Evelyn S. Johnson

Cognitive Processing Deficits and Students with Specific Learning Disabilities: A Selective Meta-Analysis of the Literature

Many practitioners and state education agency staff would likely agree that the accuracy and consistency of specific learning disability (SLD) eligibility decisions is in need of improvement. One component of the SLD definition particularly controversial in the identification procedures is the evaluation of cognitive processes, primarily due to a lack of information about the role they might play in informing an SLD diagnosis and eligibility for special education services. A meta-analysis of 32 studies was conducted to examine the cognitive processing differences between students with SLD and typically achieving peers. The analysis found moderately large to large effect sizes in cognitive processing differences between groups of students with SLD and typically achieving students. These differences are of sufficient magnitude to justify including measures of cognitive processing ability in the evaluation and identification of SLD.

Foundations and Research on Identifying Model Responsiveness-to-Intervention Sites

As regulations are rewritten regarding school-based learning disabilities identification practices, the components of those practices are likely to change. For example, cognitive assessment and aptitude-achievement discrepancy might be less important. A students responsiveness-to-intervention (RTI) is emerging as an important construct for assessing underachievement. This article provides a framework for understanding how RTI fits as one LD determination component, describes research on RTI, and outlines the NRCLDs research efforts to examine current RTI implementation in schools and model site selection.

When Is Reading Also Writing: Sources of Individual Differences on the New Reading Performance Assessments

This research examined component processes that contribute to performance on one of the new, standards-based reading tests that have become a staple in many states. Participants were 60 Grade 4 students randomly sampled from 7 classrooms in a rural school district. The particular test we studied employed a mixture of traditional (multiple-choice) and performance assessment approaches (constructed-response items that required written responses). Our findings indicated that multiple-choice and constructed-response items enlisted different cognitive skills. Writing ability emerged as an important source of individual differences in explaining overall reading ability, but its influence was limited to performance on constructed-response items. After controlling for word identification and listening, writing ability accounted for no variance in multiple-choice reading scores. By contrast, writing ability accounted for unique variance in reading ability, even after controlling for word identification and listening skill, and explained more variance in constructed-response reading scores than did either word identification or listening skill. In addition, performance on the multiple-choice reading measure along with writing ability accounted for nearly all of the reliable variance in performance on the constructed-response reading measure.

Improving the Accuracy of a Direct Route Screening Process.

In a response-to-intervention framework, schools typically employ a direct route approach to screening, in which students identified as at risk by a screening process are directly placed into intervention. Direct route approaches require screening decisions to be highly accurate, but few studies examining the predictive validity of reading measures report achieving recommendations for classification accuracy. In this study, two approaches to improving the classification accuracy of predictors of Grade 3 reading performance are compared. Findings indicate that the reliance on single screening measures do not result in high levels of classification accuracy. Classification accuracy improved by 2% when a combination of measures was employed and by 6% when a predicted probability risk index was used. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Implementation of Response to Intervention at Middle School: Challenges and Potential Benefits

tion in a student’s academic career. For most students, it means changing schools, adjusting to a longer school day, changing teachers for content courses, and meeting demands of more complex assignments requiring independent learning and critical thinking skills. Given these challenges, the fact that many students require additional support to experience academic success in middle school is not surprising. For a variety of reasons, such as existing learning difficulties, increased academic demands, language proficiency, and transience, early interventions to support success in middle school are routinely needed for an increasingly large and diverse population of students. Well-documented, research-based interventions are available for middle school students, but one problem that limits their effective implementation is the lack of a schoolwide process through which to do so. The result is a haphazard approach to intervention, with no coordination across classrooms and limited information on efficacy. Providing interventions in an effective manner—one that responds to individual student needs and supports progress in the general curriculum—poses significant challenges at the middle school level.

Alternative Models of Learning Disabilities Identification Considerations and Initial Conclusions

The final session of the National Research Center on Learning Disabilities (NRCLD) Responsiveness-to-Intervention (RTI) Symposium, “What are alternative models to LD identification other than RTI?” included four papers that discussed concerns over the exclusive reliance on an RTI approach to learning disability identification, considerations for analyzing proposed LD identification models, and various alternatives to LD identification. The work of the participating panelists is summarized in this discussant paper, and next steps for the NRCLD in light of these presentations are suggested.

Special Education Teacher Evaluation: Why It Matters, What Makes It Challenging, and How to Address These Challenges.

There is currently little consensus on how special education teachers should be evaluated. The lack of consensus may be due to several reasons. Special education teachers work under a variety of complex conditions, with a very heterogeneous population, and support student progress toward a very individualized set of goals. In addition, special education is marked by historical rates of attrition, with a lack of highly qualified teachers entering the field, and a number of special education teachers completing alternate certification programs, leading to a combined effect that impacts overall professional quality. In this article, we first review the challenges associated with evaluating special education teachers, describe and analyze current approaches, and present a conceptual framework for an approach to special education teacher evaluation. We then provide an overview of the Recognizing Effective Special Education Teachers (RESET) tool as a possible alternative to measure special education teacher effectiveness. Given the current zeitgeist of teacher evaluation systems that fail to address the unique circumstances related to special education teachers, it is hoped that the information in this article will contribute to the small but growing body of research on special education teacher evaluation and effectiveness.

