Accessible Assessments: What Practitioners Need to Know

Wondering how to assess candidates with disabilities without causing harm or compromising test validity? You are not alone. Many practitioners want to do the right thing but feel uncertain about where to begin. Let’s unravel the complexity together.

This blog post series will translate the theory into real-life application, helping practitioners confidently navigate the wide range of accommodations available in assessment settings.

First off, what does the law prescribe?

Both the Mental Health Care Act No. 17 of 2002 and the Employment Equity Act No. 55 of 1998 and Amendments, advocate for a human-rights-based approach to assessing people with disabilities. The core principles outlined are:

• Non-discrimination and Ethical Practice

• Contextual Consideration: Consider an individual's educational, socio-economic, linguistic, and cultural background.

• Informed Consent: The person being assessed must fully understand the purpose, procedures, and how results and any accommodations will be used.

• Reasonable Accommodations: To ensure fairness, practitioners must provide reasonable accommodations.

• Transparency: Document all accommodations provided.

In addition to the above, what are some ethical considerations?

When providing accommodations for a psychometric assessment, there are several important ethical considerations that practitioners must navigate. These considerations ensure that the process remains fair, respectful, and maintains the integrity of the test.

• Maintaining Test Validity: Accommodations must not interfere with what the test intends to measure.

• Professional Competence and Judgment: Practitioners must have the skills and knowledge to assess individuals with disabilities appropriately — including understanding disability types, accommodation tools, and test limitations.

• Avoiding Bias and Stereotyping

• No assumptions. No shortcuts. Never rely on stereotypes about capabilities or functioning.

But what does it all mean, practically?

People with disabilities often already use assistive devices daily to function optimally, whether it is a device to help them reach for something, an ergonomically adapted chair or computer mouse, or software or an app solution such as a screen reader or magnifier. The goal of using assistive devices is to ensure that a person's disability doesn't unfairly affect their test results, allowing the assessment to accurately measure what it's supposed to.

1.) Assessments Without Barriers: Accommodations for visual impairment

Considerations and specific adjustments for candidates with visual impairment or disabilities such as blindness, low vision, and colour blindness may include:

• Screen Readers

• Braille displays

• Magnification software

• Large-print or Braille test materials

• Proper lighting

• Additional time

Let’s put all of the above into practice.

Scenario: You need to administer a cognitive ability test to a candidate who is visually impaired. The test is a computer-based assessment that includes sections with diagrams, charts, and text-based questions.

Step 1: Informed Consent

Have a conversation with the candidate about their specific needs and how they typically access digital information.

Step 2: Maintaining Test Validity

The key is to ensure the accommodations don't change the test's core purpose.

Step 3: Documentation and Transparency

Your report would need to clearly document the accommodations provided.

Step 4: Professional Competence and Judgment

Your role requires more than just knowing how to operate the software. You must understand how to interact respectfully and effectively with a person who is visually impaired..

2.) Assessments Without Barriers: Accommodations for hearing impairment

Considerations and specific adjustments for candidates with hearing impairment or disabilities such as deafness, low hearing, and speech disabilities may include:

Administrators should speak clearly and maintain eye contact to ensure effective communication.

• Sign language interpreters

• Written or text-based instructions

• One-on-one assessments

Let’s put all of the above into practice.

Scenario: You are administering a comprehensive psychometric assessment for a senior management position with a candidate with a hearing impairment. The assessment includes a series of cognitive tests and a structured interview to evaluate social and communication skills. The candidate is deaf and uses sign language to communicate. Here is how ethical principles would apply to ensure a fair and valid assessment.

Step 1: Informed Consent

Before the assessment begins, you would sit down with the interpreter and the candidate and clearly explain every part of the assessment process.

Step 2: Maintaining Test Validity

For the cognitive tests, you would ensure the instructions are delivered correctly via the interpreter. The key is to ensure the interpreter is a neutral party.

Step 3: Documentation and Transparency

Your final report must be completely transparent about how the assessment was conducted.

Step 4: Professional Competence and Judgment

Your professional judgment is critical. You must be comfortable working with a sign language interpreter and respect the communication process.

3.) Assessments Without Barriers: Accommodations for physical impairment

Considerations and specific adjustments for candidates with physical/motor impairments such as such as paralysis or physical challenges:

• An accessible environment

• Alternative input devices

• Scribes or readers

• Assistive technology

• Extended time

Let’s put all of the above into practice.

Scenario: You are administering a computer-based personality assessment to a candidate with a severe motor impairment, which prevents them from using a standard mouse and keyboard. The test is untimed, but it requires the candidate to click on a series of options to indicate their preferences or traits.

Step 1: Informed Consent

You would start by discussing the assessment and the available accommodations with the candidate. Since a standard keyboard and mouse won't work, you'd explain the alternatives.

Step 2: Maintaining Test Validity

Since this is a personality assessment and is not timed, using a head-controlled mouse or a scribe doesn't compromise the test's validity.

Step 3: Documentation and Transparency

Your final report must be transparent about the accommodation.

Step 4: Professional Competence and Judgment

Your professional judgment is essential for selecting the most appropriate accommodation. You might consult with the candidate to determine which method they are most comfortable with.

4.) Assessments Without Barriers: Accommodations for neurodivergence

Considerations and specific adjustments for candidates with learning impairments also known as neurodivergence, such as ADHD, autism, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, developmental coordination disorder, and Tourette’s Syndrome:

• Clear communication:

• Simplified instructions:

• Extended time:

• Breaks:

• Scribes or readers:

• Adjustments for sensory sensitivities:

• Use of personality questionnaires:

Let’s put all of the above into practice.

Scenario: You are tasked with administering a psychometric assessment to a job candidate who has dyslexia, a neurodiverse condition that primarily affects reading. The test includes a section that requires the candidate to read a long passage of text and then answer questions about it under a strict time limit. Let’s say a verbal ability assessment like the Verbatim, Interpretation subtest.

Step 1: Informed Consent

First, you would need to have a conversation with the candidate about their dyslexia and its potential impact on the assessment.

Step 2: Maintaining Test Validity

If the candidate chooses to have a reader, you must consider whether this accommodation compromises the test's validity.

Step 3: Documentation and Transparency

After the assessment, your report would need to be completely transparent. This is crucial for anyone else who later uses or interprets your report, ensuring they have the full context.

Step 4: Professional Competence and Judgment

Your professional judgment is vital throughout this entire process. You need to be knowledgeable about dyslexia and how it can affect test performance. You would also need to be skilled at explaining the accommodations clearly and in a non-stigmatising way.

To read about neurodiversity and how it relates to psychometric testing, please visit our website here.

In Conclusion:

Assessing individuals with disabilities is both a legal and ethical responsibility—and a human one. While the landscape can feel complex, the guiding principles remain simple: fairness, dignity, and accuracy. By grounding our practice in informed consent, appropriate accommodations, and transparent reporting, we ensure that assessments measure true ability rather than barriers.

This first article provided the legal and ethical foundations; the next parts in the series will move from theory to practice. In Part 2, we explore what our international assessment suppliers recommend, including WCAG alignment and test-specific accommodations. In Part 3, we bring it home by outlining the practical accommodations available on our OneJVR platform.