Accessibility in New Quizzes

Get accessibility support

Users with accessibility concerns may contact carmen@osu.edu. eLearning Support staff will coordinate with the appropriate group to arrange accommodations.

Users with existing relationships with Student Life Disability Services can contact their Access Specialist for assistance with New Quizzes. The eLearning Support Team can work with the accessibility specialists to provide additional training and technical support for the tool.

New Quizzes is available to allow users and programs to become familiar with the tool and provide plenty of time to make the transition from Classic Quizzes. The use of New Quizzes is not required at this time but is being made available to allow users and programs to become familiar with the tool and provide plenty of time to make the transition from Classic Quizzes. Learn more about the transition timeline.

The vendor is still finalizing the feature set, leaving potential gaps in the accessibility of the tool. They are aware of these issues and are actively working on improvements and updates. It is the responsibility of instructors to ensure that all assessments used in a course are accessible. Consider adding the below statement to your quizzes to help direct students needing accommodations.

Students who anticipate any accessibility issue with this exam should seek assistance prior to starting the exam by contacting their Access Specialist at Student Life Disability Services, the Carmen team at carmen@osu.edu or the Accessibility Help Line at 614-292-5000. For more information read the Accessibility in New Quizzes resource guide.

The following are areas where accessibility issues could impact a user’s ability to create or engage with an assessment in New Quizzes and should be carefully considered when using New Quizzes.

Images and multimedia

The Hot Spot Question type is not accessible and should not be used unless suitable exceptions or alternatives are in place. While the tool warns instructors of this when the question type is selected, the notice itself lacks sufficient color contrast and is easily missed.

Image-based questions

Questions that rely on images for the question stem or possible answers cannot meet Accessibility Standards. Typically, another question format can and must be used to effectively assess the same knowledge and skills. In the rare instances when the concept and skills can only be measured with an inaccessible question type (e.g.; hotspot) or images in the question stem or answers, please contact the ADA Coordinators Office at accessibility@osu.edu.

Any image added to assessments should include appropriate alternative (alt) text in order to provide context for students using screen readers and other assistive technology. In many cases, alt text word limitations may not allow for enough information for the student to be able to answer the question appropriately or too much detail could give away the answer. Therefore, careful consideration should be given to image-based questions regardless of the question type used in the assessment (Multiple Choice, Fill-in-the blank, Matching, Ordering, etc.). Alternative assessments for image-based exams may be necessary to meet Minimum Digital Accessibility Standards. (This applies to both Classic and New Quizzes)

Videos and other multi-media content added to assessments in New Quizzes have the same accessibility requirements as all course content.

Built-in calculator

The optional built-in scientific calculator tool in New Quizzes does not provide visual focus when launched or closed. It also does not resize properly for mobile interfaces. Given these issues, requiring the use of the built-in calculator for assessments in New Quizzes should be avoided until the issue is fully resolved by the vendor. If a calculator is needed on an assessment, instructors should either allow for external calculators or use the Classic Quizzes tool for the assessment at this time.

Tables

Tables within New Quizzes lack the HTML markup needed to define the relationship between header and data cells. We recommend that tables be avoided within New Quizzes assessments. Tables, if used, should be simple and avoid complex structures as those with screen readers or other assistive technologies may find them difficult to navigate.

Question response fields

The response fields for several question types are not always labeled in a useful or instructive way. Specifically, the File Upload, Fill-in-the-Blank, Matching, and Ordering question types lack an understandable connection between the question’s content and the offered response field. This potentially makes it difficult for students using screen readers and other assistive technologies to answer questions without added support through detailed textual instructions. It is important to carefully consider the instructions you provide your students on assessments to ensure students understand how you expect these questions to be answered. Instructions should not be reliant on visual cues alone.

In addition, we recommend that assessments be developed using Universal Design for Learning (UDL) best practices to achieve the highest level of functionality and the best user experience for the widest audience possible.

Safari web browser

When using Safari to create a New Quizzes assessment, creators using screen readers or other assistive technology should be aware that the Multiple Choice or Formula question types provide inaccurate navigational focus. There are no known issues for test takers using Safari.