Ross E. Mitchell

Chasing the Mythical Ten Percent: Parental Hearing Status of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students in the United States

This article investigates the basis for the frequently reported statement that ten percent of deaf persons are born to families with one or more deaf parents. The prevalence of deaf children born to deaf parents (deaf-of-deaf) is important because it is often cited when describing linguistic and educational advantages, along with social and cultural differences, associated with deaf children born to deaf parents compared to deaf children of hearing parents. This analysis provides a current estimate for the distribution of parental hearing status among deaf and hard of hearing students in United States using data from the Annual Survey of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children and Youth (1999–2000). This is the first national estimate that fully utilizes the distinction between children having deaf parents and hard of hearing parents, as well as hearing parents. The authors propose that the key demographic to report, other than that the overwhelming majority of deaf and hard of hearing students have hearing parents, is whether the child has one or two deaf parents. The annual survey findings indicate that less than five percent of deaf and hard of hearing students receiving special education are known to have at least one deaf parent, which is less than half of the presumed ten percent. Reasons for the difference between the present and previous estimates are suggested.

Large-Scale Academic Achievement Testing of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students: Past, Present, and Future

The first large-scale, nationwide academic achievement testing program using Stanford Achievement Test (Stanford) for deaf and hard-of-hearing children in the United States started in 1969. Over the past three decades, the Stanford has served as a benchmark in the field of deaf education for assessing student academic achievement. However, the validity and reliability of using the Stanford for this special student population still require extensive scrutiny. Recent shifts in educational policy environment, which require that schools enable all children to achieve proficiency through accountability testing, warrants a close examination of the adequacy and relevance of the current large-scale testing of deaf and hard-of-hearing students. This study has three objectives: (a) it will summarize the historical data over the last three decades to indicate trends in academic achievement for this special population, (b) it will analyze the current federal laws and regulations related to educational testing and special education, thereby identifying gaps between policy and practice in the field, especially identifying the limitations of current testing programs in assessing what deaf and hard-of-hearing students know, and (c) it will offer some insights and suggestions for future testing programs for deaf and hard-of-hearing students.

How Many People Use ASL in the United States? Why Estimates Need Updating

This article traces the sources of the estimates of the number of American Sign Language users in the United States. A variety of claims can be found in the literature and on the Internet, some of which have been shown to be unfounded but continue to be cited. In our search for the sources of the various (mis)understandings, we have found that all of the data-based estimates of the number of people who use ASL in the United States have their origin in a single study published in the early 1970s, which inquired about signing in general and not ASL use in particular. There has been neither subsequent research to update these estimates nor any specific study of ASL use. The article concludes with a call to action to rectify this problem.

National Profile of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students in Special Education from Weighted Survey Results

Data from the 1999-2000 Annual Survey of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children and Youth (GRI Annual Survey; Gallaudet Research Institute, 2000) are systematically compared with those summarized by the U.S. Department of Education (2001, 2002) in the Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to estimate the degree to which findings based on the GRI Annual Survey sample are likely to be representative of the population of deaf and hard of hearing children and youth served under IDEA. An appropriate weighting system is then applied to provide more nationally representative estimates of the characteristics of deaf and hard of hearing students served under IDEA and, more important, to provide a better national description of these students and the services they receive than would otherwise be available.

Parental Hearing Status and Signing among Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students

On average, deaf and hard of hearing school-age children who have deaf or hard of hearing parents differ from those who have hearing- only parents in their signing experiences at home and school, as well as in their degree of hearing loss. The findings reported here, based on an analysis of data from the 2001–2002 Annual Survey of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children and Youth, indicate that having at least one deaf parent is the most powerful indicator of the likelihood that the student is in a home where signing is used regularly and in a classroom where signing is a primary mode of communication used for instruction. Having just one hard of hearing parent (and no deaf parent) greatly reduces the likelihood that the child is receiving instruction in sign language or regularly signs at home. Parental hearing status is also associated with the child’s degree of hearing loss, however; understanding the relationship between parental hearing status and signing experiences must thus be tempered by the fact that the physiological imperative for visual communication is frequently a result of genetic inheritance.

The Contributions of School Desegregation to Housing Integration: Case Studies in Two Large Urban Areas

This article examines a half century of housing and school segregation data in two large California school districts. Based on a review of both the methods and the substantive data available tracking the relationship between school and housing integration, the study reported here shows that very substantial school-level integration in these two districts was followed by equally substantial housing desegregation. The study relies on Theil’s H as the most appropriate measure of social segregation because this measure can be used to study the integration of multiple groups and can be decomposed to document where the most severe isolation of particular subgroups is occurring.

The structures of C2H+ and C2H+2 as measured by Coulomb explosion imaging

The structures of ethynyl and acetylene cations were investigated utilizing the Coulomb explosion imaging method. The geometrical probability density functions for the bending modes were obtained for the protonated and deuterated forms of each species. Detailed analyses of the data reveal that both the measured linear equilibrium geometries and the observed extent of the correlated bending vibrations agree with ab initio calculations for C2H+2 and C2D+2. C2H+ and C2D+ are found to be linear, but the extent of the bending amplitudes are by far larger than the corresponding theoretical predictions.

A new type of multiparticle imaging detector

The foil‐induced dissociation of molecular ions can provide a direct image of the stereochemical structures of small molecules. Such experiments require high‐resolution measurements of the relative momenta of all dissociation fragments. In order to improve and extend previous studies of this type to a larger variety of molecules and clusters, we have developed a new type of low‐pressure multiwire proportional counter. The novel feature of this large‐area (25×50 cm2 ) multiparticle detector is that all the signals are recorded from a single two‐level printed circuit board which serves as the anode. This segmented anode consists of three families of nonintersecting ‘‘wires’’ which are interwoven on the rear surface of the board. By redundantly determining positions and arrival times, the new segmented anode multiparticle detector provides good time resolution (100–200 ps) and high spatial resolution (0.2 mm) for detecting as many as six simultaneous particles.

Measurement of the distribution of bond angles in H2O

A quantitative analysis of the bending mode of H2O+ is made using the Coulomb Explosion technique. The full extent of the angular distribution is measured and is in good agreement with the previously measured bending frequency. The equilibrium value for the angle is extracted from the data with high precision and is in excellent agreement with theoretical predictions as well as spectroscopic measurements.

School Setting Behavior That Characterizes Social Justice: An Empirical Approach to Illustrate the Concept

We used prototype theory to illustrate the concept of social justice in school settings, particularly as it might inform the education of school leaders. Using expert input, we developed descriptions of school setting actions predicted to be perceived as prototypical of social justice in education, as well as of actions that were predicted to be either peripheral or antithetical to the construct. Panels of (a) social justice education faculty and (b) students in social justice–oriented school leadership doctoral programs rated the extent to which each of these resulting 46 actions characterized social justice. Data were analyzed to map the concept.