Discrepant team decisions: The effects of race, gender, achievement, and IQ on LD eligibility

To determine whether student characteristics might influence the misclassification of pupils with respect to LD status, the racial, gender, intellectual, achievement, and grade-level status of 344 subjects who had been referred for LD diagnosis was examined. In one fourth of the cases, students were declared either eligible without a severe discrepancy or ineligible with a severe discrepancy regardless of method used (standard score vs. regressed standard score) or cutoff value employed (15-point vs. 22-point discrepancy). Being White, older, and of higher intelligence and achievement were characteristics of those found ineligible despite a severe discrepancy. Being female and less academically able were characteristics of those declared eligible without a severe discrepancy. Implications are presented.