Is “Learning Disabilities” Just a Fancy Term for Low Achievement? A Meta-Analysis of Reading Differences Between Low Achievers With and Without the Label

Douglas Fuchs and Lynn S. Fuchs, Peabody College of Vanderbilt University; Patricia G. Mathes, University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center; Mark W. Lipsey and P. Holley Roberts, Peabody College of Vanderbilt University This paper has two parts. The first part has three purposes: (a) to provide a brief history of how a formal definition of learning disabilities (LDs) was determined; (b) to explore how politics and research during the past two decades has influenced how people think about the validity of the LD construct; and (c) to explain why a quantitative synthesis, or meta-analysis, was necessary to determine whether low achievers with and without the LD label were more alike or different. The second part of this chapter describes method, results, and implications of the metaanalysis.