Evaluation Considerations for Students With Hearing Loss

Evaluation considerations for students with hearing loss mean using a variety of assessment tools to understand how hearing loss affects learning, communication, and progress in the general curriculum. Schools must not use any single test as the only reason to decide eligibility or to plan an IEP.

What should be considered during evaluations for students with hearing loss?

Evaluations for students with hearing loss should consider communication access, listening ability, language development, classroom participation, academic performance, assistive technology use, and how hearing loss affects educational access.

Examples of Evaluation Considerations

Include:

• captioning access during testing
• interpreter use
• classroom listening observation
• FM system effectiveness
• language sampling
• teacher input
• parent concerns

Evaluation Considerations

Hearing loss creates barriers to learning in the typical classroom environment and impacts social interactions. This invisible barrier is why it is necessary to consider functional performance in the classroom across situations. Hearing loss typically causes CUMULATIVE learning gaps due to incidental learning/overhearing deficits. Hard-of-hearing students are often ignored, or their needs are minimized because they are not ‘Deaf enough,’ and the behaviors associated with hearing loss look like other learning issues. The information below delineates what the school team must do when evaluating whether a child is eligible for specialized instruction, related services, and supports/accommodations.

IDEA §300.304 Evaluation Procedures

(b) Conduct of evaluation. In conducting the evaluation, the public agency must—

(1) Use a variety of assessment tools and strategies to gather relevant functional, developmental, and academic information about the child, including information provided by the parent, that may assist in determining—

(i)Whether the child is a child with a disability under §300.8; and

(ii) The content of the child’s IEP, including information related to enabling the child to be involved in and progress in the general education curriculum (or for a preschool child, to participate in appropriate activities);

(2) Not use any single measure or assessment as the sole criterion for determining whether a child is a child with a disability and for determining an appropriate educational program for the child; and

(3) Use technically sound instruments that may assess the relative contribution of cognitive and behavioral factors, in addition to physical or developmental factors.

             (1) Assessments and other evaluation materials used to assess a child under this part—  (iv) are administered by trained and knowledgeable personnel;

              (2) Assessments and other evaluation materials include those tailored to assess specific areas of educational need and not merely those that are designed to provide a single general intelligence quotient.

              (3) Assessments are selected and administered so as best to ensure that if an assessment is administered to a child with impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills, the assessment results accurately reflect the child’s aptitude or achievement level or whatever other factors the test purports to measure, rather than reflecting the child’s impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills (unless those skills are the factors that the test purports to measure).

             (6) In evaluating each child with a disability under §§300.304 through 300.306, the evaluation is sufficiently comprehensive to identify all of the child’s special education and related services needs, whether or not commonly linked to the disability category in which the child has been classified.

             (7) Assessment tools and strategies that provide relevant information that directly assists persons in determining the educational needs of the child are provided.

(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1414(b)(1)-(3), 1412(a)(6)(B))

Gathering relevant functional and academic information: How are these defined?

Academic achievement. According to the US Department of Education:

“Academic achievement” generally refers to a child’s performance in academic areas (e.g., reading or language arts, math, science, and history). We believe the definition could vary depending on a child’s circumstances or situation, and therefore, we do not believe a definition of “academic achievement” should be included in these regulations. (71 Fed. Reg. at 46662)

Functional performance. With respect to the meaning of “functional performance,” the Department of Education points to how the term is generally understood as referring to “skills or activities that are not considered academic or related to a child’s academic achievement.” This term “is often used in the context of routine activities of everyday living”.  The reason that examples of functional skills were not included in IDEA was because “the range of functional skills is as varied as the individual needs of children with disabilities” (71 Fed. Reg. at 46661). The evaluation procedures used to measure a child’s functional skills must meet the same standards as all other evaluation procedures described in IDEA at §300.304(c)(1). (71 Fed. Reg. at 46661).

The “present levels” statement is intended to comprehensively describe a child’s abilities, performance, strengths, and needs. It is based on, and arises out of, all the information and data previously collected and known about the child, most especially the full and individual evaluation of the child that must be conducted in accordance with IDEA’s evaluation/eligibility provisions of §§300.301 through 300.311. A well-written present level will describe:

• The child’s strengths and weaknesses
• What helps the child learn
• What limits or interferes with the child’s learning
• Objective data from current evaluations of the child, and
• How the child’s disability affects his or her ability to be involved and progress in the general curriculum.

A fully developed, well-written “present levels” is the foundation upon which the rest of the IEP can be developed to specify appropriate goals, services, supports, accommodations, and placement for the child. 

Source: Center for Parent Information and Resources (CPIR). “Present Levels (Component of the IEP).”

Frequently Asked Questions About Special Education Evaluation Considerations for Students with Hearing Loss

What are the legal evaluation considerations for students with hearing loss?
Under IDEA Law (§300.304), evaluation considerations mean that schools must look at the whole child using a variety of assessment tools. School teams are legally prohibited from using a single test score or measure to determine if a student has a disability or to design an Individualized Education Program (IEP).

Why must educational evaluations include more than one test?
Using multiple assessment tools provides a comprehensive picture of a student’s functional, developmental, and academic strengths and challenges. Relying on a single test score can completely miss subtle language gaps or the “invisible barriers” caused by hearing loss in a noisy classroom environment.

What specific areas should be included in a deaf or hard-of-hearing evaluation?
To understand how hearing loss impacts educational access across different learning environments, a comprehensive assessment should evaluate:

• Hearing, auditory perception, and hearing device care (hearing aids, cochlear implants, or FM systems)
• Communication access and listening skills
• Language development (vocabulary, grammar, and social language)
• Academic achievement and classroom participation
• Social-emotional maturity and self-advocacy skills

Who makes up the multidisciplinary evaluation team?
The team is made up of professionals who collaborate to understand the student’s unique educational and communication needs. This typically includes parents, general education teachers, teachers of the deaf and hard of hearing (TODHH), educational audiologists, speech-language pathologists (SLPs), and school psychologists.

Why is communication access critical during the testing process itself?
If a student cannot clearly understand test directions, questions, or spoken information due to background noise or lack of assistive technology, the results will measure their hearing barrier rather than their actual cognitive skills or academic aptitude. Accommodations like FM systems, interpreters, captioning, and preferential seating ensure a fair and accurate evaluation.

Can a student with high test scores still qualify for IEP services?
Yes. Under special education guidelines, a student can qualify for services and accommodations if their hearing loss impacts their functional performance, communication, or overall access to the classroom environment—even if their formal academic test scores appear high.

What is a “present levels” statement in an IEP, and why does it matter?
A “present levels” statement (PLAAFP) describes a student’s current strengths, weaknesses, and objective evaluation data. It explains exactly how their hearing loss interferes with learning in the general education curriculum. A well-developed present levels statement serves as the vital foundation for setting meaningful IEP goals, accommodations, and placement choices.

What is the role of educational audiology in school assessments?
Educational audiology focuses directly on how a student’s hearing affects learning and classroom access. Educational audiologists play a key role in evaluations by assessing the acoustics of the listening environment, checking the daily use and maintenance of hearing devices, and recommending specialized learning accommodations.

Additional Evaluation Consideration Resources:
Progress Monitoring: Gains Equal to Peers
Tailoring Assessment Procedures to Meet the Needs of Students with Hearing Loss.
School Supports, Modifications, and Accommodations for Students with Hearing Loss.
Assessing Online Access for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students
Tests – Informal Assessment for Parents, Students, and Teachers

Originally published: June 2017
Last updated: June 2026