A meta-analysis of 58 studies was performed in which IQ, academic achievement, and behavior characteristics were examined across students with learning disabilities (LD), mild intellectual disabilities (MID), and emotional/behavioral disabilities (E/BD). The effect sizes between students with LD and MID were the largest in the domains of IQ and academic achievement, and the differences involving pupils with E/BD versus those with LD and MID were largest in the behavior realm. Very little disparity was found when comparing (a) those with LD and students with E/BD on IQ measures, and (b) pupils with LD and those with MID in behavior. Implications for cross-categorical and noncategorical special education are discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
References marked with an asterisk indicate studies included in the meta-analysis.
2.
AlgozzineB.YsseldykeJ. E. (1983). Learning disabilities as a subset of school failure: The oversophistication of a concept. Exceptional Children, 50, 242–246.
3.
AndersonJ. A.KutashK.DuchnowskiA. J. (2001). A comparison of the academic progress of students with EBD and students with LD. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 9, 106–115.
4.
BatemanB. D. (1994). Who, how, and where: Special education's issues in perpetuity. The Journal of Special Education, 27, 509–520.
5.
BoyleJ. R.WeishaarM. (2001). The effects of strategic notetaking on the recall and comprehension of lecture information for high school students with learning disabilities. Learning Disabilities Research, 16, 133–141.
6.
BramlettR. K.SmithB. L.EdmondsJ. (1994). A comparison of nonreferred, learning disabled, and mildly mentally retarded students utilizing the social skills rating system. Psychology in the Schools, 31, 13–19.
7.
BussingR.ZimaB. T.BelinT. R.FornessS. R. (1998). Children who qualify for LD and SED programs: Do they differ in level of ADHD symptoms and comorbid psychiatric conditions. Behavioral Disorders, 23, 85–97.
8.
CarrollJ. L.FriedrichD.HundJ. (1984). Academic self-concept and teachers' perceptions of normal, mentally retarded, and learning disabled elementary students. Psychology in the Schools, 21, 343–348.
9.
CohenM.HyndG. (1986). The Conners Teacher Rating Scale: A different factor structure with special education children. Psychology in the Schools, 23 (1), 13–23.
10.
Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities. (2002). Comments on the recommendations of the President's Commission on Excellence in Special Education. Washington, DC: Author.
11.
CooperH.HedgesL.V. (Eds.). (1994). The handbook of research synthesis. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
12.
CostenbaderV. K.KellerH. R. (1990). Behavioral ratings of emotionally handicapped, learning disabled, and nonreferred children: Scale and source consistency. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 8, 485–496.
13.
CullinanD.EpsteinM. H. (1985). Adjustment problems of mildly handicapped and nonhandicapped students. Remedial and Special Education, 6 (2), 5–11.
14.
CullinanD.SchultzR. M.EpsteinM. H.LuebkeJ. F. (1984). Behavior problems of handicapped adolescent female students. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 13, 57–64.
15.
CunninghamS. (1988). Performance comparisons of learning disabled, nonhandicapped, and educable mentally retarded students on selected industrial arts tasks. Journal of Industrial Teacher Education, 25 (3), 49–55.
DenningC. B.ChamberlainJ. A.PollowayE. A. (2000). An evaluation of state guidelines for mental retardation: Focus on definition and classification practices. Education and Training in Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, 35, 119–134.
18.
EllenA. S. (1989). Discriminant validity of teacher ratings for normal, learning-disabled, and emotionally handicapped boys. Journal of School Psychology, 27, 15–25.
19.
EpsteinM. H.CullinanD. (1983). Academic performance of behaviorally disordered and learning-disabled pupils. The Journal of Special Education, 17, 303–307.
20.
EpsteinM. H.CullinanD.GadowK. D. (1986). Teacher ratings of hyperactivity in learning-disabled, emotionally disturbed, and mentally retarded children. The Journal of Special Education, 20, 219–229.
21.
EpsteinM. H.PollowayE. A.FoleyR. M.PattonJ. R. (1990). Comparisons of performance on academic probes by students with mild retardation, learning disabilities, and behavior disorders. Special Services in the Schools, 6, 121–134.
22.
