Characteristics and National Assessment of Basic Competencies results of children with learning disabilities

Abstract

Background and aims: The students' school performance and its influencing factors, such as family background, school characteristics, etc. were researched in details in international and domestic literature, but most of these studies were focused on typical students. However, research that focuses on students with atypical development and their impact on the performance of their educational conditions is considered rare, so we aimed to explore this deeply. In our study, we undertook to examine the learning performance of students with learning disabilities based on several aspects (maintainer, gender, family background).

Method: In our study, we analysed the mathematics and reading results of 6th grade students based on data from the National Assessment of Basic Competencies enrolled in 2017. There are several types of learning disabilities in the database, of which we used the types of dyslexia, dyscalculia and dysgraphia, so we formed six groups from these (dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, dyslexia and dyscalculia, dyslexia and dysgraphia, dyscalculia and dysgraphia). We examined the family background, gender distribution, number of siblings, maintenance among children’s mathematics and reading results with SPSS program.

Results: Based on our research the family background of children with learning disabilities may be considered worse. Within the group, children with dyscalculia come from the worst family background. Learning disabilities feature more boys, with the exception of dyscalculia.

Conclusions: Boys are in many cases better than girls in mathematics, while girls are in all cases better in reading. By maintainers, children with learning disabilities perform better in public institutions.

Keywords: students’ achievement, learning disability, gender, maintenance, family background