[nfbcs] Inaccessible Employment Qualification Test

[Nancy Coffman]

I have yet to encounter a testing program that is accessible to blind
applicants.  We usually replace the testing with Talking Typing Teacher.
The State of Nebraska is good about letting us do that.  ManPower was not.
I think Kelly Services has also let us use our testing mechanisms.

We have had a couple places do an On the Job Experience that we pay for as a
supplement to the testing.  We have tried to use readers on inaccessible
tests.  That doesn't work well.

Nancy Coffman

-----Original Message-----
From: nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Aaron Cannon
Sent: Wednesday, July 13, 2011 10:01 AM
To: NFB in Computer Science Mailing List
Subject: Re: [nfbcs] Inaccessible Employment Qualification Test

Hi Nancy.

That's quite interesting.  What did you find when you conducted your
evaluations?

Aaron

On 7/13/11, nancy coffman <nancylc at sprynet.com> wrote:
> I have evaluated other testing programs used by Manpower & even 
> Nebraska State personnel. I think it might be time to look at some of 
> these government contracts & take some action on those that allow 
> buying inaccessible services like testing.
>
> Government seems to think if they buy servive software standards don't 
> apply to tghe service provider. We need teeth in this law.
>
>
> nancy coffman
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Aaron Cannon <cannona at fireantproductions.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2011 9:54 AM
> To: nfbcs at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [nfbcs] Inaccessible Employment Qualification Test
>
> Hi all.
>
> I am rather frustrated, and I'm wondering if folks can offer any input 
> on a situation I am having.
>
> I recently had a job interview that I feel went very well.  The 
> employer seemed reasonably impressed by my qualifications, and seemed 
> to have no issue with my blindness.  As part of the hiring process, 
> they asked me to take a PHP test.
>
> This test, along with many other employment qualification tests are 
> offered by a company known as PreVisor.  Anyway, I went to take the 
> test, but as you might have guessed, it was not accessible.  The exam 
> was actually just fine for the first couple of questions, but on one 
> of the questions, I was asked to look at a section of source code, and 
> the source code was unreadable by my screen reader.
>
> Here's what I suspect happened.  In order to preserve the security of 
> the exam, they thought it would be a good idea to make the source code 
> snippet into an image.  They likely did this so you can't just copy 
> and paste the text.  Otherwise, I can think of no other reason to do 
> that.
>
> Now, my (hopefully future) employer has been really great about this.
> They have been
> working with me, and I'm sure we'll find some alternative means for me 
> to show them my PHP skills.  However, the inaccessibility of PreVisor 
> really disturbs me.  What's worse is their seeming complete 
> disinterest in fixing the problem.
>
> When I contacted them about it, they basically told me that there was 
> nothing that could be done.  That's just how it was.  When I asked if 
> they would give me a little extra time to answer each question so the 
> source code could be read to me, (normally you get only 3 minutes) the 
> answer was again, "no."
>
> What really upsets me is these people are in many instances the 
> gatekeepers for jobs.  For a lot of folks, they determine whether or 
> not a person gets hired.  How many people are going to be shut out of 
> jobs, or at the very least not considered on the same level as their 
> sighted co-applicants because of this companies apathy?
>
> I don't know if anything can be done about this, legally or otherwise, 
> hence my email to this list.  I just know that it seems very wrong to 
> me, and is something that is likely to harm the job chances of other 
> blind folks in the future.
>
> As a side note, their testing services appear to be used by many 
> different companies and organizations, including by the government 
> (which branch or at what level, I don't know).
>
> Anyway, any thoughts or ideas on this situation would be appreciated.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Aaron
>
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