Making Decisions About Assessment Practices for Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

Abstract

Students who are deaf or hard of hearing are a low-incidence population with diverse linguistic characteristics and levels of academic achievement. This article presents findings on teacher recommendations of assessment practices for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. A total of 372 educational professionals responded to a set of three study vignettes that asked for recommendations for accommodations or alternate assessments appropriate for the scenarios. Participants also provided open-ended responses that justified their recommendations. Four randomly assigned conditions controlled for test subject (math or reading), student skill level (two or five grades below grade level in math and/or reading), and communication mode used in instruction (American Sign Language or a combination of sign and speech). Participant recommendations for accommodations or alternate assessments varied by test subject (math or reading) and student skill level but not by communication mode. Justifications for recommendations painted a complex picture of reasons behind proposed assessment practices. This article discusses the implications of these findings for accommodations policy as well as possible evidence toward a theory of decision making in assessment practices for students who are deaf or hard of hearing.