The Center's three Technical Review Committees are made up of national experts in one or more of the critical components of RTI—screening, progress monitoring, and tiered instruction—and also have strong methodological backgrounds and expertise. The members of each TRC are identified below, as well as the specific criteria that were used to guide the TRC membership selection process.
Screening TRC
Selection criteria for the screening TRC were: (a) member has a background in measurement, or strong methodological skills and (b) member has a background in screening. Special attention was paid to including members with expertise on culturally and linguistically diverse populations. Members of the Screening TRC include:
Dr. Amy E. Barth is an Assistant Research Professor at the University of Houston, Texas Institute of Measurement, Evaluation, and Statistics. Dr. Barth is a graduate of the University of Kansas, Department of Speech Language Pathology. Her interests include the identification and treatment of students with language and learning disabilities.
Dr. Hugh W. Catts is Professor and Chair of the Department of Speech-Language-Hearing: Sciences and Disorders at the University of Kansas. His research interests concern the relationship between spoken and written language development and disabilities. Dr. Catts is the President-Elect of the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading and serves on the Board of the International Dyslexia Association.
Dr. Craig L. Frisby is an Associate Professor of School Psychology and Director of the School Psychology program at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He also serves as Associate Editor for the APA journal Psychological Assessment. His research interests lie in multidimensional scaling applications, computer assessment methods for math disabilities, multicultural issues in school psychology, and test session behavior.
Dr. Dave Heistad has been the Executive Director of Research, Evaluation and Assessment in Minneapolis Public Schools for the past 12 years. He has co-authored screening instruments for preschool, K-2 literacy and numeracy, and adaptive behavior used throughout the state of Minnesota. Dr. Heistad is the 2009 recipient of the Council of Great City Schools research award.
Dr. Tiffany P. Hogan is a clinical speech-language pathologist who studies the relation between lexical development and reading acquisition with an aim at improving early identification and treatment of reading disabilities. Dr. Hogan's classification studies have been funded by the National Institutes of Health and several private foundations.
Dr. John L. Hosp is an associate professor in the College of Education at the University of Iowa. His research has examined the utility of screening measures across disaggregated subgoups of students as well as the use of screening data to plan instruction. He has conducted numerous workshops and trainings on using data from screening measures and is a co-author of The ABCs of CBM--an introduction to the administration and use of curriculum-based measures.
Dr. Evelyn S. Johnson is an Associate Professor of Special Education at Boise State University. Her research focuses on RTI implementation at the secondary levels, with a particular focus on screening procedures to identify students at-risk for academic difficulties. She is the co-author of RTI: A Practitioner's Guide to Implementing Response to Intervention, and How RTI Works in Secondary Schools.
Dr. Kristen D. Ritchey is an associate professor of special education in the School of Education at the University of Delaware. Dr. Ritchey conducts research in identification and intervention for young children who are at risk for reading and writing disabilities.
Dr. Mabel Rivera is a Research Assistant Professor at the Texas Institute for Measurement, Evaluation, and Statistics in the University of Houston. Her current research interests include the education and prevention of learning difficulties in English language learners and students with disabilities. In addition, she engages in local and national service activities related to preparing personnel to teach students with special needs, and she presents at national and state conferences.
Dr. Sylvia Linan-Thompson is an Associate Professor and Fellow in the Cissy McDaniel Parker Fellow Fund at the University of Texas at Austin. She is associate director of the National Research and Development Center on English Language Learners that is examining the effect of instructional practices that enhance vocabulary and comprehension for middle school English language learners in content areas. She has developed and examined reading interventions for struggling readers who are monolingual English speakers, English language learners and bilingual students acquiring Spanish literacy.
Progress Monitoring TRC
Selection criteria for the progress monitoring TRC were: (a) member has a background in measurement, or strong methodological skills and (b) member has a background in progress monitoring. Special attention was paid to including members with expertise on culturally and linguistically diverse populations. Members of the Progress Monitoring TRC include:
Dr. Theodore Christ is an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology with the School Psychology at the University of Minnesota. His primary areas of research, teaching, and service relate to intervention-linked assessment and evaluation; especially as it relates to problem solving, response to intervention and progress monitoring. He serves on a host of editorial boards where he contributes his expertise with regard to progress monitoring and formative evaluation, especially as in relation to psychometrics and methodology. Dr. Christ was awarded the 2008 Lightner Witmer Award by Division 16 of the American Psychological Association for outstanding early career scholarship.
Dr. John M. Hintze is currently a Professor and Director of School Psychology training programs at the University of Massachusetts - Amherst. His research has focused extensively on the psychometric properties associated with progress monitoring and decision making accuracy of curriculum-based measurement.
Dr. Joseph R. Jenkins is a professor of special education at the University of Washington. His research focuses on assessment and instruction of students with learning and reading disabilities.
