Testlet 403: Human growth, development and the auditory process 10
A child goes through the critical periods for speech and language with no exposure to any language. What does the NIDCD say follows?Answer: Language will be more difficult to learn. Source: NIDCD, "Speech and Language Developmental Milestones". Written to GACE Special Education Deaf Education (734) testlet 403, objective 0001
A child's otoacoustic emissions are normal, but the auditory brainstem response is absent. According to the NIDCD, what is this pattern the hallmark of?Answer: Auditory neuropathy. Source: NIDCD, "Auditory Neuropathy". Written to GACE Special Education Deaf Education (734) testlet 403, objective 0002
A fourth grader with hearing loss uses words such as "cat", "jump" and "red" with ease. According to ASHA, which kind of word is she more likely to struggle with?Answer: Abstract words such as "before" and "shy". Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, "Effects of Hearing Loss on Development". Written to GACE Special Education Deaf Education (734) testlet 403, objective 0001
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Testlet 403: Human growth, development and the auditory process, continued
A kindergartner's report says that sound cannot move through the outer and middle ear to reach the inner ear. Which type of hearing loss is this?Answer: Conductive. Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, "Types of Hearing Loss". Written to GACE Special Education Deaf Education (734) testlet 403, objective 0002
A teacher of the deaf chooses a retelling task that a student can do with her guidance but not yet alone. Which idea from Vygotsky describes that range?Answer: The zone of proximal development. Source: Wikipedia, "Zone of proximal development". Written to GACE Special Education Deaf Education (734) testlet 403, objective 0001
An audiology report calls a student's hearing loss "moderately severe". Which range does the ASHA chart of degrees of hearing loss give for that term?Answer: 56 to 70 dB HL. Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, "Degree of Hearing Loss". Written to GACE Special Education Deaf Education (734) testlet 403, objective 0002
In the NIDCD's account of hearing, what turns the ripple of fluid in the cochlea into an electrical signal?Answer: Hair cells whose stereocilia bend. Source: NIDCD, "How Do We Hear?". Written to GACE Special Education Deaf Education (734) testlet 403, objective 0002
On the NIDCD checklist of a baby's hearing and communicative development, in which age band does a baby babble in a speech-like way, with sounds that begin with p, b and m?Answer: 4 to 6 months. Source: NIDCD, "Speech and Language Developmental Milestones", checklist. Written to GACE Special Education Deaf Education (734) testlet 403, objective 0001
Which structures amplify sound vibrations and send them on from the eardrum to the cochlea?Answer: The malleus, incus and stapes. Source: NIDCD, "How Do We Hear?". Written to GACE Special Education Deaf Education (734) testlet 403, objective 0002
Why does it matter that a baby's hearing loss is found in the first months? According to the NIDCD, when do children with typical hearing begin learning speech and language?Answer: In the first 6 months of life. Source: NIDCD, "Your Baby's Hearing Screening and Next Steps". Written to GACE Special Education Deaf Education (734) testlet 403, objective 0001
Testlet 404: Assessment and individualized instruction 15
A deaf father asks a public school for a sign language interpreter at a parent night. The school would rather pass written notes. Under the ADA's title II guidance, what weight does his request carry?Answer: Primary consideration. Source: ADA.gov, "ADA Requirements: Effective Communication", Who Decides Which Aid or Service Is Needed. Written to GACE Special Education Deaf Education (734) testlet 404, objective 0003
A deaf fourth grader who signs receives all of her lessons through an interpreter and none from a teacher who signs. Which consideration in 34 CFR 300.324(a)(2)(iv) speaks to this?Answer: Opportunities for direct instruction in the child's language and communication mode. Source: 34 CFR 300.324(a)(2)(iv) (IDEA Part B regulations, eCFR). Written to GACE Special Education Deaf Education (734) testlet 404, objective 0002
