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Visible Learning™
Visible Learning MetaX
Version 1.4 – Updated February 2026

Physical syndromes

Overview

  • Influence: Physical syndromes
  • Domain: Student
  • Sub-Domain: Physical influences
  • Potential to Accelerate Student Achievement: Likely to have a negative impact
  • Influence Definition: Physical syndromes includes traumatic brain injury, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, muscular dystrophy, head injury, paraplegia, or fibrous dysplasia.

Evidence

  • Number of meta-analyses: 16
  • Number of studies: 310
  • Number of students: 2,761,003
  • Number of effects: 458
  • Weighted mean effect size: -0.43
  • Robustness index: 4

Meta-Analyses

Meta-Analyses
Journal Title Author Article Name Year Published Variable Number of Studies Number of Students Number of Effects Effect Size
Exceptional Children Vu, Babikian & Asarnow Academic and Language Outcomes in Children After Traumatic Brain Injury: A Meta-Analysis 2011 Brain Injury on achievement 18 NA 36 -0.41
Report Schatz Academic achievement in children with sickle cell disease: a meta-analysis 2003 Sickle cell disease on achievement 6 NA 6 -0.25
Journal of Pediatric Psychology Roberts, Mathias, & Wheaton Cognitive Functioning in Children and Adults With Nonsyndromal Cleft Lip and/or Palate: A Meta-analysis 2012 Cleft lip/ palate 29 281,351 57 -0.41
Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education Lund Vocabulary knowledge of children with cochlear implants: A meta-analysis 2016 Cochlear ear implants 12 1,170 12 -0.61
Journal of Learning Disabilities Kavale & Forness Hyperactivity and Diet Treatment: A Meta-Analysis of the Feingold Hypothesis 1983 Reduction of artificial food colors 23 3,087 125 0.12
medRxiv Wang, Sibaii, Lee, Gill, & Hatch Meta-analytic findings on lower reading skills in children with cochlear implants 2021 Cochlear ear implants 41 3,349 47 -1.14
Neuropsychology review Cermak, Scratch, Kakonge, & Beal The effect of childhood traumatic brain injury on verbal fluency performance: a systematic review and meta-analysis 2021 Traumatic brain injury 12 NA 12 -0.38
Archives of disease in childhood Saatci, Thomas, Botting, & Sutcliffe Cancer survivors: a meta-analysis 2020 Cancer survivors 26 52,830 12 -0.17
Dissertation Lee Academic Achievement in Surgically-Treated Hydrocephalus: A Meta-Analysis 2021 Hydrocephalus 18 NA 26 -0.72
PLoS neglected tropical diseases Ezeamama, Bustinduy, Nkwata, Martinez, Pabalan, Boivin, & King Cognitive deficits and educational loss in children with schistosome infection—a systematic review and meta-analysis. 2018 Schistosoma infection 16 6,508 16 -0.58
Birth Defects Research Glinianaia, McLean, Moffat, Shenfine, Armaroli, & Rankin Glinianaia, S. V., McLean, A., Moffat, M., Shenfine, R., Armaroli, A., & Rankin, J. (2021). Academic achievement and needs of school-aged children born with selected congenital anomalies: A systematic review and meta-analysis 2021 Congenital anomalies 16 21,066 16 -0.49
Frontiers in Neurology Heitzer, Hamilton, Stafford, Gossett, Ouellette, Trpchevska, King, Kang, & Hankins Academic Performance of Children With Sickle Cell Disease in the United States: A Meta-Analysis. 2021 Sickle cell disease on achievement 44 508 44 -0.40
Critical reviews in oncology/hematology Gummersall, Skaczkowki, & Wilson Childhood cancer, age at diagnosis and educational attainment: A meta-analysis. 2020 Cancer on high school completion 11 1,664,052 11 -0.17
International journal of pediatric dentistry Rebelo, Vieira, Pereira, Quadros, & Vettore Does oral health influence school performance and school attendance? A systematic review and meta-analysis 2018 Poor oral health 15 3,205 15 -0.20
Journal of the American Dental Association Ruff, Senthi, Susser, & Tsutsui Oral health, academic performance, and school absenteeism in children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis 2019 Oral health 15 NA 15 -0.20
Addictive Behaviors Duko, Bedaso, Dachew, Newham, Gebremedhin, Tessema, Einarsdottir, Alati, & Pereira The effect of maternal prenatal tobacco smoking on offspring academic achievement: A systematic review and meta-analysis. 2024 Maternal prenatal smoking and achievement 8 723,877 8 0.22
TOTAL/AVERAGE 310 2,761,003 458 -0.36
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