GACE: Special Education Deaf Education

The Special Education General Curriculum assessment, offered as part of the Georgia Assessments for the Certification of Educators, is divided into two tests.

The first test consists of 60 selected-response questions (80% of the test score) and 2 constructed-response assignments (20% of the test score). The content areas covered by the first test are: students who are deaf or hard of hearing; and assessing students and developing programs. The topics covered by the student who are deaf or heard of hearing subarea are: human growth and development; factors that affect development and learning; processes involved in hearing; types and degrees of hearing loss; effects of hearing loss on development and learning; and development of language and cognition among students who are deaf or hard of hearing. The topics covered by the assessment and development subarea are: the various types and characteristics of assessment; procedures for assessing the auditory functioning and speech of students who are deaf or hard of hearing; procedures for assessing the receptive and expressive communication skills of students who are deaf or hard of hearing; and procedures for using individualized education plans, individualized family service plans, and transition plans.

The second test consists of 60 selected-response questions (80% of the test score) and 2 constructed-response questions (20% of the test score). The content areas covered by the second test are: promoting student development and learning; and working in a professional environment. The topics covered by the promoting student development and learning subarea are: strategies for creating a safe, supportive, and inclusive classroom climate; effective behavior management and intervention strategies for disabled students; instruction methods appropriate to disabled students; and strategies for promoting social, communication, and life skills. The topics covered by the working in a professional environment subarea are: communicating and collaborating with students, their families, colleagues, administrators, service providers, and community agencies; the historical, social, and legal foundations of special education; and the professional, ethical, and legal issues pertaining to special educators.

The examination must be completed within four hours. The total test score is placed on a scale of 100 to 300, with 220 as the lowest passing score. Scores are based on the number of selected-response questions answered correctly and the scores assigned by judges to the constructed responses. Test-takers will also receive performance indices indicating their success in each subarea of the examination. Scores will be available approximately a month after the date of the examination; unofficial results are posted on the internet, and an official score report is mailed to the test-taker, the Professional Standards Commission, and the institution specified by the test-taker during registration.

Practice Questions

1. What is the best explanation for why deaf children take longer to acquire reading comprehension skills?

A: they do not understand the concept of language
B: they cannot make the connections between graphemes and phonemes
C: they have never been spoken to
D: they are busy learning American Sign Language

2. Which of the following contrasts between deaf or hard of hearing students who use oral communications and students who use sign language is true?

A: Students who use sign language are more socially adept.
B: Students who use oral communications interact more with hearing peers.
C: Students who use oral communication do better on standardized tests.
D: Students who use sign language have more friends.

3. According to IDEA, what is the role of a parent in developing an individualized education program?

A: Parents can submit recommendations in writing but are not allowed to attend meetings.
B: Parents are expected to be equal partners in the development of the IEP.
C: Parents are allowed to attend planning meetings but cannot participate.
D: Parents are expected to lead all planning meetings.

4. Which of the following expressions would be the most difficult for a deaf student to understand?

A: The cow jumped over the moon.
B: My name is Mrs. Bailey.
C: He screamed at the top of his lungs.
D: Welcome to my humble home!

5. Which of the following syntactic structures CANNOT be indicated through facial morphology in American Sign Language?

A: negation
B: conditionals
C: questioning
D: subordinate clause

Answer Key

1. B. Deaf students struggle to acquire semantic ability through lip-reading.
2. B. Research has shown that students who can use oral methods of communication are more likely to interact with hearing students.
3. B. IDEA asserts that parents have unique knowledge of their children and should therefore be equal partners in the planning process.
4. C. Figurative expressions such as this one are difficult to make plain to deaf students.
5. D. Most students begin to acquire the facial morphology used in ASL within the first two years of life.