A deaf mother comes to a routine school conference with her hearing 12-year-old, and the office asks the child to interpret. Under the ADA guidance on effective communication, when may a minor child be relied on to interpret?Answer: Only in an emergency with an imminent threat, when no qualified interpreter is available. Source: ADA.gov, "ADA Requirements: Effective Communication", Use of Accompanying Adults or Children as Interpreters. Written to GACE Special Education Deaf Education (734) testlet 404, objective 0003
A follow-up exam confirms that a baby has hearing loss. By the NIDCD timeline, intervention services should start no later than what age?Answer: 6 months. Source: NIDCD, "Your Baby's Hearing Screening and Next Steps". Written to GACE Special Education Deaf Education (734) testlet 404, objective 0001
A hearing student's parents are both deaf. What does 34 CFR 300.322(e) require of the public agency at the IEP Team meeting?Answer: Whatever action is needed for the parents to understand the meeting, including an interpreter. Source: 34 CFR 300.322(e) (IDEA Part B regulations, eCFR). Written to GACE Special Education Deaf Education (734) testlet 404, objective 0003
A second grader's hearing aid stopped working on Monday and nobody at school noticed until Thursday. What does 34 CFR 300.113(a) require of the public agency?Answer: To ensure that hearing aids worn in school work properly. Source: 34 CFR 300.113(a) (IDEA Part B regulations, eCFR). Written to GACE Special Education Deaf Education (734) testlet 404, objective 0002
A student who is hard of hearing writes "two dog" and "she walk home yesterday". Which explanation does ASHA give for errors like these?Answer: Word endings such as -s and -ed are hard to hear. Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, "Effects of Hearing Loss on Development". Written to GACE Special Education Deaf Education (734) testlet 404, objective 0002
A student's cochlear implant needs to be mapped again. Under 34 CFR 300.34(b), is mapping a related service the school must provide?Answer: No. Optimizing the device, such as mapping, is excluded. Source: 34 CFR 300.34(b) (IDEA Part B regulations, eCFR). Written to GACE Special Education Deaf Education (734) testlet 404, objective 0002
A teacher of the deaf visits a classroom with a tile floor and bare walls where speech echoes. Which step from ASHA's page on classroom acoustics deals with the echo?Answer: Place rugs or carpet in the room. Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, "Classroom Acoustics". Written to GACE Special Education Deaf Education (734) testlet 404, objective 0002
A team needs someone to determine the range, nature and degree of a child's hearing loss and to counsel the parents and teachers about it. Under 34 CFR 300.34(c), which related service covers both?Answer: Audiology. Source: 34 CFR 300.34(c)(1) (IDEA Part B regulations, eCFR). Written to GACE Special Education Deaf Education (734) testlet 404, objective 0003
An audiologist tests a 12-month-old by rewarding each head turn toward a sound with an animated toy. Which behavioral test is this?Answer: Visual reinforcement audiometry. Source: Wikipedia, "Visual reinforcement audiometry". Written to GACE Special Education Deaf Education (734) testlet 404, objective 0001
An evaluation must be given in the child's native language or other mode of communication. For a child who is deaf, what does 34 CFR 300.29(b) say that mode is?Answer: The mode the child normally uses, such as sign language or oral communication. Source: 34 CFR 300.29(b) (IDEA Part B regulations, eCFR). Written to GACE Special Education Deaf Education (734) testlet 404, objective 0001
In one newborn hearing screening test the baby wears small earphones while electrodes placed on the head pick up a response. Which test is this?Answer: Auditory brain stem response (ABR). Source: NIDCD, "Your Baby's Hearing Screening and Next Steps". Written to GACE Special Education Deaf Education (734) testlet 404, objective 0001
Which definition does 34 CFR 300.8(c)(3) give for deafness?Answer: A hearing impairment so severe that the child is impaired in processing linguistic information through hearing, with or without amplification. Source: 34 CFR 300.8(c)(3) (IDEA Part B regulations, eCFR). Written to GACE Special Education Deaf Education (734) testlet 404, objective 0001
