Gradeo has added OpenDyslexic as a font option for students sitting exams online.

Accessibility has been part of Gradeo’s exam experience from the beginning. Schools can already apply student-level adjustments, including extra time, pausing for breaks, background colour changes, font colour changes and font size adjustments.

OpenDyslexic is now another option in that set.

We are adding it carefully, because the evidence around dyslexic fonts is often misunderstood.

A font does not “fix” dyslexia. It does not replace explicit teaching, approved adjustments, assistive technology, or a well-designed exam environment. Studies of specialist fonts, including OpenDyslexic, have often found no clear improvement in reading speed or accuracy when compared with common fonts such as Arial or Times New Roman.^[1]

That matters. Schools should not be sold accessibility features as magic solutions.

At the same time, exam accessibility is rarely solved by one adjustment. It is usually the result of reducing friction in a number of practical ways.

For some students, font choice can affect how comfortable the page feels to read. Other research has suggested that typography, spacing, alignment and layout can influence readability, particularly when text is dense or students are working under time pressure. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

That is the reason for this update.

OpenDyslexic and Lexend gives schools and students another practical setting to work with.

It can be used alongside other Gradeo adjustments, including extra time, pause-for-break provisions, colour settings and font sizing.

We are also reviewing other accessibility settings for future updates, including spacing and layout controls. The aim is not to keep adding features for the sake of it. It is to prioritise changes that give students a better chance to show what they know, without changing the standard being assessed.

In an exam, the interface should not become an unnecessary barrier. This update is a small step, but an important one: giving schools more flexibility, giving students more control over their reading environment, and continuing to make online assessment more accessible in practice.

References

^[1] Wery, J. J. & Diliberto, J. A. (2017). “The effect of a specialized dyslexia font, OpenDyslexic, on reading rate and accuracy.” Annals of Dyslexia, 67, 114-127.

^[2] Rello, L. & Baeza-Yates, R. (2013). “Good Fonts for Dyslexia.” Proceedings of the 15th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility.

^[3] British Dyslexia Association. “Dyslexia Style Guide.” Guidance on accessible type, spacing, colour, layout and formatting.

^[4] W3C Web Accessibility Initiative. “Understanding Success Criterion 1.4.12: Text Spacing.” Guidance on supporting user-adjusted text spacing.

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