Is There a Mediating Factor Between Specific Learning Disabilities and School Dropouts?

Much dropout research has found that being diagnosed with specific learning disabilities increases the risk of dropping out of school. While previous studies have found mixed results for the impact of low socioeconomic status on dropouts among students with specific learning disabilities, they are not conclusive because of sample selection bias. We hypothesized that specific learning disabilities, in combination with poverty, can have the greatest impact on dropouts. We tested our hypothesis in Puerto Rico, where the percentage of the adult population without a high school diploma is double the proportion in the United States. We used individual data from all students in the Puerto Rico public education system during the period 2015 to 2021 and estimated a panel logistic regression with random effects. The mediating effect of poverty was statistically significant, and its associations with attrition were invariant to model specification. This research offers some recommendations to reduce school dropout. JEL Codes: I2, I21, I30