Scholastic performance of children with sickle cell disease

This article describes the scholastic performance of two groups of African American children with sickle cell disease: 17 with sickle cell anemia (SS), the most severe form, and 15 with sickle-C disease (SC), a less severe form. These two groups are compared to 34 healthy African American children with similar demographic characteristics. To determine scholastic performance, standardized reading and mathematics achievement test scores and school attendance were obtained. The conclusions drawn from these data reveal significant differences in reading, math, and school attendance of SCD children compared to healthy children. The healthy children's scores and attendance were better on both indicators. The most critical finding of the study shows that SC children, the ones with the less severe form of SCD, scored the poorest in reading and mathematics. As expected, the SS children had the most absences during a school year. The results of this descriptive study suggest that SCD children are at greater educational risk of school failure than their healthy peers.