MacDonald, L. A. (2007). Assessment of academic achievement of students who are deaf and hard of hearing (Publication No. NR49820) [Doctoral dissertation, University of New Brunswick (Canada)]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global. https://www.proquest.com/docview/304728733

University of New Brunswick (Canada); ProQuest document ID: 304728733

Both students and educators from 6 school districts in New Brunswick and 5 school boards in Nova Scotia (Canada) participated. Participants included students with deafness (n=50) in grades 7–12. The intended hearing loss range was to be moderate (40-70 dB), severe (71-90 dB), and profound (>90 dB); however, due to the requirements of the dependent variable, only the students with severe and profound deafness were eligible (N=29), which decreased further due to age limits of the test or voluntary withdrawal (N=19). Also participating were their educators (N=34), including classroom teachers, itinerant teachers of deaf students (N=24), and educational interpreters (N=11).

The Stanford Achievement Test, 9th Edition (Stanford 9), served as a dependent variable. The Stanford 9 skills and knowledge tested included subscales on reading comprehension and vocabulary, with 8 levels of difficulty aligned mostly with grades 1 through 8. Another data source was from educators—different surveys provided to: 1) classroom teachers about assessment and grading practices for students receiving accommodations, and 2) itinerant teachers and interpreters about accommodations provided prior to and during assessment.