Better Accessibility: My Path to the CPACC

Source: Dev.to

I took the Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies (CPACC) exam offered by the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP) in August of this year. Aside from PSATs/SATs in high school, I have never studied so much for a single exam, nor paid as much for one. I found people’s shared online experiences helpful when I was debating taking this test, so I’m adding my thoughts as well. Overall I’m glad I decided to take the test, but the entire process had some surprising steps and was not entirely smooth.

Note: This is not a direct how‑to guide. I may have passed or failed, but people learn differently; I hope the added context is useful for anyone else considering the exam.

Why Take the Test

I was laid off earlier this year, giving me plenty of time each day to study (albeit not in the happiest mood). After going through the process I realized it’s better to spread the study sessions over more days—getting a good night’s sleep helped me retain the knowledge.

There are few certifications specifically for web development / front‑end engineering. The CPACC felt at least somewhat universally known, and I wanted to learn more about accessibility anyway. More job postings now mention accessibility and some specifically reference IAAP certifications—not a huge number, but more than I’d seen before.

My Background

I’ve been a front‑end web developer for 12+ years. I started focusing more on accessibility 7–8 years ago after learning about the topic at conferences and from other developers I follow, but this effort has always been non‑critical to my jobs. I’ve proactively tried to be as accessible as possible within budget constraints—using proper semantic HTML tags, appropriate form labels, sufficient contrast, and ARIA states. I also run my sites through VoiceOver on macOS. However, the jobs I’ve held never required or had specific accessibility criteria to check against. Feedback from other accessibility‑minded developers was informal; there was no official training or executive buy‑in for a standardized process.

Why Focus on Accessibility

What really kick‑started my focus was a talk where the presenter said designers and developers rarely try to make life harder for people with disabilities; they simply lack that extra viewpoint when navigating websites. That resonated with me and opened my eyes to how easily native HTML features can be unintentionally broken.

Early in my career I had to fight to keep things accessible. Project managers would ask to remove focus outlines from input fields because they didn’t like the look. I argued to keep them because removing focus outlines creates accessibility issues. It was one thing to ignore checklists; it was another to spend time removing useful, though visually displeasing, features.

Previous Lack of Management Buy‑in

The biggest argument I faced was when a client wanted all keyboard focus states removed from their site because the native browser outlines didn’t match the brand’s color scheme. I offered to choose a more appropriate color and updated the CSS, but the client still wanted them removed. I escalated to my director, explaining the accessibility and potential legal risks, and linked relevant articles. He responded, “But the client doesn’t like them,” and the conversation ended there.

I felt dejected. Excluding people with disabilities for aesthetic reasons seemed profoundly wrong, especially when I had solid evidence against it. I believed that an accessibility certification would give me the credibility to argue my position more effectively. If such a certification had existed back then, perhaps I would have had more influence. The environment today is different—more accessibility laws exist worldwide and general awareness has grown.

A Condensed Timeline

Deque University

I first learned about Deque University at a previous job where coworkers attempted the Web Accessibility Specialist (WAS) course. Although that effort proved untenable due to client work, I had heard good things about the platform, so I decided to purchase the course.

IAAP exam dates are organized into sessions. Ideally I would have liked an additional two weeks to prepare, but I didn’t know what my job situation would be by the next session, so I registered despite the rushed timeline.

My goal was to finish the Deque course and my own notes a couple of days before the application deadline on July 16. I received access to the Deque course on June 17 and planned to take the exam near the end of the period (August 12), giving me just under two months to prepare.

Deque provides a progress tracker based on the number of pages clicked through, not total content. Early lessons with one or two paragraphs per page made it feel like I was progressing quickly, but later lessons with 10+ paragraphs and tabbed sections slowed me down and felt demoralizing.

Book of Knowledge

After completing the Deque course, I read through the IAAP Book of Knowledge (BOK) and cross‑referenced my notes, filling in missing information and re‑wording concepts for clarity. This took another full week. By the end…