EpsteinM. H.PollowayE. A.FoleyR. M.PattonJ. R. (1993). Homework: A comparison of teachers' and parents' perceptions of the problems experienced by students identified as having behavioral disorders, learning disabilities, or no disabilities. Remedial and Special Education, 14 (5), 40–50.
23.
FornessS. R.KnitzerJ. (1992). A new proposed definition and terminology to replace “serious emotional disturbance” in Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. School Psychology Review, 21, 12–20.
24.
FrankA. R.SitlingtonP. L.CarsonR. R. (1995). Young adults with behavioral disorders: A comparison with peers with mild disabilities. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 3, 156–164.
25.
FuchsD.FuchsL. S.PowerM. H. (1987). Effects of examiner familiarity on LD and MR students' language performance. Remedial and Special Education, 8 (4), 47–52.
26.
FulkB. M.BrighamF. J.LohmanD. A. (1998). Motivation and self-regulation. Remedial and Special Education, 19, 300–309.
27.
FullerG. B.GohD. S. (1981). Intelligence, achievement, and visual motor performance among learning disabled and emotionally impaired children. Psychology in the Schools, 18, 261–268.
28.
GajarA. H. (1979). EMR, LD, ED: Similarities and differences. Exceptional Children, 45, 470–472.
29.
GajarA. H. (1980). Characteristics across exceptional categories: EMR, LD, and ED. The Journal of Special Education, 14, 165–173.
30.
GreeneA. C.SappG. L.ChissomB. (1990). Validation of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale: Fourth Edition with exceptional black male students. Psychology in the Schools, 27 (1), 35–41.
31.
GreshamF. M.ElliottS. N.BlackF. L. (1987). Factor structure replication and bias investigation of the teacher rating of social skills. Journal of School Psychology, 25, 81–92.
32.
GreshamF. M.MacMillanD. L.BocianK. M. (1996). Learning disabilities, low achievement, and mild mental retardation: More alike than different?Journal of Learning Disabilities, 29, 570–581.
33.
HallahanD. P.KauffmanJ. M. (1977). Labels, categories, behaviors: ED, LD, and EMR reconsidered. The Journal of Special Education, 11, 139–149.
34.
HarrisJ. C.KingS. L.ReiflerJ. P.RosenbergL. A. (1984). Emotional and learning disorders in 6–12 year-old boys attending special schools. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 23, 431–437.
35.
HedgesL. V.OlkinI. (1985). Statistical methods for meta-analysis. New York: Academic Press.
36.
JankeR. W.LeeK. (1991). Social skills ratings of exceptional students. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 9, 54–66.
37.
KauffmanJ. K.HallahanD. P.LloydJ. W. (1998). Politics, science, and the future of learning disabilities. Learning Disability Quarterly, 21, 276–280.
38.
KauffmanJ. K.LandrumT. (2006). A brief history of special education for students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Austin, TX: PRO-ED.
39.
KorteringL. J.BrazielP. M. (1999). Staying in school: The perspective of ninth-grade students. Remedial and Special Education, 20, 106–113.
40.
LidzC.BallesterL. E. (1986). Diagnostic implications of McCarthy Scale General Cognitive Index/Binet IQ discrepancies for low-socioeconomic-status preschool children. Journal of School Psychology, 24, 371–385.
41.
LipseyM. W.WilsonD. B. (2001). Practical meta-analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
42.
LongmanR. S.InglisJ.LawsonJ. S. (1991). WISC-R patterns of cognitive abilities in behavior disordered and learning disabled children. Psychological Assessment, 3, 239–246.
43.
LopezM. F.FornessS. R.MacMillanD. L.BocianK. M.GreshamF. M. (1996). Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and emotional or behavioral disorders in primary grades: Inappropriate placement in the learning disability category. Education and Treatment of Children, 19, 286–299.
44.
LuebkeJ.EpsteinM. H.CullinanD. (1989). Comparison of teacher-rated achievement levels of behaviorally disordered, learning disabled, and nonhandicapped adolescents. Behavioral Disorders, 15, 1–8.
45.
MacmillanD. L.SipersteinG. N.GreshamF. M. (1996). A challenge to the viability of mild mental retardation as a diagnostic category. Exceptional Children, 62, 356–371.
46.
