Cognitive and Achievement Characteristics of Students From a National Sample Identified as Potentially Twice Exceptional (Gifted With a Learning Disability)

Abstract

It is important to identify cognitive and achievement characteristics that differentiate students who are twice exceptional because they are gifted and have a learning disability (2e-LD) from gifted and average ability peers because this information informs empirically-based identification and support systems for this population. In this study, I classified school-age participants (N = 3,865) in the nationally representative standardization sample for the Woodcock-Johnson IV (WJ IV) Tests of Cognitive Abilities and Achievement as potentially gifted, 2e-LD, or of average ability based on their WJ IV performance. I compared mean levels of performance, strengths and weaknesses, and intraindividual heterogeneity across 2e-LD, gifted, and average-ability groups. The 2e-LD group demonstrated greater heterogeneity in performance, and their strengths and weaknesses were largely consistent with past research and writing on 2e-LD characteristics. Results support some 2e-LD identification recommendations from the literature and highlight the potential benefits of individualized assessment, dual differentiation, and a de-emphasis of speeded academic tasks.