Work

Special Education in a 4‐Year Response to Intervention (RtI) Environment: Characteristics of Students with Learning Disability and Grade of Identification

Year: 2013

Type: article

Abstract: This 4‐year longitudinal research was designed to study special education determinations of students who participated in Tier 2 intervention in a Response to Intervention (RtI) model focused on reading across Grades 1–4. We compared identification rates for learning disabilities (LD) and student characteristics of 381 students the year prior to implementation with 377 students in the RtI environment. Across schools, 38–60 percent of students were English language learners (ELL). Key outcomes by Grade 4 for students with LD who had participated in a model of RtI were relatively greater reading impairment with effect sizes ranging from 0.64 to 0.82, and more equitable representation across ELL and native English speakers than in the cohort prior to RtI implementation. Notably, one‐third of the students identified for special services as LD in these schools were not identified until 4th grade.

Source: Learning Disabilities Research and Practice

DOI: 10.1111/ldrp.12013

Authors: Rollanda E. O'Connor, Kathleen M. Bocian, Kristen D. Beach, Victoria Sanchez, Lindsay J. Flynn

Institutions: University of California, Riverside, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Language: English

Topic: Reading and Literacy Development

Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Quality education, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: green

Funders: U.S. Department of Education, University of Minnesota