A Follow-Up Study of 52 Learning Disabled Adolescents

Abstract

This study was designed to document, four years later, the progress of 52 LD adolescents who entered a special education program in the ninth grade. The sample were “typical” LD adolescents: old for their grade placement, with severe reading retardation and moderate math retardation. Theoretically, these students should have been in 12th grade at the time of follow—up. In fact, 16 were still enrolled in a special education high school program; seven were still in high school but in regular classes full—time; twenty—four had stopped attending high school; and five could not be located. Thirty—four students (all those still in school and 11 of the dropouts) were retested on academic skills. Results indicated impressive gains for all students although approximately half the achievement growth had taken place in the first year of the LD program. The 11 dropouts were also interviewed about the circumstances of their school leaving. A majority reported that they had been encouraged to leave school before graduation because of persistent, academic, behavior and attendance problems. Data available to the school district at the time of placement into the ninth—grade special education program were utilized in a step—wise discriminant analysis, for predicting status at follow—up. The discriminant analysis was quite poor at identifying students who would leave school.

Rethinking Secondary School Programs for Students with Learning Disabilities

“…The Levin et al ( 1985) sample was very small, but the findings deeply troubled us. We had worked hard with the school district to develop a secondary school LD program that was sensible and meaningful.…”

“…By 1981 the model program had been in place long enough so that 52 students who had entered high school in 1977-78 as ninth graders and had been placed in the LD program should have been in 12th grade. We set out to document the progress of these 52 adolescents (see Levin, Zigmond, & Birch, 1985). We expected to find the students in 11th or 12th grade, some fully mainstreamed, some still being served in special education resource rooms, all showing improved basic skills and getting ready for the world of work.…”

“…Many researchers have reported academic achievement levels in reading and mathematics among adolescents with learning disabilities that are consistently low, 3 to 5 years behind actual grade placement at entrance to ninth grade (see Cobb & Crump, 1984;Levin, et al, 1985;Norman & Zigmond, 1980;Schaloch et al, 1986;Thornton & Zigmond, 1987 a;Warner, Alley, Schumaker, Deshler, & Clark, 1980;Zigmond & Thornton, 1985). Unfortunately, students with learning disabilities do not seem to recoup these basic skill deficiencies during their years of attending secondary school resource room programs (Zigmond & Thornton, 1985;Gregory, Shanahan, & Walberg, 1986) and, in fact, the gap between achievement scores and grade expectancy level actually seems to widen as students with learning disabilities progress through high school (Norman & Zigmond, 1980;Warner, Alley, Schumaker, Deshler, & Clark, 1980).…”

The effects of strategy instruction on the reading comprehension achievement of junior secondary school students.

“…Some researchers have estimated that 90% of all students classified as leaming disabled are reading disabled (Kaluger & Kolson, 1978;Levin, Zigmond, & Birch, 1985). A more recent study examining the relationship between reading disability and leaming disability has not been found.…”

“…Furthermore, research shows that many of the students who drop out of school fit into the leaming disabled category (Bender, 1995;Levin, Zigmond, & Birch, 1985;Mel lard & Hazel, 1992;Tanner, Krahn, & Hartnagel, 1995). Those students who have a leaming disability do not readily overcome their leaming disability in adulthood thereby affecting their economic well-being as adults (Bender, 1995;Hallahan & Kauffman, 1982;Hasazi, Johnson, Hasazi, Gordon, & Hull, 1989;McCaul, Donaldson, Coladarci, & Davis, 1992;Mellard & Hazel, 1992;Tanner, Krahn, & Hartnagel, 1995;White, 1995).…”