Which of these does 34 CFR 300.34(c)(4) list among interpreting services for children who are deaf or hard of hearing?Answer: Cued language transliteration. Source: 34 CFR 300.34(c)(4) (IDEA Part B regulations, eCFR). Written to GACE Special Education Deaf Education (734) testlet 404, objective 0003
Testlet 405: Language and communication 15
A deaf child reaches age 5 without enough exposure to any language, spoken or signed. What is the resulting delay in language development called?Answer: Language deprivation. Source: Wikipedia, "Language deprivation in children with hearing loss". Written to GACE Special Education Deaf Education (734) testlet 405, objective 0001
A family chooses an approach that builds listening, talking and reading through natural hearing and hearing devices, with no manual communication. What does the NIDCD call it?Answer: Listening and spoken language. Source: NIDCD, "Your Baby's Hearing Screening and Next Steps". Written to GACE Special Education Deaf Education (734) testlet 405, objective 0002
A hearing student who is learning ASL signs a yes-or-no question with a still face and is taken to be making a statement. What marks a question in ASL, according to the NIDCD?Answer: Raised eyebrows, widened eyes and a forward tilt of the body. Source: NIDCD, "American Sign Language". Written to GACE Special Education Deaf Education (734) testlet 405, objective 0001
A school needs an assistive listening system for a room used for confidential meetings, so the signal must not carry into the next room. Which system does the NIDCD describe as unable to pass through walls?Answer: An infrared system. Source: NIDCD, "Assistive Devices for People with Hearing, Voice, Speech, or Language Disorders". Written to GACE Special Education Deaf Education (734) testlet 405, objective 0003
A teacher signs in English word order and adds signs for endings such as -ing and -ed. Which system is she using?Answer: Signing Exact English. Source: Wikipedia, "Signing Exact English". Written to GACE Special Education Deaf Education (734) testlet 405, objective 0002
A teacher wears a small microphone connected to a transmitter, and a receiver tuned to her channel brings her voice to one student. Which assistive listening device is this?Answer: An FM system. Source: NIDCD, "Assistive Devices for People with Hearing, Voice, Speech, or Language Disorders". Written to GACE Special Education Deaf Education (734) testlet 405, objective 0003
An American deaf student trades signed videos with a deaf student in England and finds she cannot follow them. What does the NIDCD say about the two countries' sign languages?Answer: British Sign Language is a different language from ASL. Source: NIDCD, "American Sign Language". Written to GACE Special Education Deaf Education (734) testlet 405, objective 0001
An IEP Team finds that a student needs her school-purchased remote microphone system at home in order to receive FAPE. What does 34 CFR 300.105(b) say?Answer: Its use at home is required. Source: 34 CFR 300.105(b) (IDEA Part B regulations, eCFR). Written to GACE Special Education Deaf Education (734) testlet 405, objective 0003
At a school board meeting a captioner with a stenotype machine produces captions as the speakers talk. What does the NIDCD call captions created as an event takes place?Answer: Real-time captions. Source: NIDCD, "Captions for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Viewers". Written to GACE Special Education Deaf Education (734) testlet 405, objective 0003
In a bilingual-bicultural program in the United States, which language is treated as the deaf child's first language?Answer: American Sign Language. Source: Wikipedia, "Bilingual–bicultural education". Written to GACE Special Education Deaf Education (734) testlet 405, objective 0002
Two deaf students from different states notice that they sign some words differently. What does the NIDCD say about such variation?Answer: ASL has regional accents and dialects. Source: NIDCD, "American Sign Language". Written to GACE Special Education Deaf Education (734) testlet 405, objective 0001
What did one study that the NIDCD describes find about the building of complex phrases in signed and in spoken language?Answer: Both engaged the same brain areas. Source: NIDCD, "American Sign Language". Written to GACE Special Education Deaf Education (734) testlet 405, objective 0001
