National Center on Response to Intervention (RTI)

This 2004 presentation at NCCRESt's National Research Conference explores the issue of disproportionate numbers of English Language Learners (ELL) classified as Learning Disabled (LD). The researchers conducted a review of 55 studies on ELL and noticed a pattern in which students’ language and cultural preferences were overlooked when assessing their academic performance. Presenters suggest that as classification of LD incorporates interventions, language and culture must play a greater role. The presentation was made by Janette Klingner and Laura Méndez Barletta of the University of Colorado-Boulder and Alfredo J. Artiles of Arizona State University.

English Language Learners and Learning Disabilities: A Critical Review of the Literature

This 2004 presentation at NCCRESt's National Research Conference describes a study in Texas that looked at effects of an RTI intervention delivered to English Language Learners in Spanish. It conducted interventions in Spanish and English to different sets of students and observed similar results in terms of the responses yielded. It was presented by Sylvia Linan-Thompson, Sharon Vaughn, and Kathryn Prater of the Vaughn Gross Center for Reading and Language Arts at the University of Texas-Austin and Paul Cirino of the University of Houston.

The Response to Intervention of English Language Learners At-Risk for Reading Problems

This 2006 brief on preventing disproportionate representation in special education seeks to answer the question, “Are we identifying and serving the ‘right’ students?” It was written by Shernaz B. García and Alba A. Ortiz and  produced by the National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems.

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This April 2006 presentation discusses RTI for English Language Learners, particularly within the context of a 3-tiered literacy intervention. It was presented by Sylvia Linan-Thompson of the University of Texas at Austin and produced by the National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems.

Response to Intervention and EL Learners: Questions and Some Answers

This presentation discusses what an RTI model might look like for culturally and linguistically diverse students. It was presented by Janette Klingner of the University of Colorado at Boulder and produced by the National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems

Considerations When Using RTI Models with Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students

This 2004 presentation at NCCRESt's National Research Conference explores the use of RTI in order to identify and instruct LD students rather than use of discrepancy criteria.  It discusses results of a study employing a reading intervention for ELL students in three California school districts, particularly in terms of characteristics of children who were responsive to intervention vs. those who were not..  It was presented by Michael Gerber, Director of the Center for Advanced Studies of Individual Differences at the University of California-Santa Barbara.