Dr. Lee Branum-Martin is a Research Assistant Professor at the Texas Institute for Measurement, Evaluation, and Statistics (TIMES) at the University of Houston. Dr. Branum-Martin has experience in modeling classroom and instructional effects in early literacy and bilingualism in large-scale research projects. He has also served on review panels for evaluating tests of early reading. His interest in multilevel and longitudinal models includes scaling, factor analysis, and measurement equivalence, which are crucial to measuring RTI.
Dr. Chris Schatschneider, Associate Professor of Psychology at Florida State University, is an experienced researcher in the area of early reading development. He has expertise in applying sophisticated measurement and statistical models to illuminate the relationships between reading and pre-reading skills.
Dr. Edward S. Shapiro currently is Professor of School Psychology and Director, Center for Promoting Research to Practice in the College of Education at Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Among his many projects, Dr. Shapiro co-directs a federal project focused on the development of a multi-tiered, Response-to-Intervention model in two districts in Pennsylvania. He served previously on the Technical Review Committee for the National Student Progress Monitoring Center.
Dr. Pamela M. Stecker has been involved in research and development of progress-monitoring tools since beginning her graduate work in the mid-1980s at Vanderbilt University. Pam has taught numerous special and general education teachers to use progress-monitoring measures for judging the adequacy of student progress and for making instructional decisions based on student data patterns to improve academic achievement. Pam consulted on the National Center on Student Progress Monitoring for five years and currently is working with Dr. Anne Foegen on a federally funded grant (Institute of Education Sciences) to develop online professional development for teachers related to progress monitoring in algebra.
Dr. Scott K. Baker is the Associate Director of the Center on Teaching and Learning at the University of Oregon and the Director of Pacific Institutes for Research in Eugene, Oregon. Dr. Baker's education interests focus on teaching and learning in literacy and mathematics, and the education needs of English learners. He is particularly interested in the impact of instructional interventions in schools that use multiple tiers of instructional support (i.e., Response to Intervention frameworks). He is the Principal Investigator on a number of IES research grants to develop and test effective instructional approaches and interventions in early reading and mathematics.
Dr. Michael Coyne is associate professor and Program Coordinator of Special Education at the University of Connecticut. He is also a Research Scientist at the Center for Behavioral Education and Research. He has expertise in scientifically based reading research, beginning reading curriculum and instruction, school-wide reading improvement, and effective practices for students with learning disabilities. Dr. Coyne currently directs or co-directs two multi-year research grants funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences focused on optimizing vocabulary and beginning reading practices for students with diverse learning needs through school-based experimental research.
Dr. Carolyn Denton is an associate professor in the Children's Learning Institute, part of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Dr. Denton has served as an investigator on several large-scale reading intervention studies and was the principal investigator of the Texas Adolescent Literacy Project, which resulted in professional development materials to support teachers of middle school students with reading difficulties. Her research interests include reading intervention, the identification and remediation of reading disabilities, Response to Intervention models, and coaching as a form of teacher professional development. She has authored or co-authored four books and numerous articles and book chapters on these topics.
Dr. Ralph Ferretti is a Professor of Education at the University of Delaware. His scholarship focuses on the challenges experienced by children with learning disabilities in writing and historical understanding, and instructional strategies that address these challenges. Dr. Ferretti is the recipient of fellowships from the National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development, and research and personnel preparation grants from the Office of Special Education Programs and the Delaware Department of Education. He served as co-editor of The Journal of Special Education from 2002-2007, currently serves on the editorial boards of Exceptional Children and The Journal of Special Education, and is an ad-hoc reviewer for many other professional journals.
Dr. Charles Hughes is Professor of Special Education at Penn State where he teaches the undergraduate course on instructional design and a graduate course on effective instruction for students with learning disabilities. He has co-authored an upcoming book published by Guilford entitled "Teaching students with learning difficulties: Making instruction effective and explicit." Additionally, he has researched and co-authored five instructional manuals used in the Strategic Intervention Model curriculum developed through the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning.
Dr. Joseph R. Jenkins is a professor of special education at the University of Washington. His research focuses on assessment and instruction of students with learning and reading disabilities.
Dr. Janette Klingner is a professor in bilingual, multicultural special education at the University of Colorado at Boulder. She was a bilingual special education teacher for ten years before earning a Ph.D. in reading and learning disabilities. Over the years, she has been a co-author and co-Principal Investigator on federally funded grants totaling more than 27 million dollars. She has authored or co-authored more than 90 articles, books, and book chapters, including several on RTI. In 2004 she won the American Educational Research Association's Early Career Award for Outstanding Research. Her research interests include Response to Intervention for English language learners, reading comprehension strategy instruction for culturally and linguistically diverse students, and the disproportionate placement in special education of culturally and linguistically diverse students.
Dr. Chris Lemons is an Assistant Professor of Special Education at the University of Pittsburgh where he teaches courses in assessment, research methodology, and reading instruction. His research focuses on effective methods of teaching reading to children who struggle to learn to read including those identified as nonresponders and those with intellectual disabilities. Prior to this, he was a special education teacher for 4 years. He has conducted numerous professional development workshops and presentations for special educators and has presented research at several national conferences.
