College Students with Learning Disabilities Make Better Grades
Study: College Students with Learning Disabilities Make Better Grades
Reasons: They Receive Academic Support and Have a Strong Will
Taken from an Article by Eli Ashkenazi in the Ha'aretz Newspaper, 1/2/2008 (translated by Oren Rosenberg)
The grade average of undergraduate, college students with learning disabilities is higher than the grade average of students without learning disabilities. This is the finding presented in an Israeli research study at an international convention in Texas.
The study, which was conducted by Yael Melzar, Director of the Support Center for Students with Learning Disabilities at Tel Hai Academic College, together with Dr. Miri Sarid, compared the grade average of students with learning disabilities who received academic support at different levels and that of students without learning disabilities. The study includes a sample of 315 students with learning disabilities and 955 students without learning disabilities. The variables that were studied included admissions data (high school grades and psychometric exam scores) and the final, undergraduate grade average.
The study shows that the grade average of students with learning disabilities is approximately 84 while the grade average of students without learning disabilities is approximately 83. Another finding of the study shows that the dropout average of undergraduate students with learning disabilities is much lower (only 1.5%) than the general student population (approximately 22%).
According to Melzar, "Students with learning disabilities need to invest in their academic studies three times as much time and effort than students without learning disabilities, such that their strong will and amazing motivation affect their achievements and in the end are even higher than others'. These students need to prove to the "whole world" that they are able to succeed, to their teachers, school, parents, and mainly to themselves."
Melzar adds "it has been found that there's no connection between psychometric exam scores and grade average of students with learning disabilities. The study results prove that students with learning disabilities, even though they began their studies with admissions scores lower than their peers that don't have learning disabilities, they made up the initial difference and even passed them. Appropriate support in academic studies is an important condition for undergraduate academic success."