A Meta-Analysis of Reading Differences between Underachievers With and Without the Disabilities Label: A Brief Report

Authors

  • Douglas Fuchs
  • Lynn S. Fuchs
  • Patricia G. Mathes
  • Mark E. Lipsey
  • Susan Eaton

Abstract

More than 20 years after learning disabilities was included as a disability category in the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, the special education field is still unclear about what learning disabilities really means. Generally, it has been defined as an unexpecteddiscrepancy between intelligence and achievement, presumably caused by neurological impairlnent (e.g., Kavale, 1995). However, many have questioned the meaningfulness of this intelligence-achievement discrepancy and the tests used to produce it. Siegel (1989), for example, dismisses the relevance of IQ tests in identifying learning disabilities. She argues many children fail to learn to read because of deficits related specifically to reading acquisition, not because of some putative difference between their IQ and academic achievement.

Issue

Section

Articles