Teachers at a public middle school were given a questionnaire assessing the supports for student behavior and emotional needs in their school and district. Results show that teachers at this middle school perceive themselves as highly effective in forming individual relationships with students. Areas of growth include more clearly communicating…

Sixty-one educational leaders from a rural section of the Northeastern United States participated in this mixed-methods sequential explanatory study to determine the extent to which educational leaders felt knowledgeable and prepared to lead the implementation of multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) in their schools. Despite educators' initial…

Traditionally, school systems have identified students with specific learning disabilities (SLD) by a measured gap between achievement and ability in a specific area. Recent amendments to the IDEA allowed for the use of alternative methods of identifying students with a SLD. Some states have responded by using Response to Intervention (RTI). This…

Implementation of Response to Intervention (RTI) has been developed with the goal of increasing the efficiency and efficacy of the identification process for students at risk of/with learning disabilities. While this goal is well-intentioned, the implementation of RTI has faced challenges at the district level. Understanding the current…

The relation between items assessing knowledge about educating students with disabilities and the Tschannen-Moran and Hoy's Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES; 2001) was explored for 140 preservice, general education teachers using biserial correlation coefficients and a multiple regression equation. From the data collected, 8 correlations…

The classification of "Specific Learning Disabilities" has experienced revision in the last decade due, in no small part, to the changes provided in IDEIA 2004. The "discrepancy clause" has been replaced with "…response to scientific, research-based intervention," for example. As a result, two new frameworks have been…

Response to intervention (RTI) is an approach that has been implemented in more than 90% of the states in the U.S. The purpose of the study is to advance understanding of what efforts need to be made in order to increase the likelihood that special education professionals will accept RTI. Data used in this study include individual interviews with…

High schools throughout this country are as heterogeneous as the students they serve in size, location, tax base, student make-up, and teacher quality. However, they must all follow the mandates of NCLB and IDEA. While these policies affect all schools, high schools continue to face many challenges implementing these laws effectively for students…

This study reviews pertinent research, then uses a single-subject experimental design and methodology to assess the impact of both positive and negative interventions to reduce the incidence of inappropriate classroom behavior in a 12.2 year-old male student with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). In the context of this study,…

The purpose of this paper is to provide insight into the referral and identification rates of minority students with regard to special education. Research has shown an evident over identification of minority students in special education programs, particularly those classifications considered more severe. Several researchers identified factors…

This paper examines current practices in implementing a Response to Intervention (RtI) in diagnosing specific learning disabilities. The use of the aptitude achievement discrepancy model, RtI model or a combination is reviewed. A survey of special education administrators in New Jersey compares methods of identification and consistency of…

The Ability-Achievement Model is reviewed for efficacy in comparison to the Response to Intervention Model when diagnosing students with possible learning disabilities. The research will address the success of Ability-Achievement Model versus the Response to Intervention Model when successfully diagnosing students with learning disabilities was…

The Common Core State Standards (2010) involve the demonstration of conceptual knowledge of numbers and operations. For students who struggle with mathematics and have not responded to instruction, it is important that interventions emphasize this understanding. In order to address conceptual understanding of numbers and operations in meeting the…

As a result of the varied implementation of Response to Intervention (RTI) and uneven occurrence of professional development, special education teachers struggle to adapt to new roles and responsibilities. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to explore the role of special education teachers in implementing and monitoring RTI, the role…

Based on interactions with general education teachers, observations of special education students in inclusion classrooms, and general education teachers' input during the Response to Intervention (RTI) process, a resource teacher found that many teachers were ill prepared to meet the diverse needs of special education students in the inclusion…