Despite evidence that tiered instruction within response to intervention (RTI) frameworks is important for students with reading difficulties, no complementary professional development (PD) research demonstrates how teachers can develop knowledge necessary to implement coordinated evidence-based instruction across instructional tiers. One…

This qualitative inquiry explored district-based educators' sensemaking of an ongoing, statewide professional learning series focused on special education eligibility for students with specific learning disabilities (SLD) using a response-to-intervention (RtI) approach within a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS). Specifically, the professional…

The researcher briefly reviewed the Response to Intervention (RtI) framework and explained how Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA, 2004) and No Child Left Behind (NCLB) enhanced RtI implementation in general education classrooms. The main focus of this paper is to identify general educators' roles when implementing RtI…

IDEA 2004 opened the door for states, and in some cases districts, to choose among three different methods for identifying children with Specific Learning Disabilities (SLDs). This study provides an in-depth look at SLD identification practices in a state that allows school psychologists to use any of the three methods. Eighty-four school…

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data reveal that students with disabilities who are emergent bilinguals (English language learners) have the lowest levels of proficiency in reading and mathematics among all student groups. We consider issues related to the instruction of emergent bilinguals, including those identified as having…

Response to Intervention (RTI) is defined by the National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE) as the practice of providing high-quality instruction and intervention matched to student needs and using learning rate over time and level of performance to make important educational decisions (2007). Both IDEA 2004 and the…

Background: The Response to Intervention (RTI) approach involves the use of a dynamic model built around the systematic documentation of students' response to research-based instructional interventions. Although there has been widespread implementation of RTI models for early intervention and in some cases, as a means to identify students with…

Two primary purposes guided this quasi-experimental within-teacher study: (a) to examine changes from baseline through 2 years of professional development (Individualizing Student Instruction) in kindergarten teachers' differentiation of Tier 1 literacy instruction; and (b) to examine changes in reading and vocabulary of 3 cohorts of the teachers'…

Response to Intervention (RtI) has been widely accepted by many school districts in the United States as an instructional method that can be used to consistently decrease learning gaps and ultimately enhance learning for all students. Though implementation of RtI as an instructional method has not been legally mandated, many school districts have…

Although increasingly implemented in elementary and secondary education settings, research provides limited insight into practitioners' knowledge of Response-to-Intervention (RTI) at the secondary level. This paper presents descriptive findings from an exploratory survey of teachers that assessed the relationship between the grade level of…

The majority of school districts implementing response to intervention use a systemwide, multitier model of delivery. This article describes the common features of multitier models and discusses the emerging evidence of their effectiveness. In addition, specific factors that schools should consider to enhance effective implementation of systemic,…

The purpose of this mixed methods research is to examine teachers' perspectives on the response to intervention (RTI) framework and its implementation in Michigan and Texas schools. Both states have been leaders in literacy, increasing preservice and in-service teacher certification standards and developing similar batteries for assessing literacy…

We describe findings from a series of longitudinal studies utilizing a response to intervention framework implemented over 3 years with students in Grades 6 through 8 with reading disabilities and poor reading comprehension. Students were identified based on reading comprehension scores in Grade 5 (n = 1,083) and then randomized to treatment or…

Response to intervention (RTI) has actively been used for identifying reading difficulties and providing supplemental instructions for students with disabilities. Recent developments of RTI show that the method expands its applicability to other areas and populations. In particular, it is difficult to distinguish learning disability (LD) from…

Data from three interrelated studies of English Language Learners who were identified as having reading-related learning disabilities suggest that the majority of participants were misclassified. Bilingual education teachers and other educational professionals had difficulty distinguishing students for whom special education referral was…