IMPLEMENTATION OF IDEA: INTEGRATING RESPONSE TO INTERVENTION

AND COGNITIVE ASSESSMENT METHODS

JAMES B. HALE

ALAN KAUFMAN

JACK A. NAGLIERI

KENNETH A. KAVALE

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) was reauthorized by the

U.S. Congress in 2004, yet ongoing regulatory efforts are required to determine its operationalization

and implementation. Of particular concern to school psychologists and others involved in

the educational process are the guidelines for identification of children with specific learning

disabilities (SLD). Two seemingly opposite camps have been arguing for either a response-to-intervention

(RTI) approach for SLD identification or a methodology that includes comprehensive

evaluations for SLD identification and intervention purposes. In this article, the authors

propose a resolution to these critical issues by emphasizing a multi-tiered approach to serving

children with learning problems—one that begins with RTI, but then provides for comprehensive

evaluation of cognitive processes if RTI methods are not successful in ameliorating the

child’s learning difficulties. If a child fails to respond to intervention and demonstrates a deficit

in the basic psychological processes following comprehensive evaluation, both the definitional

criteria for SLD and the method for determining SLD eligibility will be addressed. This methodology

incorporates the best aspects of both the RTI and comprehensive evaluation perspectives

to forge a balanced practice model that ensures diagnostic accuracy and optimizes educational