Assessing implementation of comprehensive treatment programs is a multifaceted process that should extend beyond measuring solely treatment fidelity. The purpose of this article is to describe and demonstrate a thorough process for assessing implementation and receipt of a comprehensive treatment program for students with autism spectrum disorders…

Existing approaches for training paraeducators rely heavily on intensive one-to-one coaching and may not be feasible in practice. In this study, we test a tiered training model in which all paraeducators first received group training, and then coaching was provided only for the subset who did not meet performance criteria after group training.…

This study examined the differential effects of Strategies for Reading Informational Text and Vocabulary Effectively (STRIVE) on the vocabulary, reading comprehension, and content learning among 4,757 fourth-grade students with and without disabilities. Schools were assigned to one of three conditions: researcher-supported professional development…

Project START (Students and Teachers Actively Reading Together) is an adaptive shared reading intervention designed to address the varied learning needs of preschool children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This report summarizes procedures and results of the developmental year of the project, which focused primarily on evaluating…

In 2010, the Institute of Education Sciences commissioned a much-needed national evaluation of response to intervention (RTI). The evaluators defined their task very narrowly, asking "Does the use of universal screening, including a cut-point for designating students for more intensive Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions, increase children's…

Based on the 2015 evaluation of response-to-intervention (RTI) efforts and our own 2 decades of experience in supporting educators' implementation of RTI efforts, four recommendations are presented to advance effective implementation of tiered systems of intervention. We suggest that by (a) assessing readiness and capacity, (b) providing content…

The report of the national response to intervention (RTI) evaluation study, conducted during 2011-2012, was released in November 2015. Anyone who has read the lengthy report can attest to its complexity and the design used in the study. Both these factors can influence the interpretation of the results from this evaluation. In this commentary, we…

Optimal levels of treatment fidelity, a critical moderator of intervention effectiveness, are often difficult to sustain in applied settings. It is unknown whether performance feedback, a widely researched method for increasing educators' treatment fidelity, is an evidence-based practice. The purpose of this review was to evaluate the current…

Treatment fidelity, or the application of an intervention as it is designed, is a critical issue for the successful implementation of evidence-based practices. Typically it is assumed that evidence-based practices implemented with high fidelity will result in improved outcomes, whereas low fidelity will lead to poorer outcomes. These assumptions…

A summary of the available literature on sustainability is provided and recommended sustainability features are applied to implementation of schoolwide positive behavior interventions and supports (SWPBIS). One hundred and seventeen schools from 6 states completed the sustainability survey, which determined the presence of 8 sustainability…

Evidence-based programs will be useful to the extent they produce benefits to individuals on a socially significant scale. It appears the combination of effective programs and effective implementation methods is required to assure consistent uses of programs and reliable benefits to children and families. To date, focus has been placed primarily…

This article addresses the effects of 3-tiered comprehensive reading and behavior interventions on K-3 student outcomes in 7 urban elementary schools with a high prevalence of students considered difficult to teach. Specific features of each level of the implementation are described including screening and tier placement procedures, scheduling and…

This article examined the efficacy of a primary-level, standard-protocol behavior intervention for students with externalizing behavioral disorders. Elementary schools were randomly assigned to treatment (behavior intervention) or control (business as usual) conditions, and K-3 students were screened for externalizing behavior risk status. The…

Two studies document benefits of implementing CBM (curriculum-based measurement) in both special and regular education settings. In Study 1 CBM is demonstrated to be a valid and reliable measurement system that aids teacher decisions regarding student placement, progress, and intervention effectiveness in an elementary school. Study II outlines…

This article reports the progress of 13 learning-disabled students after 1 year of planning and 1 year of implementing the "Mainstream Experiences for the Learning Disabled" (MELD) model in an urban elementary school. Students made no significant progress in reading or math and earned lower grades during the implementation year. (DB)