This study was conducted to determine whether students classified as learning disabled (LD) who were permitted to substitute courses for the college foreign language (FL) requirement at one university would display significant cognitive and academic achievement differences when grouped by level of discrepancy between IQ and achievement, by discrepancy between achievement according to different measures, and by level of performance on phonological-orthographic processing measures, on the Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT), and in FL courses. Results showed that there were no differences among students with different levels of discrepancy (i.e., < 1.0 SD, 1.0-1.49 SD, and > 1.50 SD) on MLAT and American College Testing (ACT) scores, graduating grade point average (GPA) or college FL GPA. Results also showed that among students who scored below versus at or above the 25th percentile on phonological-orthographic processing measures, there were no differences on measures of IQ, ACT, MLAT, and GPA, as well as most measures of academic achievement. Implications for the use of the LD label to grant FL course substitutions or waivers, use of the MLAT in the diagnostic and course substitution/waiver process, and the validity and reliability of traditional criteria for the classification as LD are discussed.

The conventional assumption of most disability service providers is that students classified as having attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) will experience difficulties in foreign language (FL) courses. However, the evidence in support of this assumption is anecdotal. In this empirical investigation, the demographic profiles, overall academic performance, college entrance scores, and FL classroom performance of 68 college students classified as having ADHD were examined. All students had graduated from the same university over a 5-year period. The findings showed that all 68 students had completed the university's FL requirement by passing FL courses. The students' college entrance scores were similar to the middle 50% of freshmen at this university, and their graduating grade point average was similar to the typical graduating senior at the university. The students had participated in both lower (100) and upper (200, 300, 400) level FL courses and had achieved mostly average and above-average grades (A, B, C) in these courses. One student had majored and eight students had minored in an FL. Two thirds of the students passed all of their FL courses without the use of instructional accommodations. In this study, the classification of ADHD did not appear to interfere with participants' performance in FL courses. The findings suggest that students classified as having ADHD should enroll in and fulfill the FL requirement by passing FL courses.

In this study, we compared the cognitive, academic achievement, and demographic profiles of 46 students from one university who had been classified as learning disabled (LD) and had received permission to substitute courses for the university's foreign language (FL) requirement (petition group) with the profiles of 21 students from the same university who had been classified as LD and had fulfilled the university's FL requirement by passing FL courses (nonpetition group). Results showed no significant differences between the two groups on measures of reading, mathematics, written language, American College Testing score, and graduating grade point average when IQ was used as a covariate. More petition than nonpetition students had at least a 1.0 SD discrepancy between IQ and achievement and had been referred only for FL learning problems. More nonpetition than petition students had taken an FL in college and received accommodations in the FL. The two groups together appeared to constitute a heterogeneous group of learners, with more than half failing to meet a minimum discrepancy criterion for classification as LD. The discussion addresses the classification system for LD, the process for determining the presence of FL learning problems and how to address them, and directions for further research.

Job satisfaction, as assessed via five scales that posed questions concerning colleagues, work, supervision, pay, and promotion, as well as overall total job satisfaction, was examined for 55 self-identified college graduates with learning disabilities (LD) and 55 control graduates matched by gender, major, degree, and graduation year. All participants graduated from a competitive midwestern university from 1987 to 1994 and represented advantaged groups when compared to both LD and non-LD populations. The graduates with LD required significantly more time to complete their degrees and showed significantly lower CPAs. Data analysis indicated that the graduates with LD perceived themselves as receiving significantly less pay and promotion opportunities, and reported less total job satisfaction, than graduates without LD. However, no significant salary differences between the groups were found. The implications of these findings are examined.

This replication study compared 86 petition students who received course substitutions for the college foreign language (FL) requirement with 40 nonpetition students who fulfilled the FL requirement by passing FL courses on cognitive and academic achievement measures and graduating grade point average. The results showed significant differences between the two groups, favoring the nonpetition group on one measure, the American College Testing (ACT) score, when IQ was used as a covariate; however, no significant group differences remained when ACT score was used as a covariate. More than half of the 126 petition and nonpetition students did not meet a minimum criterion for classification as learning disabled (LD), and more than half of both groups (54% and 63%, respectively) were not classified as LD before enrolling in college. Sixty percent of the petition students either had not taken an FL course in college or had achieved only grades of withdrawal before petitioning for substitution of the FL requirement. Implications addressed include petition students' persistence in fulfilling the FL requirement, students' use of instructional accommodations and services, criteria used to classify students as LD, use of the Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT), and why some students classified as LD pass FL courses and other students classified as LD do not.