2.5 Create Accessible Assessments
For more on accessibility, see also Chapter 3: UDL & Best Practices for Technology-Enabled Learning.
Challange
Do you want to create assessments that not only include all learners but also give them the greatest chance to of success by fostering autonomy and a personal connection to course concepts?
If your assessment plan includes print-based exams or assignments, you’ll want to ensure these do not pose barriers for any students and that you represent assessment instructions and content in a variety of ways.
Consider how Kasha’s assessment experience (from the Three Assessment Experiences seen earlier) would have improved had her exam been formatted for access with speech-to-text software.
Accessibility Guidelines for Assessments
1. Assessment context is consistent with learning context
Kasha was able to use her screen-reading software to access online readings, LMS notes and study guides, but she did not have effective access to the exam.
Other factors to consider when making assessment and learning contexts consistent are the allowable supports such as calculators, formula sheets, notes, and online resources. If students learned a concept through tactile means, they should be given the opportunity to demonstrate their learning in the same way. If students worked together in groups on learning activities, consider group assessments. In addition to considering allowable supports, think about how students’ personal identities and cultural contexts are reflected in both learning and assessment. Consider providing flexible formats for assessments that allow students to express their knowledge through methods that resonate with their personal and cultural backgrounds (e.g., oral presentations, video submissions, or artistic expressions).
- What role does time play in learning activities and assessments?
- If completing exam questions in a certain amount of time is construct relevant, do students have opportunities to practice with the same time pressures?
2. Items are amenable to accommodations
The most common accommodation request for print-based exams is for access with screen-reading or text-to-speech tools. And, while there may be additional software-specific requirements for accessibility, the following sites are excellent resources to consult:
- Optimizing text for learning
- Guidelines for accessible information
- National Centre on Accessible Educational Materials: Audio-supported reading
- Inclusive Learning Design Handbook: Accessible standardized testing
🧩 Universally Designed Assessment (UDA) Tip #5: Move Beyond Technical Accommodations
Key Insight: Beyond addressing technical accommodations, assessments should also provide cognitive and emotional accommodations. By offering multiple ways for students to demonstrate understanding, assessments can affirm students’ identities and make the experience more engaging and accessible.
Example: Provide assessment choices that resonate with students’ personal, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds. For instance, allow students to include elements of their heritage or personal experiences in their work, creating a meaningful and authentic learning experience.
3. Simple, clear, and intuitive directions
When writing assessment directions, in addition to considering diverse backgrounds and language skills, explicitly state areas where students have autonomy. For example, provide instructions that outline options for how students can complete the assessment (e.g., written response, presentation, creative project), thereby empowering them to choose a format that aligns with their strengths and preferences. Again, by maintaining consistency between the assessment and learning contexts—learners should already have some familiarity with similar instructions from their learning activities, including formative assessments and practice tests. Within the assessment itself, it’s helpful to provide sample items, practice questions and scoring criteria. And make sure to sequence instruction steps in the exact order of occurrence.
4. Comprehensible language
- Use simple, clear, commonly used words, eliminating any unnecessary words
- Avoid jargon, idioms, or colloquialisms that may alienate students from diverse backgrounds. Where possible, provide examples or contexts that reflect a range of cultural perspectives to make the assessment more relevant and accessible to all students.
- When technical terms must be used, be sure they are clearly defined
- Break compound complex sentences down into several short sentences, stating the most important idea first
- Introduce one idea, fact, or process at a time; then develop the ideas logically
- Make all pronoun relationships clear
- When time and setting are important to the sentence, place them at the beginning of the sentence
- If processes are being described in the question stem, make sure they are simply illustrated, labelled, and placed close to the text they support
5. Maximum legibility
- Avoid grey scale and shading, particularly where pertinent information is provided
- Use culturally responsive imagery or visuals where appropriate, ensuring that students see themselves reflected in the materials they are engaging with.
- To increase the readability for a wider range of persons, increase font size to 14-point
- Make sure type size for captions, footnotes, keys and legends is at least 12 point
- Use standard typeface or boldface as opposed to all caps or italics
- Avoid font styles that are decorative or cursive
Guidelines adapted from Ofiesh, Rojas & Ward; 2006, p. 177.
Reflection: 1 Small Step
What is one thing you can adapt in your assessments that would make them more accessible for all learners?
A document that outlines and aligns learning outcomes with course assessments and includes descriptions of the assessment methods and tools.
Providing equal opportunity for learners to acquire information, engage in activities and interactions, demonstrate understanding, and enjoy the same services through proactive design approaches. This can also encompass practices of web accessibility, which is the inclusive practice of ensuring there are no barriers that prevent interaction with, or access to, websites on the World Wide Web (as examples, by people with physical disabilities, situational disabilities, and socio-economic restrictions on bandwidth and speed).
