For grades 6-12, what thresholds and frequencies are used in screening?

For grades 6-12, what thresholds and frequencies are used in screening?

• A. 20 dB HL at 1000, 2000, 4000, 6000 Hz
• B. 25 dB HL at 500 Hz
• C. 15 dB HL at all frequencies
• D. 20 dB HL at 500 Hz, 1000 Hz, 2000 Hz

Answer: (A)

Screening for grades 6–12 uses a pass/fail at 20 dB HL across a set of key speech frequencies. These frequencies—1000, 2000, 4000, and often 6000 Hz—cover the portions of speech with the most energy, so catching a mild loss here helps identify students who may struggle to hear in classroom listening situations. The 20 dB HL threshold is set to detect a level of hearing that could affect understanding without over-referring for every small variation, making the screening efficient in a school setting. If a student doesn’t respond at 20 dB HL at any of these frequencies in an ear, that ear is referred for a full audiological evaluation. Other options don’t fit typical school screening practice because they either test at a single frequency, use a lower or higher threshold, or omit the high-frequency range that is important for speech understanding.

Screening for grades 6–12 uses a pass/fail at 20 dB HL across a set of key speech frequencies. These frequencies—1000, 2000, 4000, and often 6000 Hz—cover the portions of speech with the most energy, so catching a mild loss here helps identify students who may struggle to hear in classroom listening situations. The 20 dB HL threshold is set to detect a level of hearing that could affect understanding without over-referring for every small variation, making the screening efficient in a school setting. If a student doesn’t respond at 20 dB HL at any of these frequencies in an ear, that ear is referred for a full audiological evaluation.

Other options don’t fit typical school screening practice because they either test at a single frequency, use a lower or higher threshold, or omit the high-frequency range that is important for speech understanding.