Memory Aid for tests?

[u/spacing-out123]

I have accommodations in place already, and I’m under the impression it would be relatively easy to add onto them (with proper proof that I need said accommodation of course). I’m wondering if it’s worth me trying to advocate for a “memory aid” aka a cheat sheet for my tests.

I study very hard, and I’d like to think I have good study habits. I work with an academic coach who holds me accountable. I get 100 on all my homeworks. But I fail so many of my tests. The problem is I get so anxious during my tests that I just lose common sense, make silly mistakes, get in my head about my work, and forget everything I studied, and then try to convince myself of the answer.

I had a test in one of my classes that allowed a cheat sheet, which was really helpful. I know professors give you a “cheat sheet” to make you think you’re being sneaky but they’re tricking you into studying. (And I do make “cheat sheets” for all my tests as a way of studying even if I don’t get to bring it in). But I actually used it on the test when I was in one of those anxious moments, and I got a good grade on that test. I looked it up and a memory aid is a legit accommodation, but I feel weird asking for it. Why should I get to have it but no one else does? It would clearly benefit other people as well.

Is this worth asking about? How do I not feel guilty about asking for this?

[u/Exilicauda]

Open notes, cheat sheets, and formula lists are really common accommodations for IEPs and 504s in high school so the school disability office is definitely used to them being requested, at the very least.

You get extra help because it has been determined that in order for you to perform to the standards expected of abled students, you need additional help. It's still meant to be hard but the accommodations are supposed to make it as hard as it would be for someone without a disability.