Reports and Scoring
Understanding compliance reports, scores, grades, and issue breakdown.
Report Overview
Every scan produces a compliance report with an overall score, letter grade, category breakdown, and individual check results. Reports are saved automatically and accessible from the dashboard.
Overall Score and Grade
The overall score is a weighted average across all applicable categories. Only categories with at least one check contribute to the score.
| Grade | Score Range | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| A | 95 - 100% | Fully compliant -- meets WCAG 2.1 AA |
| B | 85 - 94% | Minor issues -- close to compliance |
| C | 70 - 84% | Notable gaps -- needs attention |
| D | 50 - 69% | Significant barriers -- prioritize fixes |
| F | Below 50% | Major remediation required |
A document is marked compliant only at Grade A (95% or above).
Category Scores
Each category has a weight reflecting its importance to overall accessibility:
| Category | Weight | What It Checks |
|---|---|---|
| Document Structure | 25% | Language, title, headings, heading hierarchy, list structure |
| Images and Media | 20% | Image alt text, figure alt text, figure captions |
| Tables | 15% | Table header rows marked |
| Tagged PDF Structure | 15% | PDF structure tags present |
| Forms | 10% | Form field labels |
| Navigation | 5% | Bookmarks for documents over 5 pages |
Categories with no applicable checks (e.g., Tables when there are no tables) score 100% and don't affect the overall score.
Individual Checks
Each check returns:
- Pass/Fail -- whether the criterion is met
- Details -- specific information about what was found
- Severity -- how critical the issue is
Severity Levels
- Critical -- Must fix for compliance. Examples: missing alt text on images, no document language set, unlabeled form fields
- Major -- Significant accessibility barrier. Examples: skipped heading levels, no document title, missing bookmarks
- Minor -- Best practice improvement. Examples: lists without explicit type
Reading a Report
On the Dashboard
Click any report to see the full details:
- Score header -- overall percentage and letter grade
- Category cards -- each category shows its score, pass rate, and progress bar
- Issues list -- failed checks sorted by severity with explanations
Via the API
curl https://api.adaline.report/api/v1/reports/REPORT_ID \
-H "X-API-Key: your-api-key"
The response includes categories (keyed by name) and checks (array of all check results).
Report History
All reports are saved and accessible from the Reports page. You can:
- View any past report in full detail
- Compare scores over time for the same document
- Delete reports you no longer need
- Tag reports for organization (see Tags)
Interpreting Common Issues
"No document language set"
The document metadata doesn't specify a language. Screen readers need this to pronounce content correctly.
"PDF is not tagged"
The PDF has no structure tree. Screen readers cannot determine headings, reading order, or content structure. This is the most common issue with scanned or legacy PDFs.
"Images missing alt text"
One or more images have no alternative text description. Users who cannot see the images get no information about their content.
"Heading hierarchy skipped"
Headings jump levels (e.g., H1 directly to H3). Screen reader users navigate by heading level, so skipping levels creates confusion.
"No bookmarks for long document"
Documents over 5 pages should have bookmarks (table of contents) for navigation. This is especially important for screen reader users.