Stanford
Office of Accessible Education

Exam Accommodations: Distraction-Reduced Seating

Faculty, lecturers, and TAs: If you need assistance in scheduling rooms for private and/or distraction-reduced testing accommodations, please work with your departmental student services staff. Another resource is 25Live, which can be used  to request classrooms and space(s) on campus; 25Live can be accessed at scheduling.stanford.edu.

 

The Office of Accessible Education (OAE) understands that conference rooms, seminar spaces, and lecture halls vary greatly by square footage, seating capacity, and seating arrangements. In an effort to maximize the limited space available for accommodated exams, we have renamed and reframed our definition of “distraction-reduced” exam rooms. The operational rule of thumb for a distraction-reduced testing environment is one third the seating capacity of a room to provide students with adequate space while reducing distractions. All locations listed in 25Live provide the seating capacity on the website; however, we understand this may not be true for all potential testing spaces on campus. 

NOTE: when a room is used for exams, count only seats at a table or with tablet arms.

Please find a list of sample seating configurations using the new seating framework to identify how many (or few) students may sit for exams in a given space. The OAE is always available to consult should instructors have questions about a specific space. 

Conference Table

Seating capacity: 6

Distraction-reduced testing capacity: 2

Six chairs around a racetrack table; two alternating chairs are highlighted in cardinal.

Square Table

Seating capacity: 8

Distraction-reduced testing capacity: 2

Square table with two chairs in front of each side; two alternating chairs are highlighted in cardinal.

Curved End Table

Seating capacity: 10

Distraction-reduced testing capacity: 3

Curved end conference table with four chairs on each side and one chair at each end; three alternating chairs are highlighted in cardinal.

Boat-Shaped Table

Seating capacity: 12

Distraction-reduced testing capacity: 4

Boat-shaped table with four chairs on each side and two chairs at each end; four alternating chairs are highlighted in cardinal.

Box Configuration of Tables

Seating capacity: 14

Distraction-reduced testing capacity: 4

Box configuration of tables with four chairs on the long sides and three chairs on the short sides; four alternating chairs are highlighted in cardinal.

Rectangular Configuration of Tables

Seating capacity: 16

Distraction-reduced testing capacity: 5

Rectangular configuration of tables with six chairs along each side and two chairs at each end; five alternating chairs are highlighted in cardinal.

Classroom Configuration of Tables

Seating capacity: 18

Distraction-reduced testing capacity: 6

Classroom configuration with three rows of two tables each; each table has three chairs and one chair at each table is highlighted in cardinal.

Small Lecture Hall with Chevron Rows

Seating capacity: 49

Distraction-reduced testing capacity: 16

Small lecture hall in a chevron configuration of 49 seats; 16 alternating seats are highlighted in cardinal.

Lecture Hall Configuration

Seating capacity: 72

Distraction-reduced testing capacity: 24

Lecture hall with nine rows totaling 72 seats; 24 alternating seats are highlighted in cardinal.