The current study evaluated whether goal-setting practices that account for seasonal developmental patterns of reading growth decreased the number of weeks data needed to be collected in order to yield accurate response to intervention decisions for a sample of 224 third-grade students. The extent to which more complex decision-making practices…

This technical report is an addendum to a study we initially reported on in 2014 (Wray, Lai, Saez, Alonzo, & Tindal, 2014). In response to a request for additional analyses, in particular reporting confidence intervals around the results, we re-analyzed the data from the Wray et al study. This supplementary report presents the results of the…

We use administrative data to measure whether attending a charter school in Denver, Colorado, reduces the likelihood that students are newly classified as having a disability in primary grades. We employ an observational approach that takes advantage of Denver's Common Enrollment System, which allows us to observe each school that the student…

Identifying classes of children on the basis of academic and behavior risk may have important implications for the allocation of intervention resources within Response to Intervention (RTI) and Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) models. Latent class analysis (LCA) was conducted with a sample of 517 third grade students. Fall screening scores in…

This study examines the classification accuracy and teacher acceptability of a problem-focused screener for academic and disruptive behavior problems, which is directly linked to evidence-based intervention. Participants included 39 classroom teachers from 2 public school districts in the Northeastern United States. Teacher ratings were obtained…

The availability of psychometrically sound and usable universal screeners is a key component to successful early identification within a response-to-intervention model. The purpose of this study was to compare the diagnostic accuracy of oral reading fluency (ORF) and an informal reading inventory for identifying students considered at risk for…

We explored the usefulness of first and second grade reading measures and responsiveness criteria collected within a response-to-intervention (RtI) framework for predicting reading disability (RD) in third grade. We used existing data from 387 linguistically diverse students who had participated in a longitudinal RtI study. Model-based predictors…

Models of irregular word reading that take into account both child- and word-level predictors have not been evaluated in typically developing children and children with reading difficulty (RD). The purpose of the present study was to model individual differences in irregular word reading ability among 5th grade children (N = 170), oversampled for…

The purpose of this study was to identify students at risk of reading comprehension difficulties by using the responsiveness to intervention (RTI) approach. The participants were 177 students in Grades 1-3 in three elementary schools in South Korea. The students received Tier 1 instruction of RTI from March to May 2011, and their performance was…

Early identification of students who are at-risk for reading difficulties (RD) is critical for successful and effective RTI implementation. A large group of students were followed for three years (grades 2 to 4) to investigate transition patterns of risk-categories across three years. Results indicated that although students identified at…

A valid screening system requires a screener that accurately predicts whether or not students are at risk given their current performance. To understand a screening measure's accuracy, predicted student performance data (i.e., screening data) must be compared with actual performance data. When these sets of data are compared in a setting where…

We explored the usefulness of 1st and 2nd grade reading measures and responsiveness criteria collected within a Response-to-Intervention (RtI) framework for predicting Reading Disability (RD) in 3rd grade. We used existing data from 387 linguistically diverse students who had participated in a longitudinal RtI study. Model-based predictors of RD…

With the implementation of RTI, educators are attempting to find models that are the best fit for their schools. The problem solving and standard protocol models are the two most common. This study of 65 students examines a new model, the dynamic skills protocol implemented in an elementary school starting in their fourth quarter of kindergarten…

Reading is the most valuable skill children must master early in schooling. Unfortunately, many students struggle to read and may be identified as having a Reading Disability (RD). In this dissertation, I explored the usefulness of the Response-to-Intervention (RtI) framework for identifying children with RD by examining the use of 1st and 2nd…

The purpose of this study was to explore the possible causes that might contribute to the disproportionate percentage of English language learners ELLs with special education individual education plans (IEPs). Elementary school classroom teachers from school districts that exhibited high growth in the percentage of ELLs with IEPs during 2007-2010…