Racial Differences in Parental Reports of Specific Learning Disability and ADD/ADHD

Abstract

This thesis analyzes the role of race in the likelihood of students in K-12 receiving a specific learning disability classification, conditional on a sample of students already having an ADD/ADHD disability classification. Using data from Parent and Family Involvement surveys as a part of the 2016 National Household Education Survey, this thesis seeks to examine whether among students with ADD/ADHD classifications, non-White students are more likely than White students to have a specific learning disability classification, as opposed to only one, conditional on having any. The findings indicate that no significant racial disparity is present in the learning disability classification, both overall and among students who already have an ADD/ADHD classification, when controlling for family and socioeconomic demographics.