w3c · patrickhlauke · Aug 12, 2026 · Aug 13, 2026 · Aug 13, 2026 · Aug 13, 2026
diff --git a/understanding/conformance.html b/understanding/conformance.html
@@ -410,29 +410,37 @@ <h2>Understanding Levels of Conformance</h2>
                     with a high level of confidence.
                 </li>
             </ol>
-            <p>The success criteria were assigned to one of the three levels of conformance by the
-                working group after taking into consideration a wide range of interacting issues.
+            <p>The success criteria were assigned to one of the three levels of conformance
+                – <strong>Level A</strong>, <strong>Level AA</strong>, <strong>Level AAA</strong> –
+                by the working group, after taking into consideration a wide range of interacting issues.
                 Some of the common factors evaluated when setting the level included:
             </p>
             <ul>
-                <li>whether the success criterion is 
-                    <strong>essential</strong> (in other words, if the success criterion isn't met, then even assistive technology
-                    can't make content accessible)
-                </li>
+                <li>whether content that fails to meet the requirements of the success criterion can be
+                    automatically corrected/made accessible through the use of assistive technology</li>
+                <li>whether there are workarounds or alternatives if the success criterion is not met</li>
                 <li>whether it is possible to satisfy the success criterion for 
                     <strong>all websites and types of content</strong> that the success criterion would apply to (e.g., different topics, types of content,
-                    types of web technology)
-                </li>
+                    types of web technology)</li>
                 <li>whether the success criterion requires skills that could 
                     <strong>reasonably be achieved by the content creators</strong> (that is, the knowledge and skill to meet the success criterion could be acquired
-                    in a week's training or less)
-                </li>
-                <li>whether the success criterion would impose limits on the "look &amp; feel" and/or function
-                    of the web page. (limits on function, presentation, freedom of expression, design
-                    or aesthetic that the success criterion might place on authors)
-                </li>
-                <li>whether there are no workarounds if the success criterion is not met</li>
+                    in a week's training or less)</li>
+                <li>whether the success criterion imposes limits on functionality (the specific interactive functions presented to users) or aesthetics
+                    (such as visual design and language style choices, the "look &amp; feel" of content)</li>
+                <li>whether the criterion requires a certain amount of interpretation when evaluating or assessing</li>
             </ul>
+            <p>As an example, criteria that address problems that can't be remediated by assistive technology or worked around through other means, can be satisfied for
+                all types of content, don't require specialized skills to author accessibly, and whose implementation would not require fundamental changes to functionality
+                or visual design, would likely be categorized under <strong>Level A</strong>; conversely, criteria that can't be satisfied for all websites/types of content,
+                that may require a certain amount of (sometimes subjective) interpretation to determine a pass/fail, and would require extensive changes to functionality or visual design, would likely fall under <strong>Level AAA</strong>.
+            </p>
+            <p>While WCAG 1.0 categorized checkpoints into <a href="https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/#priorities"><em>priority</em> levels</a>, which were then mapped
+                to WCAG 1.0's <strong>Level A</strong>, <strong>Level AA</strong>, and <strong>Level AAA</strong> <a href="https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/#Conformance">conformance levels</a>,
+                WCAG 2 (which reworked how criteria were assigned to levels) <em>does not</em> suggest any particular level of priority or severity. Every criterion is important to one or more user groups. In most cases, there is no intrinsic <em>severity</em> associated with failing a particular criterion – this also depends on other aspects, such as the frequency of the failure, and the type of content or functionality that is failing.</p>
+            <p>How to prioritize criteria during development or remediation is a question for development teams, which will factor in further aspects such as their resources,
+                development cycles, or their own assessment of how severe or widespread a particular problem is in their content. The choice of which specific level to aim
+                for conformance with – just Level A, both Level A and AA, full Level A/AA/AAA – is fundamentally a policy decision.
+            </p>
         </section>
         <section id="accessibility-support">
             <h2>Understanding Accessibility Support</h2>