MargalitM. (1989). Academic competence and social adjustment of boys with learning disabilities and boys with behavior disorders. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 22, 41–50.
47.
MargalitM. (1995). Social skills learning for students with learning disabilities and students with behavior disorders. Educational Psychology, 15, 445–456.
48.
MargalitM.RothY. B. (1989). Strategic keyboard training and spelling improvement among children with learning disabilities and mental retardation. Educational Psychology, 9, 321–329.
49.
MarstonD. (1987). Does categorical teacher certification benefit the mildly handicapped child?Exceptional Children, 53, 423–431.
50.
McConaughyS. H.AchenbachT. M. (1996). Contributions of a child interview to multimethod assessment of children with EBD and LD. School Psychology Review, 25, 24–39.
51.
McGuireJ.BatesG. W.DretzkeB. J.McGivernE.RemboldK. L.SeaboldD. R. (1985). Methodological quality as a component of meta-analysis. Educational Psychologist, 20, 1–5.
52.
MerrellK. W.MerzJ. M.JohnsonE. R.RingE. N. (1992). Social competence of students with mild handicaps and low achievement: A comparative study. School Psychology Review, 21 (1), 125–137.
53.
MerrellK. W.SandersD. E.PopingaM. R. (1993). Teacher ratings of student social behavior as a predictor of special education status: Discriminant validity of the school social scales. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 11, 220–231.
54.
MiniuttiA. A. (1991). Language deficiencies in inner-city children with learning and behavioral problems. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 22, 31–38.
55.
NaglieriJ. A. (1985). Use of the WISC-R and K-ABC with learning disabled, borderline mentally retarded, and normal children. Psychology in the Schools, 22 (2), 133–141.
56.
ObrzutA.ObrzutJ. E.ShawD. (1984). Construct validity of the Kauffman Assessment Battery for children with learning disabled and mentally retarded. Psychology in the Schools, 21, 417–424.
57.
OrwinR. G. (1983). A fail-safe N for effect size in meta-analysis. Journal of Educational Statistics, 8, 157–159.
58.
PollowayE. A.SmithJ. D. (1983). Changes in mild mental retardation: Population, programs, and perspectives. Exceptional Children, 50, 149–159.
59.
President's Commission on Excellence in Special Education. (2002). A new era: Revitalizing special education for children and their families. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.
60.
ReidR.EpsteinM. H.PastorD. A.RyserG. R. (2000). Strengths-based assessment differences across students with LD and EBD. Remedial and Special Education, 21, 346–355.
61.
ReschlyD. J.TillyW. D. (1999). Reform trends and system design alternatives. In ReschlyD. J.TillyW. D.GrimesJ. P. (Eds.), Special education in transition: Functional assessment and noncategorical programming (pp. 19–48). Longmont, CO: Sopris West.
62.
ReschlyD. J.TillyW. D.GrimesJ. (Eds.). (1999). Special education in transition: Functional assessment and noncategorical programming. Longmont, CO: Sopris West.
63.
ReynoldsM. C.BirchJ. W. (1977). Teaching exceptional children in all America's schools. Reston, VA: Council for Exceptional Children.
64.
RichmondB. O.BlaggD. E. (1985). Adaptive behavior, social adjustment, and academic achievement of regular and special education children. The Exceptional Child, 32, 93–98.
65.
RosenthalR. (1991). Meta-analytic procedures for social research. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
66.
SabornieE. J.EvansR.CullinanD. (in press). Comparing characteristics of high-incidence disability groups: A descriptive review. Remedial and Special Education.
67.
SabornieE. J.KauffmanJ. M.CullinanD. (1990). Extended sociometric status of adolescents with mild handicaps: A cross-categorical perspective. Exceptionality, 1, 197–209.
68.
SabornieE. J.KauffmanJ. M.EllisE. S.MarshallK. J. (1987–1988). Bi-directional and cross-categorical social status of learning disabled, behaviorally disordered, and nonhandicapped adolescents. The Journal of Special Education, 21, 39–56.
69.
SabornieE. J.MarshallK. J.EllisE. S. (1988). Behavior disordered, learning disabled, and nonhandicapped students' social status in mainstream classes. Monograph in Behavior Disorders: Severe Behavior Disorders of Children and Youth, 11, 32–45.
70.
