Factors were explored that predicted whether teachers sustained the use of a validated reading intervention. Seventy-three teachers from 37 schools in 3 states were asked in interviews whether they continued to use Kindergarten Peer Assisted Learning Strategies (KPALS) 1 year after their involvement in the program. A logistic regression model was…

The primary purpose of this study was to assess the effects of strategic counting instruction, with and without deliberate practice with those counting strategies, on number combination (NC) skill among students with mathematics difficulties (MD). Students (n = 150) were stratified on MD status (i.e., MD alone versus MD with reading difficulty)…

In this article, the authors consider the power and limitations of responsiveness-to-intervention (RTI) for reducing the need for ongoing and intensive services for the segment of the school population traditionally identified as having a learning disability in mathematics. To assess the robustness of RTI, the authors describe four studies with…

The purposes of this study were to assess the efficacy of remedial tutoring for 3rd graders with mathematics difficulty, to investigate whether tutoring is differentially efficacious depending on students' math difficulty status (mathematics difficulty alone vs. mathematics plus reading difficulty), to explore transfer from number combination (NC)…

This study determined the effectiveness of Kindergarten Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (K-PALS) for students with disabilities. The researchers randomly assigned 89 kindergartners with individualized education programs (IEPs) from 47 classrooms to control (n = 9); K-PALS Level 1 (teachers received 1-day workshop; n = 19); or K-PALS Level 2…

This article provides an overview of Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS) for reading. First, specific activities and research supporting PALS for Grades 2 through 6, High School, Kindergarten, and First Grade are described. Then, research addressing the characteristics of students who have not responded to PALS, as well as approaches to…

Responsiveness-to-intervention (RTI) is a method for both preventing and helping to identify learning disabilities. An important feature is its multi-tier structure: "primary intervention" (tier 1) refers to classroom instruction; "secondary intervention" (tier 2) usually involves more intensive pullout, small-group…

We reviewed eight studies that described learning differences between students with learning disabilities (LD) and students with mild mental retardation (MMR). A total of 639 students, 6-20 years old, participated in these studies. Study authors examined students' inductive reasoning and their performance during guided inquiry and more lengthy…

This study examined effects of peer-assisted learning strategies (PALS) on students' literacy development and beliefs about reading in nine secondary remedial and special-education classes. Analyses of variance indicated that, compared to control groups, PALS students grew more on reading comprehension and reported more positive beliefs about…

A study compared the effectiveness of phonemic awareness and decoding training for 58 first graders with and without severe lexical retrieval weaknesses. All students demonstrated poor phonemic awareness. Students with relatively strong lexical retrieval skills responded more favorably to beginning reading instruction than did students with weak…

There is increasingly negative sentiment against IQ-achievement discrepancy as a method to identify children with learning disabilities (LD) and, more broadly, intelligence as an explanation of poor academic performance. The evidence for this latter view was examined by reviewing 13 studies involving 1,542 children who were at risk or reading…

This study attempted to implement and validate a 5-month effort to transition 42 pupils with mild and moderate disabilities (most with learning disabilities) out of math instruction in special education resource rooms and into regular education math. A preliminary discussion examines the "cascade of services" model and transenvironmental…

Proposes a treatment-validity model for the identification of learning disabilities. The four-phase eligibility-assessment process would include evaluating adaptations in the regular classroom and verifying the effectiveness of special education before placement. Considers the technical requirements of this alternative eligibility process, and the…

This study evaluated the short-term and long-term effects of three variants of a case-by-case process for readying students with learning disabilities to move successfully from resource rooms to regular classrooms for math instruction. Twenty-seven special educators from 21 elementary and middle schools and their 47 students with learning…

A classwide peer tutoring program in reading, implemented at 12 elementary and middle schools in three contiguous districts in the middle of a southern state, was evaluated for its effectiveness with three learner types: low achievers with disabilities, low achievers without disabilities, and learners of average achievement. Twenty teachers…