Accessibility often gets treated as an exception — a list of accommodations applied to specific students after the fact. A better frame is to design tests so fewer students need accommodations in the first place.
Here's what that looks like on a paper assessment.
Font, size, and spacing
Small print and dense layouts are a common failure point. Guidelines:
- 12-point minimum for body text; 14-point is better
- Sans-serif fonts (Arial, Verdana) read faster than serif (Times New Roman) for many students with dyslexia
- Generous line spacing — 1.5x minimum; double-spaced is even better
- Short line lengths — about 10–12 words per line; long lines cause students to lose their place
PaperScorer's templates handle most of this by default, but it's worth checking if you're importing from older Word documents.
Answer sheet clarity
On the bubble sheet itself:
- Bubbles should be clearly labeled with A/B/C/D
- Question numbers should be visually distinct from the bubbles
- White space between rows reduces miscoding
- Avoid forcing students to flip between pages for questions and answers
Reading load vs. content load
Ask: is this test measuring what I think it's measuring, or is it measuring reading ability?
For non-reading subjects (math, science, history), long reading-heavy question stems can accidentally convert your math test into a reading test. For English learners or students with reading difficulties, that's a serious bias.
Read the test from the student's perspective
Read each question as if you had 60 seconds per item and a reading rate one grade level below your students. If any item leaves you guessing what's being asked, rewrite.
Common accommodations that are easy to enable
Extended time. On paper tests, this is logistical — you don't need anything special in the test itself, just schedule accordingly.
Reduced choices. For students with an accommodation, you can provide a modified version with 3 answer choices instead of 4. PaperScorer lets you generate alternate versions without rebuilding the test.
Large print. Print a large-format version from the same PDF. No new setup required.
Audio/read-aloud. For paper tests, read-aloud is typically administered by a proctor or aide. Design tests that work for both audio and silent reading — avoid visual-only cues like highlighting or color-coding critical information.
Mark directly on the test. Some students do better if they can circle answers on the question paper first, then transfer to the bubble sheet at the end. Allow this.
Color and contrast
If your test uses color at all (charts, diagrams, highlighted text):
- Never rely on color alone to convey meaning — add shape, pattern, or label
- Print in black and white when possible — verify the test still reads cleanly
- Check contrast — dark text on light background, ideally black on white; avoid light gray on white
About 8% of male students and 0.5% of female students have some form of color vision deficiency. If your test hinges on distinguishing red from green, you've just created a test bias.
Writing space
For written response questions, give enough room. Cramped answer boxes disadvantage students with larger handwriting or motor difficulties. If you're uncertain, err on the side of more space — you can always scan the written responses separately.
Quick accessibility audit
- 12pt+ sans-serif font, generous line spacing
- Clear question numbering and answer bubble labels
- Reading load proportional to the content being tested
- No color-only information
- Enough writing space for every student
- Printed cleanly in black and white
- Question stems readable independently of surrounding context
Accessibility as a baseline, not a fix
The best accommodations are the ones that don't get noticed — because the test was designed to work for everyone from the start. Run the audit above on your next test. Most teachers catch at least one change worth making, and the test becomes more useful for every student, not just those with specific accommodations.
