Hello Pranav.  ETS has a "commitment to accessibility", whatever that
means.  I am pleased to hear that one thing it means is that ETS' prep
material is at least reasonably accessible.  Apparently other companies
feel no such commitment.  I know that most study materials for ETS tests
available from commercial companies is inaccessible.

As for the geometry, the only reasonable way to present questions about
geometric figures is for those figures to be available to you in tactile
form.  It strikes me as silly to have a text description, since a text
description to most geometric questions would likely give away the answer
to the question.  One can make tactile copies with capsule paper or a Tiger
tactile graphics and braille embosser.  Why don't you send an e-mail to ETS
and request a tactile copy of diagrams in their study materials.  And you
might also ask them about the form of the test you will eventually
take.  My only experience with a blind student taking ETS tests was sevral
years ago when he was given the TOEFL test in braille.  Grade 2
braille!  When I complained to ETS that it was silly to expect foreigners
to know grade 2 braille, they were absolutely mystified.  They had
contracted with a well-known organization to translate the test and had
paid a great deal of money to have it done.  US guidelines call for braille
to be grade 2, so that's what they got.  Some ETS tests are given by
computer these days, but I know little about the accessibility.

Have fun.  If you can get through the admissions process, grad school is
fun by comparison!

John

At 04:12 AM 9/6/01 +0600, you wrote:
>Hi all,
>
>Does any one know of any accessible GMAT (graduate management aptitude
>test) and TOEFL (test for English as a foreign language) test preparation
>software? I have tried the popular ones such as Kaplan's test prep and they
>are all graphical. By far, ETS's power prep has proven to be the most
>accessible out of the lot but I have already finished the questions in that
>software.
>
>Also, Geometry is an issue; I am blind so when using the computer. I have
>no way of seeing the diagrams associated with the questions. Any one have
>any solutions? Is there special test preparation software available for the
>blind that has text descriptions of the diagrams?
>Pranav

John Gardner
Professor and Director, Science Access Project
Department of Physics
Oregon State University
Corvallis, OR 97331-6507
tel: (541) 737 3278
FAX: (541) 737 1683
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
URL: http://dots.physics.orst.edu