Flash Reference

Accessibility conformance report

How Flash Reference meets each success criterion of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 at Levels A and AA. The report follows the WCAG edition of the VPAT® 2.5 format.

About this report

Product
Flash Reference (web app)
Report date
October 2026
Standard
WCAG 2.2, Levels A and AA
Covers
The flash card viewer, the LMS deck picker, signing in and creating an account, the instructor dashboard and card editor, and the admin and billing pages.
Doesn't cover
The public website and help pages, pages only Flash Reference staff use, and services Flash Reference appears in or links to: your LMS or website, and Stripe.
Contact
Our support page

How we evaluated

Automated browser tests run axe-core's WCAG 2.2 Level A and AA rules on these pages:

  • The student flash card viewer: flipping, marking, multiple choice, review, and its settings
  • The deck picker an instructor opens from their LMS
  • Sign in, create an account, forgot password and reset password, including with errors
  • The instructor dashboard, deck list, new deck, card editor (and its deck settings) and results pages
  • The admin home, users (and the invitation dialog), decks, settings and billing pages
  • The page a student sees when a deck link has expired

They also use these features with the keyboard alone:

  • Studying a deck: flipping, moving between cards, bookmarking and the settings dialog
  • Choosing a deck in the deck picker: the tabs, searching and sending a deck to the LMS
  • Opening, reordering and deleting cards in the card editor
  • Skipping to the main content on the instructor, admin and billing pages

They check the viewer, deck picker, sign-in pages and card editor 320 pixels wide, that flash card text grows with the browser's text size, and that form fields, checkboxes, radios and toggles have edges with enough contrast. We also reviewed each part of the app against every criterion below. We haven't yet tested with screen readers or with people with disabilities.

Terms

Supports:
the product meets the criterion, with no known defects.
Partially Supports:
some of the product doesn't meet the criterion.
Does Not Support:
most of the product doesn't meet the criterion.
Not Applicable:
the criterion isn't relevant to the product.

Of 56 criteria, Flash Reference supports 44, partially supports 6, doesn't support 0, and 6 don't apply.

WCAG 2.2 Level A

Criterion Conformance Remarks
1.1.1 Non-text Content Partially Supports Controls that show only an icon have text names, decorative images are hidden from screen readers, and charts have a written summary and a data table. Images on flash cards depend on alt text from the instructor: the card editor asks for it, and the viewer says "Image (no description)" when there is none.
1.2.1 Audio-only and Video-only (Prerecorded) Not Applicable There is no audio-only or video-only content.
1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded) Not Applicable There is no prerecorded audio or video. Flash cards can't contain audio or video.
1.2.3 Audio Description or Media Alternative (Prerecorded) Not Applicable There is no prerecorded video. Flash cards can't contain audio or video.
1.3.1 Info and Relationships Partially Supports Pages use headings, landmarks, lists, tables and labelled form fields, and errors are tied to their fields. The deck picker's tabs follow the ARIA tabs pattern. The card editor's pop-up formatting toolbar comes from a third-party editor (Summernote) and hasn't been fully evaluated.
1.3.2 Meaningful Sequence Supports Reading order follows the visual order. The side of a flash card that isn't showing is left out of the reading and focus order.
1.3.3 Sensory Characteristics Supports Instructions don't rely on shape, color, size, position or sound.
1.4.1 Use of Color Supports A bookmarked card shows a filled bookmark, and the chosen mark (Still learning or Know it) has a thicker outline, as well as a color. Chart data is also available as a table.
1.4.2 Audio Control Supports Nothing plays sound by itself. Reading a card aloud starts and stops with a button.
2.1.1 Keyboard Partially Supports The viewer, deck picker, card list (including reordering) and admin pages work from the keyboard. In the card editor, bold, italic and underline have keyboard shortcuts, but we haven't evaluated the pop-up formatting toolbar (font size, color and lists) from the keyboard.
2.1.2 No Keyboard Trap Supports Dialogs hold focus while they're open and close with Escape. Tab moves out of the card editor's text areas.
2.1.4 Character Key Shortcuts Supports The viewer's single-key shortcuts (b to bookmark, and the number keys for marking and multiple choice) can be turned off in its settings.
2.2.1 Timing Adjustable Supports Ten minutes before a student's page stops saving after 12 hours without use, it warns them and offers Keep saving, which extends it. A page also warns before the end of its 7 days, and says to reopen the deck from the course or website; that limit is longer than 20 hours. Signed-in sessions last more than 20 hours.
2.2.2 Pause, Stop, Hide Supports Auto-advance in the viewer only starts when the student presses Play, and can be paused. Nothing else moves or updates by itself for more than five seconds.
2.3.1 Three Flashes or Below Threshold Supports Nothing flashes.
2.4.1 Bypass Blocks Supports The instructor, admin and billing pages start with a "Skip to content" link, and every page has a main landmark.
2.4.2 Page Titled Supports Each page has its own title. The viewer's title is the deck's name.
2.4.3 Focus Order Supports Focus moves in reading order. Opening a card in the card editor moves focus to its front, deleting a card moves focus to the next card, and closing the viewer's settings returns focus to the Settings button.
2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) Supports Links say where they go, and links that open a new tab say so.
2.5.1 Pointer Gestures Supports Swiping between cards in the viewer can also be done with the Previous and Next buttons.
2.5.2 Pointer Cancellation Supports Actions happen when the pointer is released, not when it's pressed.
2.5.3 Label in Name Supports The names of controls contain their visible text.
2.5.4 Motion Actuation Not Applicable Nothing responds to moving or shaking the device.
3.1.1 Language of Page Supports Pages declare their language.
3.2.1 On Focus Supports Moving focus never changes the page or opens anything.
3.2.2 On Input Supports Changing a setting or a field doesn't take you to another page.
3.2.6 Consistent Help Supports Where help is offered (the support button on public and help pages), it's in the same place on every page.
3.3.1 Error Identification Supports Errors are described in text next to their field, and the field is marked invalid. Errors that aren't about one field are announced.
3.3.2 Labels or Instructions Supports Fields have visible labels, and the bulk card import explains its format.
3.3.7 Redundant Entry Supports Nothing asks for the same information twice, other than confirming a new password.
4.1.1 Parsing Supports WCAG 2.2 removed this criterion. It's listed for WCAG 2.0 and 2.1, where it's always met.
4.1.2 Name, Role, Value Partially Supports Custom controls (the viewer's buttons and dialogs, the deck picker's tabs, and the bookmark and mark toggle buttons) expose their name, role and state. The card editor's pop-up formatting toolbar hasn't been fully evaluated.

