Many schools are implementing multitier response-to-intervention (RTI) models to reduce reading difficulties. This study was part of our larger ongoing longitudinal RTI investigation within the Florida Learning Disabilities Center grant and was conducted in 7 ethnically and socioeconomically diverse schools. We observed reading instruction in 20…

The effectiveness study examined a supplemental reading intervention that may be appropriate as one component of a response-to-intervention (RTI) system. First-grade students in 31 schools who were at risk for reading difficulties were randomly assigned to receive Responsive Reading Instruction (RRI; Denton, 2001; Denton & Hocker, 2006; n =…

During the past decade, responsiveness to intervention (RTI) has become popular among many practitioners as a means of transforming schooling into a multilevel prevention system. Popularity aside, its successful implementation requires ambitious intent, a comprehensive structure, and coordinated service delivery. An effective RTI also depends on…

Research suggests that the academic achievement of deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) students is the result of a complex interplay of many factors. These factors include characteristics of the students (e.g., hearing thresholds, language fluencies, mode of communication, and communication functioning), characteristics of their family environments…

This study determined the effectiveness of Kindergarten Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (K-PALS) for students with disabilities. The researchers randomly assigned 89 kindergartners with individualized education programs (IEPs) from 47 classrooms to control (n = 9); K-PALS Level 1 (teachers received 1-day workshop; n = 19); or K-PALS Level 2…

In this study, the authors estimated costs of alternative route preparation to provide states a basis for allocating training funds to maximize production. Thirty-one special education alternative route program directors were interviewed and completed cost tables. Two hundred and twenty-four program graduates were also surveyed. The authors…

Youth with disabilities face many barriers in making the transition from high school to stable long-term employment. Researchers used case study methodology to examine the career development process and postschool employment outcomes for a sample of individuals with disabilities who were working in living wage occupations 7 to 10 years after…

This study was inspired by the final regulations for the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) indicating that each state has the option to develop a new assessment for students whose disabilities have kept them from obtaining proficiency. Sets of high school science achievement items were enhanced for the new test. A 3-by-2, within subjects,…

This study evaluated the impact of a curriculum called the Early Literacy Skills Builder on the language and early literacy skills of students with significant developmental disabilities. Students in the control group received the ongoing sight word and picture instruction prescribed by their individualized education programs. Results indicate…

This study investigated the extent to which student performance and teacher perception of student performance affect placement in eighth-grade mathematics classes for students with disabilities. Authors used the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study--Kindergarten dataset to investigate how each of the following factors predicted placement in…

This study examined the effects of online reading instruction for at-risk fourth-grade students in Philadelphia. The authors used a multiple baseline design to assess the extent to which the students increased their oral reading rate given systematic supplemental online reading instruction. Tutoring consisted of 4 sessions per week with 50-min…

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of an early numeracy preventative Tier 2 intervention on the mathematics performance of first-grade students with mathematics difficulties. Researchers used a pretest-posttest control group design with randomized assignment of 139 students to the Tier 2 treatment condition and 65 students to…

This article assesses the effects of Tulsa, Oklahoma's school-based prekindergarten program on the school readiness of children with special needs using a regression discontinuity design. Participation in the pre-K program was associated with significant gains for children with special needs in early literacy scores, but not in math scores. These…

The education of students with disabilities in today's schools is being shaped by 2 very powerful laws: the 2004 Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA 2004) and the 2001 Elementary and Secondary Education Act (Title I, No Child Left Behind Act). These 2 laws are changing our conceptions about special education. Both of…

A short term residential summer camp treatment program provided for 18 autistic children, 15 boys and 3 girls (5 to 13 years old), was seen to be successful by the camp staff and parents. (IM)