Assessing a Monologue Standard When a 504 Plan Collides With a Performance Requirement
You teach four sections of Introduction to Theatre at a 1,600-student high school, 32 students per section. The quarter summative is a 2–3 minute memorized monologue performed in front of the class, worth 40 percent of the quarter grade, scored on a four-point rubric: memorization, character objective, vocal variety, and physical choices. A ninth grader with a 504 plan for generalized anxiety disorder-accommodations include extended time, preferential seating, breaks, and a quiet space for tests-has attended every class, completed every written analysis, and rehearsed in pairs, but has twice refused to perform, saying she will 'vomit' in front of the class. Her mother supports the accommodation but wants the grade to reflect the standards; the assistant principal says the grade must be defensible. Two other students who saw her refuse are now asking to perform privately.
1. Design an alternative assessment pathway that preserves the validity of the rubric.
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Change the audience and setting, not the task or the criteria. The rubric measures memorization, objective, vocal variety, and physical choices-none of which requires 30 peers as spectators.
Options, in order of preference:
- Small-audience performance: the teacher plus two or three students the student chooses, in the black box or a classroom corner, filmed on a school device. All four rubric rows remain observable.
- Recorded performance: a single continuous take, submitted with a short live question-and-answer with the teacher about her character choices, so the teacher can confirm authorship and understanding.
- Scaffolded live performance: begin with the teacher alone, then add one peer; if she opts in, the class performance remains open to her.
Keep the same rubric, the same 2–3 minute length, and the same deadline window. Add a written reflection as an additional evidence source only if the rubric alone cannot capture her learning-do not substitute written work for the performance standard. This is an accommodation, not a lowered bar, which is exactly what the mother and the assistant principal need to hear.
2. Which accommodations are required versus good practice, and how do you handle the two other students?
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Required: a 504 plan requires reasonable accommodations that address the disability-related barrier. If the barrier is the size and composition of the audience, altering the audience is a reasonable accommodation; removing the performance entirely, or grading only written work, would modify the essential requirement and is not required. Document the 504 team's agreement and the rationale.
Good practice: offering the small-audience option as a routine alternative for any student, announced at the start of the next unit, so the pathway is a program design feature rather than a visible exception tied to one student's disability.
The two other students: do not disclose anything about the first student's plan. Respond to their request on its own merits-whether a private performance serves their learning goals-and decide using a consistent criterion. If you say yes now, offer it to the whole class for the next assessment, not just to the students who noticed. If you say no, explain that the class audience is part of the assignment's purpose and give them the rehearsal supports you give everyone.
3. What documentation and conversations do you need with the mother and the assistant principal?
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With the mother: a phone call, followed by email summarizing it. Cover the four rubric rows, what the alternative looks like, when it will occur, who will be present, and how the score will be computed. Confirm that the standard is unchanged and that she can review the recording. Ask whether the student's clinician has suggested any specific conditions-time of day, audience size, exit availability-that should shape the setting.
With the assistant principal: bring the 504 plan, the rubric, the proposed alternative, and a description of the two other students' requests. Ask for written confirmation that the alternative is defensible, so the grade is not relitigated later. Propose a 504 team check-in after the assessment.
Documentation: dated notes of both conversations, the student's rehearsal evidence, the recorded performance, and the scoring sheet with rubric comments. Keep the record factual and separate from any speculation about diagnosis. If the student still cannot perform in any format, refer back to the 504 team rather than assigning a zero unilaterally-a zero without a team decision is the outcome most likely to be challenged, and the least educational.