through a comprehensive behavioral history—not through aptitude or achievement testing. At California Community Colleges, our assessments determine eligibility for services and accommodations; we do not provide diagnoses or testing for those who are merely curious about their learning styles.