GradeThread

Accessibility Statement

Effective date: April 1, 2026

Pearson Media LLC is committed to making GradeThread and FlipDesk accessible to everyone, including people who use assistive technologies. This commitment applies to both our web application and our native iOS application. We aim to conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, Level AA.

Last reviewed: June 2026.

1. Standards we follow

Our accessibility program is documented in a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT® 2.5 INT) — an Accessibility Conformance Report covering, in a single document:

  • WCAG 2.1 Level A and Level AA (the W3C standard referenced by the ADA).
  • Revised Section 508 (U.S. — 36 CFR Part 1194).
  • EN 301 549 (EU accessibility requirements for ICT).

Our VPAT / Accessibility Conformance Report is available to customers and procurement teams on request — email [email protected].

2. Measures we take

  • Semantic HTML, landmarks, labeled form controls, and accessible names on icon-only controls.
  • Full keyboard operability with visible focus indicators; focus is trapped and restored correctly in dialogs.
  • Color is never the sole means of conveying status or information — we pair color with text, icons, or shapes.
  • Color-contrast targets that meet AA (≥ 4.5:1 for normal text) in both light and dark themes.
  • Respect for reduced-motion preferences and a full dark theme.
  • Automated accessibility checks (axe and a build-blocking accessibility linter) run in our CI pipeline on every change, supplemented by manual review.

3. Accessibility on iOS

The GradeThread iOS app is built to work with Apple's accessibility features. It supports:

  • VoiceOver — labeled controls, grouped elements, and spoken announcements for results so the app can be explored with gestures, a keyboard, braille, or speech output.
  • Voice Control — control names match their on-screen labels so you can tap, swipe, and type by voice.
  • Larger Text (Dynamic Type) — text scales to 200% and beyond, with no artificial size cap.
  • Dark Interface — a full dark color scheme that follows your system setting.
  • Differentiate Without Color — key information such as grade tiers and statuses use shapes and text in addition to color.
  • Sufficient Contrast — colors include high-contrast variants that respond to the Increase Contrast setting.
  • Reduced Motion — animations are reduced or removed when Reduce Motion is enabled.

Our app does not contain pre-recorded audio or video content, so Captions and Audio Descriptions do not apply.

4. Conformance status

GradeThread is partially conformant with WCAG 2.1 AA: the large majority of the product meets the standard, and we are actively remediating the remaining gaps. Automated testing covers a meaningful subset of success criteria; we supplement it with manual review and, on iOS, an automated accessibility audit in our test suite.

5. Known limitations

Despite our efforts, some areas may not yet be fully accessible:

  • Downloadable condition-grade certificate PDFs are not yet fully tagged (PDF/UA); the equivalent online certificate page is accessible and provides the same information.
  • Some complex data grids (e.g. the bulk inventory editor) are still being refined for complete screen-reader and keyboard parity.
  • Some third-party embedded components (payment, analytics) are outside our direct control; we choose accessible vendors where possible.
  • User-generated images may lack descriptive alt text supplied by the uploader; we provide photo-type labels (front, back, label, detail) as accessible names.

6. Feedback and remediation

If you encounter an accessibility barrier, please tell us — we treat accessibility reports as a priority and will work with you on an accommodation. Contact [email protected] and include the page or screen, the issue, and the assistive technology you use. We aim to acknowledge reports within 5 business days.

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