WCAG 2.1 Level AA Assessment
Assessment Date: January 18, 2026
Standard: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA
Scope: Full platform assessment
Result: 99% Compliant (64/65 criteria passing)
Executive Summary
Overall Compliance: 99% (Strong Compliance)
PAICE demonstrates strong WCAG 2.1 Level AA compliance with 64 out of 65 success criteria passing. The platform is fully accessible via keyboard navigation, screen readers, and other assistive technologies.
This assessment evaluates PAICE.work against all WCAG 2.1 Level A and AA success criteria. Testing included automated tools (axe-core, Lighthouse), manual keyboard navigation, and comprehensive assistive technology testing with NVDA, JAWS, and VoiceOver.
Compliance Summary
| Principle | Level A | Level AA | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Perceivable | 17/17 | 5/5 | Pass |
| 2. Operable | 13/13 | 6/7 | Pass |
| 3. Understandable | 9/9 | 6/6 | Pass |
| 4. Robust | 2/2 | 1/1 | Pass |
| Total | 41/41 | 18/19 | 99% |
Note: One Level AA criterion (3.2.5 Change on Request) is marked as "Not Applicable" as it doesn't apply to our single-page assessment flow.
Key Achievements
1. Keyboard Navigation (100%)
- All interactive elements accessible via keyboard
- Skip links for efficient navigation
- Logical tab order throughout
- Visible focus indicators on all controls
- No keyboard traps
2. Screen Reader Support (100%)
- ARIA labels on all interactive elements
- Live regions for dynamic content
- Semantic HTML with proper heading hierarchy
- Status announcements for loading states
- Tested with NVDA, JAWS, and VoiceOver
3. Visual Accessibility (100%)
- Color contrast 4.5:1 minimum (text-a11y-gray: #757575)
- Touch targets 44x44px minimum
- No information conveyed by color alone
- Responsive design across all devices
- Browser zoom up to 200% without loss of function
4. Content Accessibility (100%)
- Dynamic abbreviation handling (AbbreviationWrapper)
- Accessible accordion components with proper ARIA
- Form labels and error messages properly associated
- Character count announcements for input fields
Testing Methodology
Automated Testing
- axe-core: Comprehensive accessibility testing
- Lighthouse: Accessibility audits on all pages
- ESLint: Accessibility rules enforcement
Manual Testing
- Keyboard-only navigation across all pages
- Screen reader testing (NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver)
- Browser zoom testing (100%, 150%, 200%)
- Color contrast verification
- Touch target measurements
Browser Testing
- Chrome 120+ (Windows, macOS, Linux)
- Firefox 121+ (Windows, macOS, Linux)
- Safari 17+ (macOS, iOS)
- Edge 120+ (Windows)
Outstanding Item
Criterion 3.2.5: Change on Request (Level AA)
Status: Not Applicable
This criterion requires that changes of context are initiated only by user request or a mechanism is available to turn off such changes. PAICE's single-page assessment flow does not include automatic context changes, making this criterion not applicable to our platform.
Note: Pause/resume functionality launching next week will provide additional user control, further supporting this criterion.