THE MATHEMATICAL ACHIEVEMENTS OF DEAF CHILDREN FROM DIFFERENT EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENTS

Abstract

S ummary . The performances of 465 hearing and 540 hearing‐impaired school‐leavers on the Vernon‐Miller Graded Arithmetic‐Mathematics test are reported. A previous study revealed that hearing‐impaired children in special schools and partially hearing units scored approximately three years below their hearing peers. Somewhat paradoxically, however, degree of hearing loss was not a major determinant of performance in the hearing‐impaired sample. One possible explanation for these findings is that children in special education follow a different and less demanding curriculum than hearing children. To explore this possibility, 135 hearing‐impaired children attending ordinary schools were tested. Multiple regression analysis reveals that while this ‘mainstreamed’ sample performed better than those in special education, educational placement per se is not an important determinant of achievement. No sex differences emerge for any hearing‐impaired group and hearing loss remains a significant (r = ×0.26, P < 0.001) but weak predictor of performance.