The Screen Reader Compatibility benchmark evaluates how well the content of an interface accommodates the use of a screen reader, such as JAWS, NVDA, or VoiceOver. This is tested by navigating through the interface with a screen reader, and ensuring that all important information and functions of the interface can be programmatically determined and described correctly to the user. Additional criteria of this benchmark include checking that the interface have provided a mechanism to bypass blocks of content that repeat on multiple pages, such as navigation, and ensuring that any status messages or alerts displayed on the interface can also be programmatically determined and described to the user without receiving focus, such as session timeout warnings.
Conformance with this benchmark supports users that rely on assistive technology such as screen readers or speech input software to navigate and interact with elements of an interface.