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Designing a Test with Accessibility in Mind

Testing organizations have a legal obligation to provide a broad range of test accommodations, based on the 2008 amendment to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). However, an exam program with a more proactive stance may choose to undertake a universal design approach to test development. In this approach, the exam is designed in advance so the need for after-the-fact accommodations is minimized, as the basic exam is made accessible to the widest range of individuals possible.

An exam designed for accessibility will provide support for many modest candidate needs that do not reach the level of requiring legal accommodation. For example, many test-takers have minor vision issues that mean they would benefit from control over font size and color contrasts, even without an accommodated exam form.

When an exam program elects to make the exam more accessible, additional item and test development steps may be needed. For example, item writers may be asked to provide brief, or long, descriptions of all images used in items. These descriptions can be included in the QTI coding for the exam and when a candidate with low vision uses screen reader software to take the exam, the descriptions are read aloud. When innovative item types are included on an exam, there may be specific challenges to accessibility. For example, captions will often be needed for video clips, and complex item interfaces will need careful design to be usable when viewed through a screen magnifier.

To read more about designing an accessible test, Click Here

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