Succeeding in High School & Beyond: Insights and Action for Supporting Students with Learning Disabilities
A New Report Offers Roadmap for Students with Learning Disabilities to Succeed in High School and Beyond
Powered by the National Center for Learning Disabilities, The GRAD Partnership, and WestEd
- The report’s data shows that nearly 90% of students with learning disabilities have trouble focusing, and most turn in work late or not at all.
- Over half are absent 10+ days a year due to feeling anxious, sick, unprepared, or unsafe.
- Nearly half don’t trust their peers, and 44% say teachers bully or disrespect them, making too many feel isolated or mistreated.
Tuesday, July 8, 2025—WASHINGTON, D.C.— The National Center for Learning Disabilities, in collaboration with The GRAD Partnership and WestEd, today released Succeeding in High School & Beyond: Insights and Action for Supporting Students with Learning Disabilities. This joint effort highlights critical barriers facing students with learning disabilities (LD) and offers a roadmap and call to action for schools, districts, and policymakers to better support high school completion and postsecondary transitions.
The report draws from a unique mixed-methods study that centers the lived experiences of more than 100 young adults with LD who either left high school before graduating or strongly considered doing so, along with qualitative interviews with 27 participants. Together, these findings identify four key factors of student success: behavioral engagement, student agency, belonging and connectedness, and access to effective transition supports.
The data reveals a troubling pattern of disconnection and distress:
- More than half of students with LD (55%) missed 10 or more days of school in a single year. Including:
- Three in five said they felt anxious or depressed, over half were sick, and one in three had fallen so far behind on schoolwork they didn’t see the point in showing up. These patterns reflect more than just absenteeism—they’re signals of serious emotional distress and academic overload.
- Half skipped classes, 89% struggled to focus, and 76% regularly turned in assignments late or not at all, showing widespread disengagement and a misalignment between school demands and student needs.
- Only 38% knew how to ask for help, revealing major gaps in how schools support self-advocacy and agency.
- 44% said teachers mistreated or bullied them, and 42% felt disliked by their peers, reinforcing that many schools fail to provide the safe, supportive environments students need to thrive.
“These numbers tell a powerful story,” says Saashya Rodrigo, Principal Researcher at NCLD. “But they also point to a clear opportunity. When students feel anxious, disengaged, or unsupported, it’s not a sign of failure on their part—it’s a call for us to design better systems. Every student deserves to feel safe, connected, and seen at school. This report gives us a roadmap to get there, and it’s on all of us to listen and act.”
While the report focuses on students with LD, its findings have broader implications. The same school conditions that hinder students with disabilities often affect many others, particularly those facing barriers due to poverty, mental health challenges, or systemic inequities.
Together, NCLD, The GRAD Partnership, and WestEd call on education leaders to:
- Integrate self-advocacy and agency-building into everyday instruction.
- Implement student success systems to foster early intervention and meaningful, trusting relationships between students and adults.
- Ensure all students have access to personalized, high-quality transition supports.
- Prioritize school climates where belonging, safety, and inclusion are non-negotiable.
This is not just about preventing students from falling through the cracks—it’s about redesigning the system so fewer cracks exist.
“These findings paint a troubling picture of how students with learning disabilities experience many aspects of school life,” says Bob Balfanz, Director of the Everyone Graduates Center, where the GRAD Partnership is housed. “It is critical that our educators, policymakers, and stakeholders work together to ensure that all students have the learning experiences and supports they need to thrive in high school and beyond.”
Read the full report here. here.
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About The National Center for Learning Disabilities
The National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) is dedicated to improving the lives of children and young adults nationwide with learning disabilities and ADHD by empowering parents and young adults, transforming schools, and advocating for equal rights and opportunities.
About The GRAD Partnership
The GRAD Partnership collaborates with schools, districts, states, and community organizations to help all students graduate ready for the future by scaling the use of high-quality, evidence-based student success systems. Comprised of twelve national organizations, the Partnership works to shift these systems from emerging practice to common practice, especially in a post-pandemic era that demands new and improved supports.
About WestEd
WestEd is a nonpartisan research, development, and service agency dedicated to advancing excellence, equity, and learning for children, youth, and adults. Through rigorous research and deep partnerships, WestEd works to improve educational outcomes and expand opportunity for all learners.