THE IMPACT OF WORKING MEMORY ON STUDENTS TESTED FORSPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES

Abstract

Researchers, such as Dehn (2008), Alloway (2008), and Pickering and Gathercole(2004), have studied the impact of working memory on learning. During this study, theresearcher adds to their knowledge by studying the impact of Working Memory and theother WISC index categories, Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Reasoning, andProcessing Speed. These four index scores were examined to determine if one wassignificantly different than the others and impacted learning more frequently.This quasi-experimental, quantitative-research study included a sample of 188students between the ages of 6 and 16 who were referred for special education servicesand who were given the WISC-IV during their evaluation. There were four groupsanalyzed during this study. The first group consisted of the entire sample of 188 studentsreferred for special education testing. The second group comprised of the students whodid not qualify for a disability under Missouri criteria. The third group containedstudents who qualified for a Specific Learning Disability under Missouri criteria. In thefourth group, the gender differences of the students who qualified for a Specific LearningDisability were examined across the four WISC-IV index scores.One-factor ANOVAs were utilized to address research questions one, two, andthree and a two-factor ANOVA was conducted for research question four. Tukeyhonestly significant differences were utilized to further analyze the significance of theinteraction effects. Additional analyses were conducted to determine if the examiner’sscores were statistically significant from one another.The findings of the study revealed that students who were tested for specialeducation services are impacted by working memory and processing speed. Students who did not qualify for a disability were not impacted by any index category. Studentswho qualified for a Specific Learning Disability were impacted by the Processing Speedindex score, but the Working Memory index score was slightly significant as well.Gender differences influenced Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Reasoning, andProcessing Speed index scores.