Kelli Dawn Cummings

Response to intervention (RTI) has received attention for its potential to improve special education eligibility practices for emergent bilinguals, who are often disproportionately identified with disabilities. The purpose of this systematic review was to examine the use of RTI as a means of reducing disproportionality in special education for emergent bilinguals. Seven studies met the eligibility criteria. Two studies used experimental/quasi-experimental group designs and reported that RTI was associated with reduced levels of disproportionality for emergent bilinguals. Two studies examining secondary data reported that emergent bilinguals were not disproportionately represented in special education when provided access to RTI but did not provide outcomes for schools in which RTI was not used. Three studies failed to identify evidence of an effect. Two studies reported that RTI was associated with improvements in reading. Results suggest that, although RTI offers benefits for emergent bilinguals in some contexts, its effect on disproportionality in special education is less clear.

Universal screening is a critical component of school-based prevention systems. Screening data enable educators to target students for supplemental intervention, align resources to meet needs, and identify students who may be at risk for learning disabilities. One major requirement of the screening process is that all students are included to gain an accurate picture of school performance. It is therefore surprising that few evaluations of screening systems have focused on English language measures and their use with English learners. In this article, we aim to evaluate common screening thresholds, 54 across Grades k–3, to determine the extent to which they may differ between English learners and English proficient students. Results indicate that many thresholds are consistent between groups with some exceptions in kindergarten. We discuss implications for screening assessment and decision making but suggest that similar cut scores across groups do not imply similar intervention strategies.

This comprehensive evaluation of the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills Sixth Edition (DIBELS6) set of measures gives a practical illustration of signal detection methods, the methods used to determine the value of screening and diagnostic systems, and offers an updated set of cut scores (decision thresholds). Data were drawn from a sample of 13,507 English-proficient students in kindergarten through Grade 3, with more than 4,500 students per grade level. Results indicate that most DIBELS6 measures accurately predict comprehensive test performance and that previously published decision thresholds for DIBELS6 are generally appropriate with some key exceptions. For example, the performance of phoneme segmentation fluency did not always meet expectations. The revised DIBELS6 decision thresholds can satisfactorily identify students who may require additional supports.

Research Findings: The goal of the present study was to provide empirical evidence for the importance of mastering reading fluency in early schooling. Study participants were 1,322 students in 3rd grade in 42 schools in a northwestern state. These students were assessed using a battery of reading skill tests as well as comprehensive tests of more general reading outcomes from kindergarten through 3rd grade. Practice or Policy: The results of the study show that mastery of reading fluency prior to currently established benchmarks is a significant positive predictor of later reading skills in primary grades even after student demographic information and initial reading levels are controlled. The results provide additional evidence for the importance of early reading development, early intervention, and preventing reading difficulties as early as possible in schooling.