Course Taking Effect on Postsecondary Enrollment of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students

Data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 were used to examine the effect of academic and career or technical education course taking in high school on deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) youth's postsecondary enrollment in 2-year, 4-year, and career or technical education (CTE) institutions. The analyses included a nationally representative cohort of 440 youth who were deaf or hard of hearing. This study examined the impact of academic course taking in high school--percentage of credits earned in academic courses and completion of algebra coursework--on the enrollment of DHH students in 2- and 4-year colleges and CTE schools, as well as the impact of CTE course taking--percentage of credits earned in CTE courses and completion of an occupationally specific course of study--on the enrollment of DHH students in 2- and 4-year colleges and CTE schools. Propensity model analyses, a quasi-experimental method, indicated that completing an algebra course in high school was a significant predictor of DHH students' future enrollment in postsecondary programs and completing a greater proportion of academic courses significantly increased the likelihood of DHH students' enrolling in 2-year and 4-year colleges and CTE programs, however, neither completing a greater proportion of CTE courses nor being a CTE concentrator in a specific occupational course of study contributed to DHH students' enrolling in postsecondary programs, including CTE programs. The results provide important implications for policy and practice. The finding that completing an algebra course was associated with a significantly greater likelihood of enrollment in CTE as well as 2- and 4-year postsecondary education programs emphasizes the generality of the gateway character of that course as demonstrated in previous studies involving the general (hearing) student population. The findings also demonstrate that the role of taking an algebra course as a predictor of postsecondary enrollment holds for DHH students as it does for hearing students, despite their generally lower prior mathematics achievement. Other research indicate that a factor in specific academic outcomes for DHH students is lack of prior preparation and content knowledge. The present findings are consistent with empirical research indicating the need for DHH students to take more, or perhaps more rigorous, courses if they are to enroll in and complete postsecondary programs. Such findings need to be considered early on during transition planning in a way that is appropriate to the DHH student's strengths and needs and points to the secondary transition planning staff both encouraging DHH students who have a goal of future postsecondary attendance to take a rigorous, academically focused high school curriculum and providing students with the supports needed to complete these courses. (Contains 3 tables). [At the time of submission to ERIC this article was in press with "Exceptionality."]