The efficacy of special education services for students with learning disabilities: A longitudinal study

The purpose of this study was to examine the achievement of students with specific learning disabilities over a six-year period, from their initial placement in special education until their second triennial evaluation.;The study proposed to look at changes in achievement for the entire sample (n = 103) labeled specific learning disabled, and for three subgroups of this population. The subgroups were: (a) students whose criteria for classification as specific learning disabled included a discrepancy between achievement and their full scale IQ score (n = 74); (b) students whose criteria for classification as specific learning disabled included a discrepancy between achievement and their verbal IQ score (n = 5); and (c) students whose criteria for classification as specific learning disabled included a discrepancy between achievement and their performance IQ score (n = 24). The study also examined relationships between achievement and the following nominal variables: (a) sex, (b) ethnicity, (c) area(s) of academic deficit, (d) type of processing disorder and (e) level of services received.;The major Findings of this study were: (1) The full sample of students with specific learning disabilities made significant gains in achievement over the six-year period of the study. (2) The subgroup of the sample, identified based on a discrepancy between full-scale IQ and achievement, made significant gains in achievement over the six-year period of the study. (3) The subgroup of the sample, identified based on a discrepancy between performance IQ and achievement, did not make significant gains in achievement over the six-year period examined. (4) There were significant differences, in both ability and achievement, between the subgroup identified based on full-scale IQ and the group identified based on performance IQ. The full-scale subgroup scored higher on both measures. (5) There were moderate differences in measured ability levels, and significant differences in measured achievement levels, between males and females in the study. Males scored higher on both measures. (6) There was not a significant relationship between gains in achievement and the nominal variables of sex and ethnicity. (7) There were significant relationships between IQ and achievement, and placement had lower IQ and achievement levels. (8) Black and Hispanic students were overrepresented in the sample whereas Asians were underrepresented. (9) Males were overrepresented in the sample whereas females were underrepresented