The Baseline and ITTP Working Group will use this repository and set of pages to store and make reference to test pages for use in validating test rules contained in the ICT Testing Baseline.
Members of the U.S. federal accessibility community must agree on what constitutes conforming to the Section 508 standards, in concrete terms. This is important to:
- Conserve and share resources
- Provide clear expectations to vendors
- Maintain consistency across the Federal government
The Section 508 standards incorporate the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, levels A and AA. The ICT Testing Baseline for Web establishes the minimum tests and evaluation guidance for determining whether Web content meets the requirements of WCAG 2.0 A and AA and, therefore, Section 508.
Although the ICT Testing Baseline does not provide processes or tools for conducting baseline tests, it can be used to develop test processes and evaluate how well test processes cover all Section 508 requirements.
The ICT Baseline Alignment Validation Framework provides test cases as a way for agencies to check whether their own test processes and use of testing tools cover all Section 508 requirements. Two different processes that align to the Baseline should produce the same replicable and reliable test results.
Working Group members can use the editor on GitHub to directly edit this file to add references. Members can also navigate to the Baseline Test Pages repository to add files to test. Static pages can be viewed via GitHub Pages from this repository at the following url: https://section508coordinators.github.io/BaselineTestPages/.
Contributors do not need to be highly technical nor make a long-term commitment, although both skills and time can certainly be helpful. The ICT Baseline Alignment Working Group needs help developing and evaluating test cases. Accessibility advocates are also needed to spread the word about the Framework, develop a governance structure, participate in governance, develop and maintain the website, provide user experience and plain language expertise, and even provide legal support. Please visit our How You Can Help and How We Work sections or contact us at ictbaseline@gsa.gov for more information about getting involved..