Academic histories of students first eligible for emotional disabilities services in secondary schools: An exploratory study

The purpose of this study was to compare the academic histories of 251 students first identified for ED services in secondary school (grades 7-12) with the histories of a demographically stratified random sample of 4,040 non-disabled peers, to determine whether there were differences in achievement that could retrospectively indicate an earlier opportunity for intervention. The study was grounded in the developmental psychopathology framework, and sought to identify signs of risk and resiliency in past academic records. It considered the past report card grades of students with emotional disabilities within the context of the developmentally typical variation seen in non-disabled peers during times of transition. Growth curve modeling was used to examine reading and math report card grades, and the rate of change in performance as measured by these grades prior to identification for services.; The findings suggest that students in the ED group were behind their non-disabled peers in reading and math as early as third grade. Both groups demonstrated a decline in report card grades from elementary to secondary school, but students in the ED group declined three times faster than their peers. At the same time, a high percentage of passing scores on the state tests in eighth grade suggests students in the ED group were continuing to master essential skills, even as report card grades declined.; The ED sample in this study did not show the demographic disproportionality evident in most samples of ED students. This sample included more White students, fewer students who were eligible for free lunch, and the same proportion of females and Black students present in the district population. Additional research will be needed to determine if the strong performance evidenced on state achievement tests and the demographic composition of the groups were artifacts of the district sampled, or typical of students with emotional disabilities who are not identified for services until secondary school.