Consultation on designing and developing accessible assessments

We are keen to hear your views on this draft guidance for awarding organisations on producing accessible assessments – including exams. The wide range of Learners’ needs form the heart of the proposals, including those of disabled Learners.

The new guidance, intended to help awarding organisations design and develop accessible assessments and comply with our General Conditions of Recognition, will cover:

• how to avoid unnecessary burden on Learners when measuring the assessment construct
• how to use accessible language, within an accessible layout
• how to use source material, context, images and colour in an assessment
• how to design and develop assessments in a way that facilitates Reasonable Adjustments
• practices that may help awarding organisations make their assessments as accessible as possible

The proposed new guidance, if adopted, will form separate guidance within Section D of the General Conditions of Recognition. It will complement or replace guidance on relevant specified Conditions.

We are not making any changes to the Conditions themselves, so the obligations on awarding organisations are unchanged.

We welcome views on the content and the style of the proposed new guidance.