Research Examples: Introduction

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Experimental Research Studies on Responsiveness-to-Intervention (RTI) In Reading and Math

Doug Fuchs, Ph.D., Lynn Fuchs, Ph.D., and Don Compton, Ph.D
Vanderbilt University

The National Research Center on Learning Disabilities received funding from the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) for five years to achieve the following goals:

  1. To understand how alternative approaches to disability identification affect who is identified with a specific learning disability (SLD)
  2. To investigate state and local identification policies and practices and SLD prevalence
  3. To provide technical assistance and conduct dissemination to enhance state and local practice in identification
  4. To identify sites that effectively use responsiveness to intervention (RTI) as a method of prevention and a tool for identification--an activity conducted in cooperation with the Regional Resource Centers (RRCs)

NRCLD is a collaboration of the University of Kansas and Vanderbilt University. Vanderbilt University implemented two research studies to investigate how RTI would affect the identification process of students with SLD. One study was conducted in reading; the other in math. The University of Kansas focused on (a) working with the RRCs to identify school sites that effectively use RTI and (b) providing technical assistance and dissemination of information regarding RTI and the SLD determination process to states through a variety of avenues.