Science and Evidence of Success: Two Emerging Issues in Assessment Accommodations for Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

In the United States, students who are deaf or hard of hear-ing (SDHH) are required to participate in high-stakes stan-dardized assessments under No Child Left Behind reforms. In 2006–2007, states added science to reading and mathe-matics as a tested content area. Many SDHH participate in these assessments using testing accommodations, but teach-ers have few evidence-based resources to draw upon when making accommodations decisions. Two research questions guided this study: (a) What were patterns of SDHH 2006– 2007 test accommodations use in state standardized assess-ments in mathematics, reading, and science? (b) What evidence did teachers use to determine the effectiveness of accommodations for SDHH? A total of 290 participants de-scribed their assessment practices with SDHH via an online and paper-and-pencil survey. Extended time, small group