Which approach aims to use a number of modes, such as signed, oral, auditory, written and visual aids, depending on the person's needs and abilities?Answer: Total communication. Source: Wikipedia, "Total Communication". Written to GACE Special Education Deaf Education (734) testlet 405, objective 0002
Which approach uses hand shapes and placements, together with natural lip movements, to stand for groups of consonants and vowels?Answer: Cued speech. Source: NIDCD, "Your Baby's Hearing Screening and Next Steps". Written to GACE Special Education Deaf Education (734) testlet 405, objective 0002
Which device bypasses damaged portions of the ear and stimulates the auditory nerve directly?Answer: A cochlear implant. Source: NIDCD, "Cochlear Implants". Written to GACE Special Education Deaf Education (734) testlet 405, objective 0003
How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to the objectives of the GACE Special Education Deaf Education (P–12) assessment, test code 734, as its Assessment Design and Framework prints them on the GACE website of the Georgia Professional Standards Commission and Evaluation Systems, Pearson (https://www.gace.es.pearson.com/studyguide/framework/734 and https://www.gace.es.pearson.com/test/734, read 2026-10-15): testlet 403 Human Growth and Development and the Auditory Process, about 20 selected-response questions, two objectives of 50%; testlet 404 Assessment and Individualized Instruction for Deaf Education, about 30, three objectives of a third each; testlet 405 Developing and Promoting Language and Communication, about 30, three objectives of a third each. This bank holds 10, 15 and 15, five for each objective. Every fact was read on 2026-10-15 on the page named under its question: pages of the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (nidcd.nih.gov), the IDEA Part B regulations, 34 CFR Part 300 (ecfr.gov), ADA.gov, the public pages of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (asha.org) and six Wikipedia articles. Licence: Questions, choices and explanations are original work of this site.
How it works
This GACE Deaf Education study guide is a free practice test: 40 questions of our own on the testlets of Special Education Deaf Education (P–12), test 734. It is unofficial, not affiliated with the Georgia Professional Standards Commission or Pearson.
Read the full guide
What test 734 covers
Testlet 403, Human Growth and Development and the Auditory Process, has about 20 questions. Testlet 404, Assessment and Individualized Instruction for Deaf Education, has about 30, and so has testlet 405, Developing and Promoting Language and Communication. Source: the framework at gace.es.pearson.com, read October 15, 2026.
Timing
The real testlets allow 30, 45 and 45 minutes, a minute and a half a question. At that pace the 40 questions here take an hour.
Where the answers come from
Each explanation names its source: NIDCD pages on hearing, sign language and devices, ASHA's public pages, the IDEA regulations at 34 CFR Part 300, the ADA guidance on effective communication, or Wikipedia.
Eleven of the 40 questions rest on federal rules or guidance: interpreting services, hearing aid checks, evaluation in the child's own mode of communication.
Half of testlet 403 is the auditory systems and the types and degrees of conditions that affect hearing.
Questions and answers
Is there a GACE deaf study guide?
Yes. The GACE website publishes a study guide for Special Education Deaf Education (P–12), test 734, with a sample item for each objective. This page is separate: 40 practice questions of our own, grouped by the test's three testlets.
How many questions are on the GACE Deaf Education test?
80 selected-response questions in all. Testing time is 2 hours, and the appointment adds 15 minutes for a tutorial and a nondisclosure agreement.
What is a passing score on the GACE Deaf Education test?
The three testlet results together must produce an assessment-level score of 220 or higher, and each testlet has a floor of its own. Scores run from 100 to 300, so this page gives the number right and no verdict.
Is American Sign Language part of the GACE Deaf Education test?
The framework of test 734 names no one language: testlet 405 covers language development and communication in the student's preferred communication mode. The GACE list also carries a separate assessment named American Sign Language (P–12), test 419.