Schools and districts across the United States have adopted response to intervention (RTI) as a means for both identifying and intervening with students at risk for low achievement. The validity of RTI rests largely upon teachers making appropriate instructional decisions based on students' responses to a given practice. This study was designed to…

A system is presented for advancing writing assessment beyond simple summative statements into a procedure for planning and evaluating instruction for all students, particularly those with learning disabilities. Case studies are presented in which writing samples are analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively for story idea,…

Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) is emerging at middle/secondary school settings. The purpose of this study was to investigate the reliability of a concept maze task to assist middle school teachers in making accurate decisions regarding student content learning. A total sample of 240 middle-school students were randomly assigned to take a…

Two groups of middle school students were taught U.S. colonial history during a 5-week period using 2 different instructional strategies. In the experimental group, concepts and problem-solving strategies were explicitly taught; in the control group, content was presented using lectures and reading. All students took a pretest and several…

Behavioral Research and Teaching (BRT) has developed a series of mathematics tests to assist local school districts in identifying students in grades 1-8 who may be at risk of not meeting year-end mathematics achievement goals. The tests were developed using the state mathematics standards for the relevant grade levels and administered to students…

A two-dimensional framework consisting of knowledge forms and intellectual operations was used to analyze curriculum materials, teacher-mediated instruction, and student use of information on essay and traditional criterion-referenced measures in two sixth-grade general science classes. Results suggest low-achieving students may need more exposure…

This paper examines instructional processes in two seventh-grade science classes and describes three components of general education middle school content classrooms (curriculum, verbal presentations during instruction, and assessed performance outcomes). It concludes that these three components need to be aligned for the successful inclusion of…

A case study of an English language learner in a rural Oregon middle school found that his performance in social studies dramatically improved under concept-based instruction. Methods such as concept-based instruction, which align curriculum and instruction with assessment, may offer solutions for schools serving culturally and linguistically…

Students with disabilities often have difficulty understanding expository history texts in high school. This article presents an integrated curriculum/instruction/assessment approach to teaching history that increases content comprehension and problem-solving skills of students with learning disabilities in inclusive classrooms. Concept-based…

This report describes a secondary mainstreaming program in Pine County, Minnesota, which successfully used a team approach and consultation between regular and special education teachers to adapt regular content-area classes to accommodate mildly handicapped students. (Author/JDD)

A study compared the performance of 21 sixth graders receiving Title I services, 13 with learning disabilities, 9 gifted students, and 58 others on a legal knowledge test after a 3-week course in a mainstream setting. The groups differed significantly on declarative knowledge tasks, but not on procedural and conditional knowledge tasks. Results…

Effectively teaching low-achieving and learning disabled students is challenging. Concept-based instruction is recognized as a particularly effective technique for helping students in these populations attain high levels of achievement (Tindal, Nolet, & Blake, 1992). The maze (a reading selection where certain words have been deleted and…