LD and Non-LD students' Opportunities to Learn

Seventeen pairs of LD and non-LD students were observed for two school days. While the time allocated to various activities and tasks did not differ for the two groups, LD students received more individual instruction and more teacher approval than non-LD students. LD students also were engaged in five of seven active academic responses for longer periods of time than non-LD students, while non-LD students engaged longer in one academic response than LD students. However, the two groups' total academic responding times did not differ. Across students, only about 45 minutes of active academic responding occurred during a typical school day. Implications of the findings for instruction and special education decision making are discussed.