The built-in accessibility options can be utilised using the ‘Accessibility’ button on the assessment front cover screen or once the assessment has been started, via ‘Accessibility’ in the Assessment Player toolbar menu. ‘Accessibility’ is the first item in the menu. Once set, unless changed by the student, the options chosen will remain in place for all other assessments taken by that student. They include:
Onscreen assessment
Pearson Onscreen International GCSEs/International A Levels: Accessibility statement
This statement applies to Pearson International GCSE and International A Levels onscreen assessments and onscreen platform. This onscreen platform is also used with our Remote Invigilation Service. Our aim is to ensure as many people as possible can use the platform and its onscreen assessments. This statement summarises the current level of accessibility and our ongoing commitment to improving it.
Students can use:
Built-in accessibility options
Colour scheme
Choose from a range of different colour options for the text and background:
- Black on white (default)
- Grey on light grey
- Black on soft yellow
- Purple on light green
- Black on greyish green
- Black on greyish red
- Black on violet
- Black on soft blue
- Yellow on navy
- White on black
Font size
- Small (75%) / 14px / 10.5pt
- Normal (100%) / 16px / 12pt
- Large (125%) / 20px / 15pt
- Extra-large (150%) / 23px / 17pt
The closest modified equivalent: 18pt bold Font size on A4 paper - Huge (175%) or 28px / 21pt.
The closest modified equivalent is 24pt bold Font size on A4 paper
Zoom
Students can zoom in on their device to achieve the same results as the Font size options.
Zooming in and out is possible using standard keyboard short cuts:
- Command / Ctrl + to zoom in
- Command / Ctrl – to zoom out.
- Command 0 to reset to default zoom level
If students zoom in or are using a small laptop or screen, they may notice that the layout changes to try and better fit the size of the screen.
If students zoom in to 200% , this is equivalent to roughly 33px / 24pt (the closest modified equivalent is 24pt bold Font size on A4 paper)
An interactive tour of the accessibility tools can be found our website: Onscreen exams: guided tour | Pearson qualifications
Full screen view
Standard view:
Full view:
View the assessment content in Full Screen mode by selecting that option from the toolbar. This simplifies the assessment player, for a more immersive view, and space available to view the assessment content.
Text highlighting:
When a student makes a text selection, a pop-up highlight menu appears with 4 Highlight colour options for them to choose from and apply / remove:
- Yellow
- Pink
- Green
- Blue
Content
We continuously work to improve the inclusivity and diversity of our content so that sources and contexts are more accessible and representative of all students.
As part of this we ensure consistent layout and ways of navigating our assessment content onscreen to help increase accessibility and usability for all, but especially those who are neurodivergent, have learning difficulties or sensory needs.
Instructions
Assessment instructions are appropriate to assessments being delivered onscreen. We have also worked to make sure that the language is clearer to all students, especially those who are neurodivergent. We are continuing to work on improving this.
Images
We work to try and ensure that the images in our assessments are visually accessible for everyone, including students who are colour blind.
Choosing to use different colour filters or options to view them with may affect this.
Text to speech and Screen readers:
These have limited compatibility currently with our General Qualification onscreen assessments. We are working to improve this, including providing an inbuilt text to speech option. We have also started to improve the text hierarchy and navigation experience for screen reader users. For now, we recommend that students use either a human reader, or that a modified format is requested. Please see the section on ‘What to do if you cannot access the onscreen platform or parts of it’ for details.
Customer FAQs
More detailed general guidance and FAQs on our onscreen assessments are available on our Onscreen Assessment - English | Pearson qualifications webpage
For specific guidance based on qualification and subject selection select: Onscreen training videos for Modulus.
To view an over-arching interactive tour select: Onscreen exams: guided tour | Pearson qualifications
What to do if you cannot access the onscreen Assessment Platform or parts of it
We know some aspects of the onscreen assessment platform won’t meet the needs of all students and we are continually working to improve this.
Alternative formats, and modified versions are also available. Visit the modified formats page on our Pearson Qualifications website to find out more about them and how to apply for them.
Feedback
Ask us a question or give us your feedback about the accessibility of the onscreen assessments and platform.
We would love to hear from you when something is working well for you, or when something is not working so well. This is really important to help us continue to improve the experience for you and your students.
To give us your feedback, or to ask a question about the accessibility of our onscreen assessments or our Assessment Platform, please email us at internationalonscreen@pearson.com.
Feedback will be reviewed regularly.
How we are working to improve things
We are continually working to improve the platform and the onscreen versions of our assessments within it so that they are as accessible to as many learners as possible. To do this:
- The Assessment Platform and our onscreen assessments are being developed in line with the current Ofqual guidance on creating accessible assessments.
- This means we are also taking into consideration the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA. As we continue to work towards this there will be some exceptions and limitations due to the nature of the current specifications, and necessary alignment with our other formats. Learn more about Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA
- To help inform our policy and continuous review, we work and consult with internal and external accessibility experts and organisations representing our users’ needs, to help inform our progress.
- Informal and formal Accessibility testing of our onscreen platform and onscreen assessments is carried out by experienced Quality Assurance teams who are both differently abled and IAAP CPACC and IAAP WAS certified. Learn more about IAPP CPACC
- All our work is informed by user testing. We are committed to carrying out user research with people with a range of needs and requirements is carried out as part of our research and development process.
This Accessibility statement was updated in March 2026, and it will be reviewed and updated (at least) annually. Next update 2027.