This study investigated whether a latent class of children with math difficulties (MD) or math learning disabilities (MLD) emerged within a heterogeneous sample of learners. A latent class analysis was computed on children (N = 447) in Grade 3 who were administered a battery of math, reading, and cognitive measures. The analysis yielded four…

Numbers may be manipulated and represented mentally over a compressible number line oriented from left to right. According to numerous studies, one of the primary reasons for dyscalculia is related to improper understanding of the mental number line. Children with dyscalculia usually show difficulty when they have to place Arabic numbers on a…

Traditionally, students with learning disabilities (LD) have been identified using an aptitude--achievement discrepancy or response to intervention approach. As profiles of the cognitive deficits of discrepancy-defined students with LD have already been developed using these approaches, these deficits can in turn be used to identify LD using the…

The purpose of this cohort sequential study was to extend previously reported latent transition analyses conducted by Swanson, Kudo, and Guzman-Orth (2016) by determining the role of cognitive measures in identifying English learners (EL) at risk for late emerging reading disabilities (LERD). To this end, EL students (N = 450) in Grades 1, 2, and…

Three cohorts of third-grade students (N = 813) were evaluated on achievement, cognitive abilities, and behavioral attention according to contrasting research traditions in defining math learning disability (LD) status: low achievement versus extremely low achievement and IQ-achievement discrepant versus strictly low-achieving LD. We use methods…

In transparent orthographies like German, isolated learning disabilities in either reading or spelling are common and occur as often as a combined reading and spelling disability. However, most issues surrounding the cognitive causes of these isolated or combined literacy difficulties are yet unresolved. Recently, working memory dysfunctions have…

This study investigated the role of strategy instruction and working memory capacity (WMC) on word problem solving accuracy in children with (n = 100) and without (n = 92) math difficulties (MD). Within classrooms, children in Grades 2 and 3 were randomly assigned to one of four treatment conditions: verbal-only strategies (e.g., underlining…

There is growing evidence that the current method of identifying students with a learning disability (LD) is ineffective. The wait-to-fail model of assessing students after second/third grade as well as conceptual problems in using intelligence tests for identification result in students not receiving the assistance they need during the…

Attempts to evaluate the cognitive-motivational profiles of students with reading comprehension difficulties have been scarce. The purpose of the present study was twofold: (a) to assess the discriminatory validity of cognitive, motivational, affective, and psychopathological variables for identification of students with reading difficulties, and…