Working together to make an impact: accessibility and online proctoring
by Matt Robinson, Manager, Pearson VUE Accessibility Services and Greg Anderson, Senior Product Manager, OnVUE
Everyone should have the opportunity to learn, grow, and succeed. That’s why we’re committed to ensuring equitable access to testing — and that means developing products and services thoughtfully designed to meet the needs of all test-takers.
Test owners are always asking themselves, ‘‘What can we do to make our exams more accessible?” Likewise, as the global assessments leader, we’re on a continual mission — a shared mission — to remove barriers for people with disabilities. As Equal Accessibility®, a Disabled Owned company and a beacon in the realm of accessibility, explains: “accessibility standards continue to evolve….the emphasis is shifting from compliance to culture. In 2025 and beyond, businesses that embrace accessibility as a core value rather than an obligation will lead the way in creating a more inclusive world.”
Improving access and outcomes for individuals across all learning and assessment environments means supporting people wherever, whenever, and however they choose to take their exams. This includes taking exams remotely — via online proctoring. Collaboratively, we develop and maintain product roadmaps that track our progress toward meeting full accessibility standards.
Innovation meets accessibility
Many of today’s online-proctoring services come with very complicated technical requirements. This limits access for a lot of people. Over the last couple of years, our accessibility and product development teams have worked closely together to identify ways to improve the testing experience with OnVUE, our online-proctored solution.
Accessibility in online-proctored exams doesn’t just cover the design of the assessment platform, but also how that platform is implemented, and what tools are offered to accommodate candidates with diverse needs and disabilities. The end goal is that all candidates, regardless of their physical or cognitive abilities, can equally participate — and pass their exam.
A key part of our collective focus has been listening to feedback from candidates (and their testing programs), evaluating the functionality of various product features, and making enhancements to the ways in which users interact with OnVUE.
How do we design OnVUE to be accessible?
There are several ways in which we strive to make online-proctored exams more accessible:
· compliance with the latest accessibility standards (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 Levels A and AA)
· providing test accommodations or reasonable adjustments (on a case-by-case basis to those with a documented need)
· encouraging the use of always-available accessibility and assistive technology features — whenever possible
· supporting various assistive technologies for users with different accessibility requirements.
These areas are of course all interwoven. We’ll put the spotlight on the final point — how our teams have worked together to seamlessly integrate OnVUE with assistive technologies.
Our shared goals
· To ensure that candidates using assistive technologies can run a system test before their exam, access exam content, and navigate the OnVUE interface effectively — regardless of their abilities.
· To integrate assistive technologies such as screen readers, speech-to-text software, and alternative input devices — essential for supporting candidates with disabilities.
· To enhance the OnVUE testing experience for people who require assistive technologies to sit their exam.
How did we do it?
1. Ongoing collaboration between our teams — having a clear alignment around strategic goals and the future product roadmap.
2. Continuously monitoring changes in assistive technologies and user patterns.
3. Working with vendors to increase interoperability between assistive technology software and our test platforms.
4. Routinely testing assistive technologies against test platform components.
5. Better understanding the specific needs of people with disabilities by gathering regular feedback.
Notable developments
1. Enabling the use of assistive technologies during OnVUE system tests
We want candidates to feel comfortable and prepared on their exam day by allowing them to practice using their assistive technology — as many times as they need. Today, candidates can now use any assistive technology during their system test without needing an accommodation (an accommodation is still required for the exam).
2. Collaborating with test owners on accommodations for assistive technologies
Key to assistive technologies is finding appropriate tools that enhance the candidate’s ability to complete tasks that may otherwise be difficult or impossible. Whereas assistive technologies like adjustable font and color contrast are generally always allowed with OnVUE, it’s up to the individual test owner to determine which assistive technologies require an accommodation. Ongoing communication with test owners about the requirements of their candidates is vital.
3. Integrating eight assistive technologies with OnVUE
Our teams have collaborated to enable the use of several new assistive technologies with OnVUE. In addition to ZoomText and JAWS, we’ve added six more assistive technologies in the past few years: Dragon, Fusion, NVDA, Windows Magnifier, (Mac) Voiceover, and macOS: Zoom. We’re continuously working on researching new assistive technologies and testing them with our systems to expand the range of assistive technologies available with OnVUE.
4. Ensuring new OnVUE features are accessible
Improving outcomes for candidates who use assistive technologies requires a process of iterative feedback — from both the candidates and test owners. As previously noted, the
accessibility landscape is continually evolving. Our teams are transparent about the current accessibility status of our products as well as ongoing efforts to check for potential accessibility issues. So that new features are more accessible, we work to incorporate accessibility from the beginning of the design and development process.
The journey continues — together
Our commitment to providing an excellent experience for all test-takers doesn’t end with the goals noted above. We will continue to collaborate to use technology to improve learning and assessment outcomes for everyone. Only through tracking our progress and by having open, honest dialogues can we make a lasting impact. To find out more about OnVUE and our accessibility standards, please read our latest OnVUE Accessibility Conformance Report
