Academic achievement of youth with hearing impairments lags

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Full report

A gap exists between the academic achievement of youth with hearing impairments and their peers in the general population in reading, mathematics, science, and social studies, according to a new release by The National Center for Special Education Research. Facts from NLTS2: The Secondary School Experiences and Academic Performance of Students With Hearing Impairments uses data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study 2 dataset to provide a national picture of the secondary school experiences and academic achievement of students with hearing impairments who received special education services.

The outcomes cover several key areas, including students’ experiences in general education academic courses and non-vocational special education courses, accommodations, supports, services provided to students, and academic achievement. In addition to the findings for the overall group, this fact sheet provides findings by parent-reported levels of hearing impairments.

Selected findings include:

• Secondary school students with hearing impairments took a range of courses in a given semester; on average, 61 percent of their courses were academic, 13 percent were vocational, and 26 percent were other nonacademic courses (e.g., physical education).

• More than three-fourths (76 percent) of students with hearing impairments attended a typical school with a wide variety of students, whereas nearly one-fifth (19 percent) attended a school serving students only with disabilities, and 4 percent attended another type of school (e.g, charter, alternative, hospital, or home school).

• At the classroom level, more than one-third (35%) of students with hearing impairments took all of their courses in a general education setting, and 21 percent of students with hearing impairments took all of their courses in a special education setting. A total of 78 percent of students with hearing impairments were enrolled in at least one course in a general education setting, and 64 percent were enrolled in at least one course in a special education setting.

• Most students with hearing impairments (93 percent) were provided some type of accommodation, support, or service from their schools(e.g., modifications to learning within the classroom such as additional time for taking tests, learning supports, technology aids).

• Higher percentages of youth with hearing impairments scored below the mean across subtests of academic achievement compared with students in the general population.