Response to Intervention in Middle School: A Case Story.

Response to Intervention (RTI) is a framework that may lead to better teaching and learning through its integration of instruction, intervention, and assessment. An increasing number of states are moving forward with RTI initiatives across grades K-12. The research base for RTI, however, is currently limited to elementary settings. Although this research can inform implementation in the middle grades, the differences in school structure and operations at these levels mean RTI at the middle level will probably look different than it does at the elementary level. This article provides an overview of RTI, focusing, particularly, on how RTI is consistent with many of the characteristics of successful middle schools (National Middle School Association, 2010), and describes in detail the experience and outcomes of RTI implementation in one middle school where the second author serves as principal. The article concludes with a discussion of lessons learned and implications for other middle schools considering RTI implementation. RTI and the middle school concept RTI is most commonly depicted as a three-tiered model of service delivery (see Figure 1), in which Tier 1 represents the general instructional program, Tier 2 represents a level of intervention for students identified as at risk for poor learning outcomes, and Tier 3 typically represents special education. This model is based on a preventive sciences approach and illustrates RTIs focus on meeting the needs of all students through a school-wide process that integrates instruction, intervention, and assessment. The alignment of these processes promotes a stronger, more cohesive program of instruction that, ultimately, can result in higher student achievement (Mellard & Johnson, 2008). RTI is not a one-dimensional approach to improving student outcomes. Rather, it provides an umbrella structure under which numerous evidence-based practices can be employed to improve student learning. RTI is a valuable model because of its potential for building the capacity of schools to meet the learning needs of an increasingly diverse student population. As described in the literature (see e.g., Fuchs & Fuchs, 2006; Johnson, Mellard, Fuchs & McKnight, 2006), RTI contains the following critical features: * High-quality, evidence-based classroom instruction * Universal screening of academics and behavior * Progress monitoring of student performance * Implementation of research-based interventions at all tiers * Fidelity checks on implementation To date, scant research on RTI models at the middle school level exists. The need for successful models of RTI implementation at this level is great, because the middle grades represent a crucial point in a students academic career, laying the foundation for successful completion of high school (Morris, Ehren, & Lenz, 1991). Middle grades students are confronted with a demanding curriculum no longer focused on the acquisition of basic skills; rather, they must rely on those basic skills for acquiring content knowledge (Deshler, Hock, & Catts, 2006; Deshler & Schumaker, 2006; Swanson, 2001). Intervention models such as RTI can lead to improved outcomes for all students through the provision of a multifaceted support system for students who struggle with the demands of the curriculum. RTI can be especially effective at the middle level because the RTI framework is consistent with many of the characteristics of successful schools for young adolescents (National Middle School Association, 2010). In particular, RTI promotes and supports * Diverse teaching strategies. * Safe environments. * Use of assessment. * Multifaceted support systems. * Collaborative leadership. * Shared vision. RTI promotes diverse teaching strategies Because RTI stems from the preventive sciences, in which effective instruction and early intervention are seen as essential to reducing the number of students who struggle in or leave school, it focuses on developing a strong Tier 1 general education program. …

Measuring Rater Reliability on a Special Education Observation Tool

This study used generalizability theory to measure reliability on the Recognizing Effective Special Education Teachers (RESET) observation tool designed to evaluate special education teacher effectiveness. At the time of this study, the RESET tool included three evidence-based instructional practices (direct, explicit instruction; whole-group instruction; and discrete trial teaching) as the basis for special education teacher evaluation. Five raters participated in two sessions to evaluate special education classroom instruction collected from two school years, via the Teachscape 360-degree video system. Data collected from raters were analyzed in a two-facet “partially” nested design where occasions (o) were nested within teachers (t), o:t, and crossed with raters (r), {o:t} x r. Results from this study are in alignment with similar studies that found multiple observations and multiple raters are critical for ensuring acceptable levels of measurement score reliability. Considerations for the feasibility of practice should be observed in future reliability and validity studies on the RESET tool, and further work is needed to address the lack of research on rater reliability issues within special education teacher evaluation.

The Technical Properties of Science Content Maze Passages for Middle School Students.

The use of Curriculum-Based Measures is rapidly expanding to the middle school level, where maze passages are frequently used to monitor progress in reading. At secondary grade levels, the focus of reading is on reading to learn, especially in the content areas. Therefore, we were interested in developing maze passages based on grade-level science texts to determine whether maze passages constructed from expository texts would have sufficient reliability and validity to serve as reading and science benchmarking tools. Participants included 367 seventh-grade students from three states. Students completed eight maze passages over three testing periods, a reading measure at two testing periods, and 182 students completed a science state assessment. Alternate form reliability of the science maze passages ranged from .56 to .80. Concurrent and predictive correlation coefficients with other measures ranged from .63 to .67. Implications for practice and research are discussed.