Understanding your Panorama scores and course report
Panorama evaluates both individual files and your overall course by identifying accessibility issues in course materials. Your scores are based on the number and severity of issues detected during automatic scans. The first time you look at your course report and scores, you may be surprised, and that’s okay. Use the scores to help you prioritize your efforts and make meaningful accessibility improvements. The goal is progress, not perfection.
How do I find my course report?
To review your course report, first enable Panorama in your course navigation.
Navigate to Settings in the left course navigation menu.
Select the Navigation tab from the options.
Locate Panorama in the list of disabled navigation items (lower list).
Select Panorama and drag and drop it to your preferred location in the list of enabled items (upper list).
Scroll to the bottom of the page and select Save.
Do students see any of my scores?
No, scores are not visible to students. Instead, students will see a button for each item in your course that allows them to access alternative formats of the file.
What determines the score?
Panorama automatically scans your files to detect issues relating to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) compliance. Identified issues are weighted by severity:
Severe issues:
Critical barriers that make content completely unreadable for some users.
Examples: Scanned PDFs (which are just images of text), encrypted or locked files, or malformed documents.
Major issues:
Significant barriers that make navigation or access difficult.
Examples: Low contrast between text and background, or missing heading structures.
Minor issues:
Small issues that decrease usability but don't necessarily block access.
Examples: Missing document language settings, extra spaces, or non-descriptive hyperlink text.
Putting your scores in context
We recommend using the scores to prioritize your work, starting with severe issues, followed by major, and then minor issues. Remember, a score of 100% means the file passes automated checks, but it doesn't guarantee full accessibility (e.g., a checker can tell if an image has alt text, but it can't always tell if that text is contextually descriptive).
What’s the difference between my course score and individual file scores?
The individual file score rates the accessibility of specific course files. The course score is a cumulative score based on all rated course files. Panorama can check many, but not all, file types in Canvas:
Panorama evaluates:
Canvas Pages, Assignments, Discussions, and Announcements
Most LTI-linked content (e.g., McGraw Hill, ALEKS, Pearson)
How do I improve my score?
Work towards continuous improvement, tackling the most severe issues first.
Open a course and review the overall score and course report. For help getting started, reference Getting started with Panorama at PSU.
Remove outdated or unnecessary files. Panorama scans all course content, including files that you may no longer use.
Look for common issues to understand your priority areas.
Start remediating! Remember to start with severe issues, then move to major and minor issues.
You may notice your score changes over time, even if you aren’t making changes to your course. This can happen because Panorama’s accessibility engine is continuously improving. Updates, bug fixes, or other developer changes may result in enhanced evaluation functionality, which can affect individual file scores and your overall course report.
Rather than focusing on an individual file score, aim for continuous improvement by addressing the most significant accessibility barriers—items marked with severe or major flags.
