Learning Disabilities Research & Practice

Teacher perceptions of learning disabled (LD) pupils and a ma tched non-LD group were predicted based on child variance and personality variables. Teachers' perceptions of LD pupils were not related either to achievement or to verbal IQ. A four- variable model including three self-concept subscales and a locus of control subscale predicted variance in teachability of LD pupils yielding an R² of .50. The results suggest that teachers are using a different, relatively lenient standard of judgment when assessing the teachability of LD students. Implications for treatment and evaluation of mainstream placements are discussed.

Children labeled learning disabled, behaviorally disordered, and learning disabled with significant behavioral disorders were assessed on measures of locus of control. The groups were matched by age, gender, intelligence level, and grade level. The children labeled learning disabled were found to be significantly more internally controlled than children labeled behaviorally disordered and children labeled learning disabled with behavioral disorders. Both the learning disabled and behaviorally disordered groups had higher scores on internal locus of control than the group labeled learning disabled with behavioral disorders.

This investigation examined the changes that take place in aptitude and achievement discrepancies of LD students over time. Using a T-score discrepancy formula, four distinct subgroups within the sample were identified and changing patterns of aptitude-achievement discrepancy were associated with each subgroup. Implications for the number and type of students who will eventually receive special educational services are discussed.

There has been little research on the identification criteria that staffing teams emphasize when students are placed in LD programs. In this study, questionnaires were sent to a random sample of LD teachers. The teachers were asked to provide demographic data and to identify the degree of emphasis placed on identification criteria in their most recent staffing that resulted in an initial LD placement. The greatest emphasis was placed on intraindividual variability, achievement-potential discrepancy, below grade level in academic achievement, and exclusion of other handicapping conditions. Less emphasis was placed on processing deficits and neurological dysfunction. Teachers serving only the LD category rather than multicategorical teachers serving many disabilities reported significantly more emphasis on processing deficits, neurological involvement, and absence of other handicapping conditions than did multicategorical teachers. Significant F-ratios were obtained for two of five analyses of variance applied to mean emphasis on processing deficits.

Recent investigations have attempted to establish the validity of the Personality Inventory for Children (PIC) in identifying children in school and clinical settings. The purpose of the current study was to establish, using the PIC-S, the best predictors of educational placement with a sample of 55 children enrolled in public school programs for either the nonhandicapped or learning disabled. Additional analyses relating to the application of nine scales as predictors of group assignment are reported.

Data from seven school districts are used to illustrate the psychometric issues that arise from the use of minimum competency tests in states with local option testing. The variability in reliability of subtests and difficulty level of subtests is emphasized. The authors discuss acceptable levels of reliability desired for tests on which important decisions are made. Further, the accuracy of decisions based on tests of differing reliabilities Is discussed, particularly as they affect mildly handicapped and marginal students.

Instructional programming for LD adolescents has recently focused on strategy training to facilitate the acquisition and retention of curricular material. The purpose of this study was to examine the potential of a specific strategy, text structure recognition and use, for increasing LD high school students' recall of expository prose. Fifty-four participants were assigned to one of two groups. The experimental group received training in recognizing and using text structure, and the comparison group received training in problem-solving strategies as they apply to reading. Immediate posttest and delayed posttest data entered in four separate 2 (reading level: low, high) x2 (treatment: experimental, comparison) analyses of covariance indicated that LD learners can be trained to use text structure strategies and that such training has a positive impact on immedia te and delayed recall performance. Implications for instructional programs are discussed.

Effects of two types of memory strategy instruction and training on vocabulary acquisition of learning disabled (LD) adolescents were investigated. Sixty seventh and eighth-grade LD students were randomly assigned to two types of instruction, mnemonic or directed rehearsal. In the training task, students were instructed by the experimenter using the condition-specific strategy. In the transfer task, subjects received training in the independent use of the strategy in which they had been instructed previously. Results indicated the following: (a) subjects instructed in training task in the mnemonic method significantly outperformed subjects instructed in the directed rehearsal strategy, (b) in the transfer task, subjects trained in the mnemonic condition significantly outperformed subjects trained In the directed rehearsal condition when using the strategies independently, (c) proportions of subjects who did and did not train to criterion in both conditions for the transfer task did not differ significantly, and (d) proportions of subjects who did and did not exhibit verbal responses indicating employment of the strategy in which they had been trained in both conditions of the transfer task did not differ significantly.