Recent information-processing theory points to the important role executive functioning plays in successful problem-solving. Discovering the most efficient way to keep a serially presented list of words in short-term memory and subsequently recall it can be thought of as a problem to be solved. Executive processes are invoked In this context whenever an individual seeks to match optimally a specific mnemonic strategy with the requirements of a given memory task. In the present study, a group of school-identified learning disabled (LD) adolescents and a group of low-achieving adolescents (not formally classified for special education services) were presented with lists of words to be memorized. The task was a self-paced, circular recall task similar to that used in the programmatic research of Butterfield and Belmont (1977). Students' accuracy of recall and use of an appropriate rehearsal strategy were independently measured. With one exception, the performance of the lew-achieving and LD students did not differ when achievement was statistically controlled. Also, a large proportion of LD adolescents were found to employ an appropriate executive strategy, and thus could not be characterized as demonstrating deficient executive functioning.
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