Reading Achievement in the Middle School Years: A Study Investigating Growth Patterns by High Incidence Disability

Abstract

Numerous research studies (e.g., Anderson, Kutash, & Duchnowski, 2001; Lane, Carter, Pierson, & Glaeser, 2006 Lane, K. L., Carter, E. W., Pierson, M. R., & Glaeser, B. C. (2006). Academic, social and behavioral characteristics of high school students with emotional disturbances or learning disabilities. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 14, 108–117. doi:10.1177/10634266060140020101[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Volpe, Dupaul, Jitendra, & Tresco, 2009 Volpe, R. J., Dupaul, G. J., Jitendra, A. K., & Tresco, K. E. (2009). Consultation-based academic interventions for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: Effects on reading and mathematics outcomes at 1-year follow-up. School Psychology Review, 38, 5–13.[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Wei, Blackorby, & Schiller, 2011 Wei, X., Blackorby, J., & Schiller, E. (2011). Growth in reading achievement of students with disabilities, age 7 to 17. Exceptional Children, 78, 89–106.[Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) have shown that students with disabilities generally exhibit lower reading scores than their peers without disabilities. However, questions remain about the possibility of longitudinal differences among high-incidence disability classifications (e.g., speech/language impairments, SLI; emotional disturbances, ED; learning disabilities, LD; and attention deficit disorders, ADD). This study investigated growth patterns in reading achievement among middle school students from 5th to 8th grade with different high incidence disability classifications on one state's high-stakes assessment. After a repeated measures analysis of variance and post hoc testing, results reveal that students identified as LD and SLI evidenced more growth in reading than those classified as either ADD or ED. In light of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 legislation, findings about the various growth patterns are discussed with respect to policy, measurement, and practical implications.