WCAG 2.2 Level AA

Criterion Conformance Remarks
1.2.4 Captions (Live) Not Applicable There is no live audio or video.
1.2.5 Audio Description (Prerecorded) Not Applicable There is no prerecorded video. Flash cards can't contain audio or video.
1.3.4 Orientation Supports Pages work in portrait and landscape.
1.3.5 Identify Input Purpose Supports Sign-in, account and profile fields identify names, email addresses, organizations and passwords for autofill.
1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) Partially Supports Text on the tested pages meets the contrast minimum, checked by axe-core. Instructors choose each deck's text and background colors, and Flash Reference doesn't check those colors.
1.4.4 Resize Text Supports Text can be zoomed to 200%. Flash card text grows with browser zoom and with the browser's text size; a test doubles the text size.
1.4.5 Images of Text Supports Flash Reference uses text, not pictures of text, except for its logo. Instructors can add images of text to cards.
1.4.10 Reflow Supports The viewer, deck picker, sign-in pages and card editor are tested 320 pixels wide without sideways scrolling. Data tables in the admin pages can scroll sideways, which WCAG allows.
1.4.11 Non-text Contrast Supports Form fields, checkboxes, radios and toggles have edges with at least 3:1 contrast, measured by the automated browser tests on the sign-in pages, the viewer's settings, the deck picker, and the instructor and admin pages.
1.4.12 Text Spacing Supports We applied WCAG's text spacing to the viewer and the card editor, and no text was cut off or overlapped.
1.4.13 Content on Hover or Focus Supports Tooltips in the viewer appear on hover and keyboard focus, stay open while the pointer is over them, and close with Escape.
2.4.5 Multiple Ways Supports The instructor and admin pages can be reached from the navigation menu, breadcrumbs and links on their home pages. The viewer is a single page opened from the LMS or website.
2.4.6 Headings and Labels Supports Headings and labels describe their content and purpose.
2.4.7 Focus Visible Supports Controls and text areas show a visible focus outline.
2.4.11 Focus Not Obscured (Minimum) Supports The instructor and admin pages keep room below their sticky header, so it doesn't hide the focused control, and dialogs hold focus inside them.
2.5.7 Dragging Movements Supports Cards can be reordered with Move up and Move down buttons as well as by dragging.
2.5.8 Target Size (Minimum) Supports Controls are at least 24 by 24 pixels or have enough space around them, checked by axe-core on the tested pages.
3.1.2 Language of Parts Partially Supports Instructors can set the language of the front and back of a deck's cards, and the viewer, multiple choice, Read aloud and the card editor use it, including right-to-left languages. Cards in decks without a language set are read as English.
3.2.3 Consistent Navigation Supports Navigation is in the same place and order on every page.
3.2.4 Consistent Identification Supports Controls that do the same thing have the same name throughout.
3.3.3 Error Suggestion Supports Error messages say how to fix the problem.
3.3.4 Error Prevention (Legal, Financial, Data) Supports Plan changes are confirmed before they're charged, Stripe shows the details before a new subscription, and deleting decks, cards or people asks for confirmation first.
3.3.8 Accessible Authentication (Minimum) Supports Signing in uses an email address and password. Password managers and pasting work, and there are no puzzles to solve.
4.1.3 Status Messages Supports The viewer announces card changes, the deck picker announces search results, the card editor announces moved cards, and billing notices are announced.

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