ABSTRACT
Students may be characterized as “twice-exceptional” if they meet the criteria typically advanced by state departments of education for giftedness and if they also have significant cognitive and related academic deficits that characterize specific learning disabilities (SLD). For years, educators have used the Ability-Achievement Discrepancy model for identifying students who have SLD. Despite the frustration of performing well below ability, the students often have strong compensatory mechanisms and thus never get screened or identified for instructional help, including special education services. Classroom implications can be drawn from data taken from any of the models. Students whose math skills are much lower than reading will benefit from use of calculator and conceptual, language-loaded approaches to math instruction.
