David B. Ryckman

Sociometric Status of Learning Disabled Children in an Integrative Program

The sociometric standing of primary-aged learning disabled students was investigated. The setting was a sparsely populated rural area where learning disabled children were mainstreamed in an elementary school in which an “open concept” delivery of services system was in operation. The “special child” stigma was therefore assumed to be significantly reduced. The data support the findings of previous studies on handicapped and normal children; i.e., significant differences were found between the learning disabled and normal control groups on both the positive and negative questions. Further analysis revealed that the learning disabled girls were less likely to be positively chosen and more likely to be rejected than the learning disabled boys. A discussion of possible reasons for such differences is included.

Gender Differences in Attributions for Success and Failure

The study examined gender differences in attributions for success and failure in math/science and language arts. Developmental patterns were also examined through a cross sectional design of 731 boys and 680 girls in grades four through eleven. Girls were found to have fewer adaptive attributional patterns in math/science than in language arts. While boys had more adaptive patterns in math/science than had girls, they also had more adaptive patterns for language arts patterns than for math/science. It was concluded that cross content area research should consider the students relative perceived task difficulty.

Searching for a WISC-R Profile for Learning Disabled Children An Inappropriate Task?

Indexes of scatter on the WISC-R were computed for 100 severely learning disabled children. These indexes of subtest variability were significantly greater than value reported by Kaufman (1976) for children in the normal standardization sample. However, the substantial overlap in distributions between LD and normal groups suggests the inadvisability of continuing the search for a characteristic LD profile.

The Beery Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration: An Investigation of Reliability

The Beery Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration was used in a reliability study with elementary school children. The results indicate sufficient scorer reliability and stability to merit its use with young children.

Sex Differences in a Sample of Learning Disabled Children

Sex differences between 27 girls and 75 boys were examined on psychological, academic, and cognitive-style measures. All students were enrolled in a program for severely learning disabled children. LD girls were found to be verbally inferior, less capable of abstract thinking, more field dependent, and more impulsive than the boys. No differences were obtained on measures of academics or perceptual-motor skills. Possible socioemotional factors were suggested as an explanation for the above differences.

Once Is Not Enough

Bannatyne (1968, 1971, 1974) has proposed recategorizing Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) subtest scores into three subgroups. His findings have fostered research in an attempt to determine a unique profile attributable to learning disabled children. The present investigation used two samples of LD children (N = 208) and showed five subgroups of LD children within Bannatynes recategorization paradigm. The implications of this investigation would suggest that potential intragroup variation within an LD population could be masked in the attempt to discern a more homogeneous single diagnostic profile. Recognition of this intragroup wariation could greatly enhance the use of diagnostic instruments in development remediation programs.

Gray Oral Reading Tests: some reliability and validity data with learning-disabled children.

For the Gray Oral Reading Test grade-level data on 186 disabled (reading-retarded) children showed reasonable long-term stability. WISC-R scores did not predict their reading scores. Correlations between the Gray and Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test grade-levels were moderate, though Gray scores were significantly lower than Gates scores.

Classroom behavior inventory: Factor verification

Abstract Sixty-nine second grade suburban children were rated by three teachers using a classroom behavior inventory. Factor analysis was performed to test the a priori structure of the instrument. The 18-item inventory was analyzed on three factors: Task-Oriented vs Distractibility, Extroversion vs Introversion, and Considerateness vs Hostility. The three factors loaded perfectly according to the a priori design. The need for further investigations concerning the reliability and a comparison of the rating scale with objective observations is indicated.

Long-Term Stability of the Gray Oral Reading Tests with Learning-Disabled Children.

Stability coefficients on the Gray Oral Reading Tests were calculated for 68 children classified as learning disabled. For periods of between three and nineteen months, stability coefficients ranged from .80 to .93 for the total group between .73 and .92 for those above the median age, and between .84 and .97 for those below the median age. While stability coefficients are satisfactory caution is suggested in interpreting scores because of the limited availability of validity information.

Cross-Situation Variability of Attributions for Success and Failure A Cross-Sectional Study

Although attributional research has attempted to explore general rules for causal beliefs, cross-situational variation has been ignored Because attributions can be argued to be related to self-concept, the findings of self-concept influences across academic contexts and age also may be replicated in parallel studies of attributional beliefs. This study compared cohorts on their attributions for success and failure in two school-subject content areas: math/science and language arts/social studies. The 1,829 White-students in Grades 4 through 11 took the Survey of Achievement Responsibility. Overall, older students evinced greater differentiation between content and outcome for effort and ability attributions than did youngerstudents. Thefindings supportedpredictions derived from self-concept research. Also, the attributions for math became increasingly negative across age cohorts, whereas those for language arts became more positive. A perceived hierarchy of ability, wherein math and language abilities do not enjoy the same status, may explain the content differences.