Writing outcomes and expressive language use of deaf high school students.

This study investigates the writing performance of 75 deaf high school students across narrative, argumentative, and argumentative-with-sources genres, examining how expressive language proficiency and early language exposure influence outcomes. Using automated scoring on traits such as idea development, organization, style, sentence fluency, word choice, and conventions, results showed generally low to mid-level writing performance, with argumentative-with-sources writing scoring similarly to narrative writing and showing some growth in upper grades. Students with earlier exposure to American Sign Language (ASL) and higher proficiency in ASL or spoken English demonstrated better writing outcomes, particularly in more complex argumentative tasks. The findings highlight the need for linguistically responsive curricula, reliable ASL assessments tailored to secondary students, and evidence-based instructional strategies to address the diverse language backgrounds and needs of deaf learners. Future research is recommended to explore writing patterns longitudinally and to develop specialized resources that support academic success and societal engagement for deaf students.