This article reports an analysis of RTI information provided on the websites of all 50 State Departments of Education, based on the assumption that school districts rely on this information when developing their RTI programs. Our analysis revealed little consistency in (a) the methods used to identify students to be served in RTI interventions,…

Over 6.5 million youth and their families are eligible for early intervention or special education services (Data Accountability Center, 2011) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (IDEA). The principal mechanism by which goals, objectives, services, and placements are determined for Part B of the IDEA are Individualized…

The legal source of schools' use of response to intervention (RTI) is a matter of federal and state special education laws, although its implementation is largely a matter of general education practice. The only mention of RTI is in the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and it is limited to identification of students with…

This document is intended to assist State Education Agency (SEA) and Lead Agency (LA) staff and technical assistance providers in designing a meaningful evaluation for the State Performance Plan (SPP)/Annual Performance Report (APR) improvement activities. It provides: (1) information about the relevance of evaluation in the context of improvement…

This brief is intended to provide State Education Agency (SEA) and Local Education Agency (LEA) educators with a brief overview of key components of GraduateFIRST, a Georgia program targeting issues impacting school completion for students with disabilities. Georgia's GraduateFIRST program has redefined the state's approach to raising graduation…

The educational accountability movement has demanded that educators implement and also monitor students' responses to positive behavioral accommodations in schools as well as communicate this information to others. This new responsibility has left many educators struggling with ways to monitor students effectively. This article provides a brief…

Considerable variation exists across response-to-intervention (RTI) approaches. There is currently insufficient research on outcomes associated with these different RTI approaches to inform decision-making. However, school psychologists who are asked to work within an RTI model need guidance to select an approach that has a high likelihood of…

Responsiveness-to-intervention (RTI) is the front-running candidate to replace current practice in diagnosing learning disabilities, but researchers have identified several questions about implementation. Specific questions include: Are there validated intervention models? Are there adequately trained personnel? What leadership is needed? When…