SAS Institute. (2001). JMP (Version 4.0) [Computer software and manual]. Cary, NC: Author.
71.
SchacharR.LoganG.WachsmuthR.ChajczykD. (1988). Attaining and maintaining preparation: A comparison of attention in hyperactive, normal, and disturbed control children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 16, 361–378.
72.
SchlossP. J.EpsteinM. H.CullinanD. (1988). Depression characteristics among mildly handicapped students. Journal of the Multihandicapped Person, 1, 293–302.
73.
ScottM. S.PerouR.GreenfieldD.PartridgeM. F.SwansonL. J. (1993). A comparison of normally achieving, mildly retarded and learning disabled students on a perceptually based oddity task. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 5, 129–150.
74.
ScruggsT. E.MastropieriM. A. (1986). Academic characteristics of behaviorally disordered and learning disabled students. Behavioral Disorders, 11, 184–190.
75.
ShadishW. R.RobinsonL.LuC. (1999). ES: A computer program and manual for effect size calculation (Version 1.0) [Computer software and manual]. St. Paul, MN: Assessment Systems Corporation.
76.
SitlingtonP. L.FrankA. R.CarsonR. (1992). Adult adjustment among high school graduates with mild disabilities. Exceptional Children, 59, 221–233.
77.
SlateJ. R.SaarnioD. A. (1995). Differences between WISC-III and WISC-R IQs: A preliminary investigation. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 13, 340–346.
78.
SprafkinJ.GadowK. (1987). An observational study of emotionally disturbed and learning-disabled children in school settings. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 15, 393–408.
79.
SprafkinJ.KellyE.GadowK. D. (1987). Reality perceptions of television: A comparison of emotionally disturbed, learning disabled, and nonhandicapped children. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 8 (3), 149–153.
80.
StavrouE. (1990). The long-term stability of WISC-R scores in mildly retarded and learning-disabled children. Psychology in the Schools, 27, 101–110.
81.
TillyW. D.ReschlyD. J.GrimesJ. (1999). Disability determination in problem-solving systems: Conceptual foundations and critical components. In ReschlyD. J.TillyW. D.GrimesJ. P. (Eds.), Special education in transition: Functional assessment and noncategorical programming (pp. 285–301). Longmont, CO: Sopris West.
82.
TroutA. L.NordnessP. D.PierceC. D.EpsteinM. H. (2003). Research on the academic status of children with emotional and behavioral disorders: A review of the literature from 1961 to 2000. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 11, 198–210.
83.
VanceH. B.FullerG. B.EllisR. (1983). Discriminant function analysis of LD/BD children. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 39, 749–753.
84.
WhortonJ. E. (1985). Test–retest Wechsler intelligence scale for children—Revised scores for 310 educable mentally retarded and specific learning disabled students. Psychological Reports, 56, 857–858.
85.
WilsonL.ConeT.BradleyC.ReeseJ. (1986). The characteristics of learning disabled and other handicapped students referred for evaluation in the state of Iowa. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 19, 553–557.
86.
WolmanC. (1991). Sensitivity to causal cohesion in stories by children with mild mental retardation, children with learning disabilities, and children without disabilities. The Journal of Special Education, 25, 135–154.
87.
WolmanC.van den BroekP.LorchR. F. (1997). Effects of causal structure on immediate and delayed story recall by children with mild mental retardation, children with learning disabilities, and children without disabilities. The Journal of Special Education, 30, 439–455.
88.
WoodT. A.BuckhaltJ. A.TomlinJ. G. (1988). A comparison of listening and reading performance with children in three educational placements. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 21, 493–496.
89.
WortmanP. M. (1994). Judging research quality. In CooperH.HedgesL. V. (Eds.), The handbook of research synthesis (pp. 97–110). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
90.
WynneM. E.BrownR. T. (1984). Assessment of high incidence learning disorders: Isolating measures with high discriminant ability. School Psychology Review, 13, 231–237.
91.
YsseldykeJ.MarstonD. (1999). Origins of categorical special education services in schools and a rationale for changing them. In ReschlyD. J.TillyW. D.GrimesJ. P. (Eds.), Special education in transition: Functional assessment and noncategorical programming (pp. 1–18). Longmont, CO: Sopris West.
