Qualitative or quantitative differences? Latent class analysis of mathematical ability for special education students

The current article investigates whether the mathematics achievement of students in special education can be used to identify those who share common cognitive skills that may not be in concordance with their disability labels. Latent class analysis of a comprehensive test of mathematics taken by fourth-grade students with various disabilities reveals that a model with 2 latent classes is adequate to characterize the latent structure of the data. A parallel relationship of response profiles across the 2 classes suggests differences in the levels of mathematical ability (quantitative), rather than differences in the type of mathematical ability (qualitative), between the 2 latent classes in terms of generic mathematical proficiency. Cross-validation on a separate data set with careful matching of content areas within the math test verified this conclusion. Although a significant relationship exists between the identified latent classes and various disabilities, the analysis also found common mathematical problem-solving behaviors across disability categories. Implications for intervention and limitations of the current study are discussed.