States' Reading Outcomes of Students Who Are d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Abstract

Historically, researchers have identified that reading outcomes for students in upper grades who are d/Deaf and hard of hearing (d/Dhh) have typically rested around the late 3rd to early 4th grade. In recent years, wide-scale state-level testing has called into question these prognostications. The authors conducted a descriptive, multiunit, embedded-designs case study of 7 states' data from multiyear annual assessments of reading of participants in grades 3, 5, and 8, and in high school. Participants, states' definitions of reading outcomes, and states' reported reading results are described. The authors, who found that many students are reading at levels above the perceived 3rd-to-4th-grade "glass ceiling," build the case for a more hopeful look at reading outcomes for these students than that of the past and recommend approaches for acquiring wide-scale data that will allow professionals in the field to better understand reading outcomes in this population.