Ipadeola, M. H., Ahmad, A. C., & Onjewu, M. (2017). Influence of sign language in the examination of reading comprehension to students with hearing impairment in senior school certificate examination in Nigeria . Education , 7 (1), 1–4. https://doi.org/10.5923/j.edu.20170701.01

The Signing Exact English version of the reading comprehension exit examination was compared with the traditional written English paper-based reading comprehension exit exam for students with hearing impairments in Nigeria. Specifically, the reading passages were administered in either medium, and test item performance was compared.

Students with hearing impairments (n=18) in the Government Technical School at Malali, Kaduna in Nigeria participated while taking their required standardized examinations at the end of their time in Senior Secondary School (SSS); students typically progress to postsecondary education or career after this secondary level of education. Nine students in carpentry, electrical, and electronics class completed the signed version, and nine students in welding and building class completed the paper version. Demographic information such as age and gender were reported; 10 male students were 23 years old, and 8 female students were 20 years old. There were five students with prelingual hearing loss and 13 students with postlingual hearing loss.

The English reading comprehension exit examination, part of the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) by the National Examination Council of Nigeria (NECO) was used as the outcome measure. The quasi-experimental design consisted of a pre-test for all 18 students, then a period of English reading comprehension test practice in either medium. For the post-test, one participant group was administered the standard written English paper-based reading comprehension test, and the other group's members were simultaneously (as a group) administered the reading comprehension test with Signing Exact English of reading passages. It appeared that all students responded to test items on paper.

No significant difference in reading comprehension exam performance scores between senior secondary school students with hearing impairments who participated in a signed administration of reading passages and students who participated in the traditional written administration of reading passages. These results indicated that the signed administration accommodation, Signing Exact English, did not benefit participants with hearing impairments more than those who did not receive the accommodation. The researchers reported that students with hearing impairments had difficulties with Signing Exact English due to its inconsistent use in the school's practices; other local sign languages were used more commonly. They recommended that the relatively brief practice period for participants be expanded beyond three weeks.