The relationship between English reading comprehension scores and years enrolled at a residiential school for the deaf

The purpose of this study was to investigate demographic, family, and school variables, including the variable of the number of years at a residential school for the deaf and examine the relationship of these variables to English reading comprehension. This focused study involved a sample of 60 deaf students attending a southwestern U.S. school for the deaf during the 2006-07 school year. The author employed descriptive statistics, frequency and percents, Pearson product moment coefficients, inferential statistics, and multiple regression analyses. He found moderate correlations between years enrolled at the school for the deaf and Stanford Achievement Test reading comprehension subtest scores and age when tested and SAT-10 scores. Related to individual characteristics, there was a statistically significant correlation between reading comprehension scores and four background variables: age when tested; grade level; ethnicity; and nonverbal IQ score. Related to school variables, there was a statistically significant correlation between the reading comprehension and two variables: age in years when enrolled in the school for the deaf and age when tested. Most deaf children as a whole in a residential school fare better on reading comprehension than their counterparts who have transferred at a later age to the state school from public schools. Future research should include large samples of students at various residential schools for the deaf to make broader generalizations related to background variables and time spent at the school on reading comprehension.