Accessible by Design: Reimagining Assessments with Universal Design for Learning

As education technology continues to shape how students learn, ensuring those tools are accessible and inclusive from the start is more important than ever. CAST partners with PreK-12 education technology solution providers to embed accessibility and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) into product design and development through hands‑on coaching, training, and technical guidance. This work supports teams in improving navigation and usability, aligning with accessibility standards, and strengthening their capacity to design and build products that serve a wide range of learners—laying the foundation for more inclusive learning experiences.

As the organization that developed the UDL framework and continues to lead its research and implementation including the CAST UDL Guidelines™, CAST brings a unique combination of expertise in learning design, accessibility, educational research, and systems of change. Through consultation, professional learning, coaching, and a collaborative community of practice, CAST experts worked alongside product leaders, instructional designers, researchers, and developers to help create assessment platforms that are accessible, inclusive, and designed to support learner variability from the start.

CAST’s multidisciplinary team includes experienced educators, researchers, instructional designers, professional learning specialists, and accessibility professionals, including staff certified by the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP). Together, the team can help organizations move beyond federal Title II compliance toward designing products to create meaningful assessment experiences that address learner variability. Critical to this process is supporting not only product developers and designers but cross functional teams including content leaders, professional learning providers and communication teams so that each organization is best prepared to highlight the power of inclusive design.

Key areas of support often include: 

• Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
• Accessibility Foundations and Standards
• Inclusive Co-Design and User Testing
• Accessible Communications and Marketing

On Designing for Accessibility from the Start

As part of this work, CAST has led stakeholder engagement efforts that brought together district leaders, educators, and assistive technology users to better understand how digital tools are selected, implemented, and experienced in real-world learning environments. Rather than relying on traditional focus group methods, the team applied UDL principles to the engagement process itself—creating flexible, accessible, and inclusive opportunities for participants to share their perspectives. This approach generated richer insights while modeling what it means to design for variability.

CAST also helps organizations examine how AI can be used responsibly to expand access, reduce barriers, and support more flexible pathways while maintaining a focus on transparency, and human-centered design.

With accessibility as the baseline, CAST helps educational technology providers rethink how tools and assessments are designed, developed, and delivered. The result is a new generation of assessment experiences that are more usable, more inclusive, and more responsive to the needs of today’s learners.

By integrating accessibility and Universal Design for Learning from the earliest stages of development, solution providers can create tools, resources and assessments that better reflect how learners think, communicate, and demonstrate understanding—advancing both equity and educational excellence.

Ultimately, solution providers will have the opportunity to apply for CAST’s UDL Product Certification demonstrating the accessibility baseline and UDL alignment. Earning this certification highlights an organization’s  commitment to designing and delivering inclusive, accessible learning experiences for all users.