Reading comprehension ability level of deaf/hard of hearing students of Hossana Mekane Eyesus School for the Deaf

For deaf and hard-of-hearing students, attainment of grade appropriate reading comprehension levels presents a specific challenge. Thus, the objective of this study was to assess the present reading comprehension level of each of the grades ۵-۱۲ and the average reading comprehension level of all the participant deaf students of Mekane Eyesus School for the Deaf. A case study research design was chosen because of its importance to illustrate and provide a unique example of real people in real situations. Twenty one deaf students were selected using purposive sampling technique. The data were collected through adapted diagnostic reading comprehension test called MICO. The result revealed that struggling readers, a reading comprehension score of below ۶۰%, in each of the grade levels ۵-۱۲. Accordingly, the deaf students from grade ۵ to grade ۱۲ preformed a mean score of ۳۸.۸۷ to ۵۸.۳۰ with standard deviation of ۱۷.۲۴ to ۱۱.۷۳ in the diagnostic reading comprehension test. In addition to this, the overall average score on the test revealed low reading comprehension with mean = ۴۳.۷۱ and Std. deviation = ۱۴.۶۸ which was revealed as struggling readers according to the parameter used in this study. Recommendations were forwarded based on the findings of the study.

Keywords:

Written text understanding , disabled learners , educating disabled