Intelligence-Achievement Discrepancy

The field of learning disabilities (LD) has a rich and long-standing history in which the discrepancy model for identifying LDs has been dominant, at times in a controversial way. Determining what constitutes a LD has been an ongoing challenge. Differences across professions and state-by-state interpretation of federal mandates have persisted since the 1960s. At the heart of the definitional challenge is the discrepancy model for determining a learning disability. That is, in determining eligibility, there needs to be a “significant” discrepancy between a child’s overall intelligence quotient (IQ) and his or her overall achievement score, in one or more areas (e.g., reading, math, written expression, [Page 885]oral expression, listening comprehension). This entry examines how learning disabilities have historically been defined, how they are currently defined, ...