Evaluation of Hearing Testing Program in New York City Elementary Schools

A study of the hearing testing program in New York City elementary schools was undertaken in 1961 to evaluate the effectiveness with which children with impaired hearing are being identified and the procedures by which these children are followed up for further diagnosis. A representative sample of 53 elementary schools was selected, and the school health records of 51,415 pupils were examined. Of these pupils, approximately one-half had received hearing tests during the school year. Ninety-five percent of those tested were found to have normal hearing. Analysis of the 5 percent identified by school tests as having a hearing impairment showed that only 56 percent of this group had received a clinical examination and that only 32 percent of those who had received a clinical examination were found to have impaired hearing. Three percent of a subsample of pupils studied over a 5-year period from kindergarten through fourth grade had never received an elementary school hearing test. Research personnel conducted independent hearing tests with 7,129 children. Comparison of the results of research tests with school tests indicated agreement for 93 percent of the children.