Teachers' Ratings of the Social Competence and School Adjustment of Students with LD in Elementary and Junior High School

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine whether teachers' judgments of students' social competence and school adjustment differentiated students with learning disabilities (LD) (n = 30; boys = 19, girls = 11) from low-achieving (LA) students (n = 29; boys = 17, girls = 12) and average-achieving (AA) students (n = 33; boys = 18, girls = 15) at two grade levels: third/fourth (mean age = 9.97, SD = 1.09) and seventh/eighth (mean age = 13.63, SD = .65). Teachers completed the Walker-McConnell Scale of Social Competence and School Adjustment for each student. They rated younger students with LD and LA students as having significantly lower social competence and school adjustment than their AA peers. In addition, the results supported the use of teacher ratings for initial screening and identification of elementary students at high risk for social-behavioral problems. However, teachers' ratings did not discriminate LD, LA, and AA students at the older grade levels. The discussion focuses on the utility of teachers' identification of social problems at different grade levels.