The ICT Testing Baseline, hands-on
Section 508 is the law. WCAG is what "accessible" means. The Baseline is the shared, step-by-step script for testing it, so five testers get the same answer instead of five opinions. Try five of its checks below.
What it is, in 30 seconds
US federal agencies (and anyone selling them tech) must make electronic content accessible. It says what must happen, not how to check it.
The W3C's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines define what "accessible" means, as testable success criteria like "all functionality is keyboard operable."
The ICT Testing Baseline turns each requirement into an exact test procedure: what to inspect, what tools to use, what counts as pass or fail. It is the script DHS Trusted Testers are certified to run. Automated checkers catch roughly a third of issues; the Baseline is the manual rest.
Try five baseline checks
Each card has a broken and a fixed sample. Flip between them, run the check, and watch the verdict change. These are simplified versions of real Baseline tests.
1. Keyboard operability
Baseline test · WCAG 2.1.1
The Baseline asks: can every control be reached and used with a keyboard alone? The check looks at whether the control is natively keyboard-focusable.
2. Visible focus indicator
Baseline test · WCAG 2.4.7
The Baseline asks: when a keyboard user tabs to this control, is there a visible indicator? The check looks for a removed outline with no :focus-visible replacement.
3. Text alternative for images
Baseline test · WCAG 1.1.1
The Baseline asks: does this meaningful image expose a text alternative? The check reads the alt attribute, exactly like a screen reader would.
4. Color contrast
Baseline test · WCAG 1.4.3
The Baseline asks: does normal text hit 4.5:1 against its background? The check computes the real luminance ratio from the rendered colors.
This text is hard to read
This text is easy to read
5. Form labels
Baseline test · WCAG 3.3.2
The Baseline asks: does this input have an associated label a screen reader can announce? Placeholders do not count. The check inspects the label association.
Honest notes
- A tasting menu, not the meal. The full Baseline has 60+ tests across web, software, and documents. These five are simplified versions of real ones.
- The Baseline is a script, not a certificate. It tells a tester exactly what to do. The DHS Trusted Tester certification says a person can run it reliably.
- Automated checkers are the minority report. They catch roughly a third of issues. Everything above except contrast needs a human or a DOM check like these.
- Want the real thing? The DHS Trusted Tester training is free at the Section 508 training portal, and the certification exam is a practical: you test a real page, 85% to pass.