In this article, the authors consider the power and limitations of responsiveness-to-intervention (RTI) for reducing the need for ongoing and intensive services for the segment of the school population traditionally identified as having a learning disability in mathematics. To assess the robustness of RTI, the authors describe four studies with…

Responsiveness-to-intervention (RTI) is a method for both preventing and helping to identify learning disabilities. An important feature is its multi-tier structure: "primary intervention" (tier 1) refers to classroom instruction; "secondary intervention" (tier 2) usually involves more intensive pullout, small-group…

We reviewed eight studies that described learning differences between students with learning disabilities (LD) and students with mild mental retardation (MMR). A total of 639 students, 6-20 years old, participated in these studies. Study authors examined students' inductive reasoning and their performance during guided inquiry and more lengthy…

A study compared the effectiveness of phonemic awareness and decoding training for 58 first graders with and without severe lexical retrieval weaknesses. All students demonstrated poor phonemic awareness. Students with relatively strong lexical retrieval skills responded more favorably to beginning reading instruction than did students with weak…

There is increasingly negative sentiment against IQ-achievement discrepancy as a method to identify children with learning disabilities (LD) and, more broadly, intelligence as an explanation of poor academic performance. The evidence for this latter view was examined by reviewing 13 studies involving 1,542 children who were at risk or reading…

This study attempted to implement and validate a 5-month effort to transition 42 pupils with mild and moderate disabilities (most with learning disabilities) out of math instruction in special education resource rooms and into regular education math. A preliminary discussion examines the "cascade of services" model and transenvironmental…

Proposes a treatment-validity model for the identification of learning disabilities. The four-phase eligibility-assessment process would include evaluating adaptations in the regular classroom and verifying the effectiveness of special education before placement. Considers the technical requirements of this alternative eligibility process, and the…

This study evaluated the short-term and long-term effects of three variants of a case-by-case process for readying students with learning disabilities to move successfully from resource rooms to regular classrooms for math instruction. Twenty-seven special educators from 21 elementary and middle schools and their 47 students with learning…

This article discusses a 2-year study involving 27 special educators of elementary and middle schools and 47 students with learning disabilities that explored the effects of using curriculum-based measurement and transenvironmental programming, each alone and in combination, for readying students to move from resource rooms to regular classrooms…