Performance Instability: An Identifying Characteristic of Learning Disabled Children?

The performance instability of learning disabled (LD) and emotionally handicapped (EH) children was compared in two studies. In the first study, 50 LD and 37 EH children were measured on three third-grade reading passages in two ways: (a) they were administered a different reading passage once a week for three consecutive weeks; and (b) they were measured on all three passages in one sitting. In the second study, a subsample of 43 students (24 LD, 19 EH) were measured on instructional level reading passages 28 to 47 times within 18 school weeks. Analyses of covariance were run on a stability index calculated on numbers of (a) words read correctly during each administration of the third-grade reading passages and (b) correct words and errors for the instructional level reading passages. Results indicated no difference between the performance instability of the two groups of subjects. Implications for the diagnosis and treatment of LD and other exceptional students are discussed.

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