Soundfield

In 1977, the Department of Education began funding the initial investigation of what was to be a three year investigation named the Mainstream Amplification Resource Room Study, or more commonly referred to as the MARRS project. The concept behind the study was to use a wireless microphone to amplify the teacher's voice so that children with mild or minimal fluctuating hearing losses could remain in the mainstream and still hear the teacher amidst the poor acoustics. It was hoped that these children with a hearing problem would be able to keep up with the mainstream and reduce costs associated with special education referrals and outside resourcing. It was not anticipated what astonishing ground breaking results would be revealed.

Under the MARRS project, ALL students, regardless of hearing ability, taught in sound enhanced rooms showed significant gains in academic achievement, and were noted to achieve in reading and language arts at a faster rate, to a higher level, and at one-tenth the cost of students taken from regular classes to resource room instruction. This study received national validation status and opened the door to a new line of thinking: Does the classroom support a child's ability to hear the teacher, and ultimately affect a child's academic success?