Universal Design for Learning and Inclusive Assessment for Assessment Equity among Learners with Disabilities: A PRISMA Informed Systematic Review

Assessment continues to function as a structural barrier to equitable participation for learners with disabilities, even in education systems formally committed to inclusive practice. Tasks, formats, conditions, and scoring approaches designed around an assumed “average” learner may produce exclusion not by intention, but by design. This PRISMA-informed systematic review examines peer-reviewed evidence on Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and inclusive assessment frameworks as approaches to improving assessment equity for learners with disabilities across primary, secondary, and higher education settings. Six structured search queries were conducted using scholarly retrieval tools to identify peer-reviewed English-language sources published between 2014 and 2025. Sources were screened for relevance and eligibility, and extracted data were analysed using thematic synthesis. Thirteen sources met the inclusion criteria, including systematic reviews, a meta-analysis, a meta-ethnographic review, primary empirical studies, and conceptual papers. Five themes were identified: UDL as a proactive framework for reducing assessment barriers; movement from individual accommodation models toward universally designed assessment; assessment as a continuing site of exclusion in learners' lived experience; persistent institutional, training, and resourcing barriers; and the promise and limits of technology-enhanced and online assessment. The review concludes that UDL and inclusive assessment frameworks are complementary but unevenly implemented. Genuine assessment equity requires structural, policy-level, and cultural change alongside task-level redesign, sustained educator preparation, and active partnership with learners with disabilities in assessment design.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL); inclusive assessment

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