Journal of Learning Disabilities, Ahead of Print.
Graduates of special education teacher education programs can teach in a range of special education settings, raising the potential that their training can occur in very different settings than where they find their first jobs. We follow 263 completers of Moderate Disabilities programs in Massachusetts from their field placements to their early-career teaching positions and study the characteristics of their field placements and the degree to which these are aligned with their early-career teaching positions. We also assess the degree to which alignment is associated with early-career teacher turnover. We found that many of these teachers student taught in an inclusive setting but were hired into a self-contained special education setting and vice versa, and teachers who experienced this misalignment were more likely to leave the workforce early in their careers. Teachers who student taught with a supervising practitioner without a special education license were also more likely to leave early. Findings suggest that teachers training to educate students with learning disabilities should student teach in a setting that is aligned with where they are likely to be hired and with a supervising practitioner who is trained in special education.

Journal of Learning Disabilities, Ahead of Print.
We examined how generalized and mathematics-specific language skills predicted the word-problem performance of students with mathematics difficulty. Participants included 325 third-grade students in the southwestern United States who performed at or below the 25th percentile on a word-problem measure. We assessed generalized language skills in word reading, passage comprehension, and vocabulary knowledge. In addition, we measured mathematics-specific vocabulary knowledge. To explore variation within the mathematics-difficulty population, we utilized unconditional quantile regression to determine how each of these skill sets predicted word-problem performance when controlling for computation and emergent bilingual status. Results revealed that mathematics-vocabulary knowledge significantly predicted word-problem performance at all but two quantiles (p < .001), with strongest predictive relations at the highest quantiles. Passage comprehension had an overall significant relation to word-problem performance (p < .05) that was also reflected in multiple quantiles. Neither word-reading accuracy nor generalized-vocabulary knowledge demonstrated a significant predictive relation to word-problem performance. Given the consistent relation between mathematics-vocabulary knowledge and word-problem performance across quantiles, researchers and practitioners should prioritize evidence-based mathematics-vocabulary instruction to support students’ word-problem-solving skills.

Journal of Learning Disabilities, Ahead of Print.
Youth with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often exhibit impairments in mathematics, but long-term math development into adulthood, particularly in females, is underexplored. We characterized trajectories of math achievement in girls with ADHD and an age- and ethnicity-matched comparison sample from childhood through early adulthood across four waves and examined childhood cognitive predictors (global executive functioning, working memory, processing speed) of trajectories. The ethnically and socioeconomically diverse sample comprised 140 girls with carefully diagnosed ADHD and 88 neurotypicals, ages 6 to 12 years at baseline. Using latent growth curve models, we examined predictors of 16-year math achievement trajectories. In both the ADHD and neurotypical groups, scores declined over time; rates of change did not differ significantly. Yet in the ADHD sample, math difficulties (defined as scores at least 1 SD below the national average) increased notably over time, with many such difficulties emerging after childhood. By adulthood, nearly half of women with ADHD exhibited clear math difficulties. Worse baseline global executive functioning predicted slower math growth over time. Girls with ADHD may benefit from math supports before concerns emerge or worsen after childhood. Additional research on preventive interventions for math difficulties, including investigation of executive functioning, is warranted.