Ethical and legal issues associated with using response-to-intervention to assess learning disabilities.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 allows schools to use a child's response to research-based intervention (RTI) as a part of procedures to identify students with learning disabilities. This paper considers whether RTI-based assessment models meet ethical and legal standards for acceptable assessment practices. Based on a review of available research, it was concluded that RTI-based assessment practices, when carefully crafted and implemented, have the potential to be multifaceted, fair, valid, and useful. Threats to acceptable RTI-based assessment practices include: the lack of research-based interventions appropriate for diverse academic domains, ethnic groups, grades K-12, and students with limited English proficiency; uncertainty regarding how to determine when nonresponse to intervention warrants formal referral for evaluation of special education eligibility; difficulty translating scientifically sound RTI practices to the local school level; and inadequate staff training and poor treatment fidelity. Suggested directions for future research are included.
Burns
Matthew K
MK
University of Minnesota, Minnesota, USA. burns258@umn.edu
Jacob
Susan
S
Wagner
Angela R
AR
D004995:Ethics, Professional; D006801:Humans; D007859:Learning Disabilities / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012574:Schools / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States