The reasons for why Deaf students are underachieving on tests varies greatly, and likely is not fully understood, but there are certain factors that have already been identified by researchers. A student’s mastery of his first language is a precursor to strong reading abilities (Marschark). If a student has weak language skills, then it is expected that he will struggle to learn how to read and write. However, if the student is surrounded with strong language models from birth, then they are more likely to have good language development earlier in their life and find reading to come more naturally. In Deaf education, it is often assumed that Deaf of Deaf make the best readers, and it makes since why this seems to be true. Deaf of Deaf are
