Of the 26,147 twelfth-graders on whom survey data from the national High School and Beyond study were complete, 439 (1.7%) identified themselves as having specific learning disabilities. Comparisons between the data on these students and those on their nonimpaired peers showed that the learning disabled group (a) was older, (b) included a disproportionately high number of minority members, and (c) reported significantly more other handicapping conditions. Likewise, the learning disabled students scored significantly lower on all measures of academic achievement tested and on most indices of self-esteem and motivation. They also reported more serious trouble with the law. Parity was only uncovered on such variables as amount of television viewing and school-based extracurricular activities. Implications of the findings are discussed.
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