Although intelligence tests are among the most widely used psychological instruments in school psychology, at the current time, little is known about how practitioners interpret them. The primary purpose of this study, therefore, was to determine how intelligence tests are interpreted by school psychologists, particularly for the identification of…

The aim of this study was to examine whether the use of a response-to-intervention (RTI) model to identify specific learning disability (SLD) over-identifies children and youth with population-relative (normative) weaknesses in general cognitive ability (IQs < 90). We compared the overall score on the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test-Second…

Charles Spearman and L. L. Thurstone were pioneers in the field of intelligence. They not only developed methods to assess and understand intelligence, but also developed theories about its structure and function. Methodologically, their approaches were not that distinct, but their theories of intelligence were philosophically very different --…

We compared the Wechsler scores of individuals with twice-exceptionality (2e) and giftedness using a three-level Bayesian meta-analysis. Ninety-five effect sizes were calculated from 15 studies (n = 2,106). Results show that individuals with 2e who have learning disabilities perform lower than individuals with giftedness in Full-Scale Intelligence…

We investigated the classification accuracy of learning disability (LD) identification methods premised on the identification of an intraindividual pattern of processing strengths and weaknesses (PSW) method using multiple indicators for all latent constructs. Known LD status was derived from latent scores; values at the observed level identified…

The structural validity of the "Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition" (WISC-IV) was evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis for a clinical sample of 1,537 students diagnosed with specific learning disabilities (SLD) by school psychologists in two large southwestern school districts. Results indicated that a…

Within the Canadian context, the two major learning disability classification systems are arguably the American Psychiatric Association's (APA) "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" and the Learning Disabilities Association (LDAC) of Canada's "Official Definition of Learning Disabilities." Several of the more…

In this large-scale study of students from Title 1 schools (N = 14,773), we used multiple-group latent change score (LCS) modeling to investigate the developmental relations between vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension in students with a school-identified learning disability (LD; n = 627) and typically developing students (n = 14,146).…

Students' explanations of their mathematical thinking and conclusions have become a greater part of the assessment landscape in recent years. With a sample of 71 fourth-grade students at risk for mathematics learning disabilities, we investigated the relation between student accuracy in comparing the magnitude of fractions and the quality of…

Working memory (WM) has long been associated with deficiencies in reading. Approximately 35% of students in the United States who receive special education services do so under the category of specific learning disability (SLD). The study's theoretical underpinning was Baddeley's model of WM; previous research revealed a significant literature gap…

Working memory (WM) deficiency is a primary reason for the poor academic performance of children with learning disabilities (LDs). Studies have shown that the WM of typical children could be improved through training, and WM training contributes to improving their fluid intelligence and academic achievement. However, few studies have investigated…

Foreign language (FL) requirements at postsecondary institutions remain a major hurdle for many students with learning disabilities (LD) as well as a significant portion of students without diagnosed LD. Many institutions have developed foreign language substitution (FLS) policies that allow students with LD to take alternate paths to meet the…

Building on a recent work of Harrison, Armstrong, Harrison, Iverson and Lange which suggested that Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV) scores might systematically overestimate the severity of intellectual impairments if Canadian norms are used, the present study examined differences between Canadian and American derived…

The present study explores the longitudinal development between Grade 3 word level reading skills and higher level semantic skills to Grade 10 reading comprehension for 3,157 students. In particular, this work focused on how the developmental relations varied for subsamples of students who are English learners (EL; N = 308), students identified as…

Student explanations of their mathematical thinking and conclusions have become a greater part of the assessment landscape in recent years. With a sample of 71 4th-grade students at-risk for mathematics learning disabilities, we investigated the relation between student accuracy in comparing the magnitude of fractions and the quality of students'…