Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Information and communications technology (ICT), and in particular web-based content, plays an increasingly significant role in government transparency, communication, and service delivery. This developing digital public infrastructure is often referred to as “e-government,” the employment of ICTs to provide access to government information and services, improve service quality, and expand opportunities for democratic engagement. However, given the U.S.’ diverse population and persistent digital divide, the expansion of e-government risks perpetuating the marginalization of vulnerable population groups if government-sponsored web content is not fully accessible. In particular, temporary or permanent physical and sensory impairments may prevent individuals from using keyboard and screen or viewing web-based content. Moreover, the abundance of information available in natural text format may challenge individuals with low literacy levels. According to the latest survey of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 23% of the adults in the U.S. demonstrate literacy skills at the lowest level, including individuals with low levels of education or disabilities, seniors, or immigrants with limited English proficiency.

The research question this paper seeks to answer is how accessible federal government websites are for audiences with special needs across two dimensions, (a) their structural design and (b) their content readability. The dataset analyzed consists of a sample of the 100 most relevant federal government websites (based on their number of users) from which a natural language text sample of around 150 words was obtained through webscraping. The structural design of a website refers to the logic of the code and markup that determines the organization and presentation of natural information such as text, images, or sound. The frames of reference for code-based website accessibility relied upon in this analysis are the U.S. Section 508 standard and the international WCAG 2.0 standard, evaluated via the AChecker Web Accessibility API. Content readability is defined as the degree to which the natural language text is accessible to audiences with literacy challenges based on five commonly used algorithmic readability indices.

The results indicate that 85% of the sampled federal government websites "fail" the structural accessibility check and over 50% of websites contain 10 or more structural design errors that negatively impact persons with disabilities. Whereas in 2015 around 57% of the U.S. population completed 12 or fewer years of formal education, only 23% of the sampled government websites featured content was rated readable and accessible for readers at this level. 21% of the population completed middle school or fewer years of schooling but none of the sampled government web content was rated readable for this population. Particularly concerning is that for websites in the categories "Benefits" and "Law Enforcement and Justice" none of the sampled content was rated accessible for readers with less than one year of college education. E-government services will continue to gain relevance as an avenue of communication between government agencies and the populations they serve and an in-depth understanding of current successes and challenges is crucial to develop strategies aimed at achieving fully inclusive e-government institutions and services.