Dr. Nonie K. Lesaux is Marie and Max Kargman Associate Professor in Human Development and Urban Education Advancement at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Dr. Lesaux's research and teaching focuses on reading development and preventing reading difficulties of children from linguistically diverse backgrounds; her developmental and instructional research has implications for practitioners, researchers, and policy-makers. Dr. Lesaux's program of research is supported by research grants from several organizations, including the Institute for Education Sciences, National Institute for Child Health and Human Development, William T. Grant Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the Council of the Great City schools. In 2009, Dr. Lesaux received a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor given by the United States government to young professionals beginning their independent research careers. A native of Canada, Lesaux earned her doctorate at the University of British Columbia.
Dr. Endia Lindo is an Assistant Professor of Special Education at the University of North Texas. Her research focus revolves around improving the reading performance of students at risk for reading failure in the elementary and middle grades. Of particular interest are approaches to teaching reading comprehension, and the social and familial factors that predict student's responsiveness to generally effective instruction.
Dr. Charles A. MacArthur is Professor in the School of Education at the University of Delaware. His major research interests include writing development and instruction for struggling writers, development of self-regulated strategies, adult literacy, and applications of technology to support reading and writing. Major funded research projects have focused on development of a writing curriculum for students with learning disabilities, writing strategy instruction in classroom settings, development of multimedia tools to support reading and writing in content areas, speech recognition as a writing accommodation, project-based learning in social studies in inclusive classrooms, and adult literacy.
Dr. Kristen McMaster is an associate professor of Special Education in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Minnesota. She received her Ph.D. in Special Education from Vanderbilt University in 2002. Her research interests involve creating conditions for successful response to intervention of students at risk or identified as having disabilities, particularly in the areas of reading and written expression. Her research focuses on (1) promoting teachers' use of data-based decision-making and evidence-based instruction and (2) developing individualized interventions for students who for whom generally effective instruction is not sufficient.
Dr. Natalie Olinghouse is an Assistant Professor in the Educational Psychology Department and a Research Scientist in the Center for Behavioral Education and Research at the University of Connecticut. Dr. Olinghouse's research interests include learning disabilities, reading and writing connections, large-scale writing assessments, and reading/writing interventions for struggling learners. Dr. Olinghouse has twelve years of special education teaching experience in Michigan and Florida.
Dr. Sarah Powell is a Research Associate in the Department of Special Education at Vanderbilt University. Her research interests include developing, implementing, and evaluating mathematics interventions for elementary-school students. Dr. Powell is also interested in identification of mathematics learning disabilities and how students interpret and use the equal sign when solving algebraic equations and word problems.
Dr. Claudia P. Rinaldi is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Teacher Education, Special Education, & Curriculum & Instruction at Boston College. Her research interests are in the identification and intervention of evidenced-based practices for English language learners with mild/moderate disabilities. Her current research work addressed the implementation of RTI models in urban settings to respond to the needs of diverse learners.
Dr. Greg Roberts is the Director of the Vaughn Gross Center for Reading and Language Arts and Associate Director of The Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk. He is the Principal Investigator and Director of the Special Education Strand of the Center on Instruction and Principal Investigator for the Texas Reading First Initiative and the Dissemination Core of the Texas Center for Learning Disabilities. Dr. Roberts has an undergraduate degree in special education and is trained as an educational psychologist, with expertise in quantitative methods, measurement, and program evaluation. He is currently evaluating Washington state implementation of response to intervention (RTI). He has published in tier 1 multidisciplinary journals and contributed chapters to books on reading instruction, measurement, and RTI.
Dr. Laura M. Sáenz is an associate professor of special education at The University of Texas-Pan American. Her areas of expertise include literacy for students with mild disabilities and English language learners with disabilities. She has provided CBM and RTI training to school districts and educational service centers across the state of Texas and also served as a trainer for the National Center on Progress Monitoring.
Dr. David Scanlon is an associate professor of special education in the Lynch School of Education at Boston College. He teaches and conducts research on content-area literacy and learning for adolescents with mild disabilities, transition, and social skills learning for children with Aspergers syndrome and related conditions. He is formerly an assistant research scientist with the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning. Dr. Scanlon is currently serving as editor of the Learning Disability Quarterly.
Dr. Pamela M. Seethaler is a Research Associate with the Department of Special Education at Vanderbilt University. Previously, she taught special education students as a resource teacher in the Metropolitan Nashville Davidson County public schools. She earned her Master's and Doctoral degrees under the advisement of Dr. Lynn S. Fuchs. Currently, she is coordinating studies that evaluate dynamic assessment as a means to enhance the prediction of kindergarten and first-grade students at-risk for math disability. Her interests include the early identification of and intervention for students with mathematics disability.
Dr. Paul Sindelar is a professor in the Department of Special Education at the University of Florida. His research focuses on assessing the cost of special education teacher education and estimating its cost effectiveness. In addition to cost, judgments of cost effectiveness required estimates of graduates' competence, how long they remain in the field, and the extent to which programs contribute uniquely to the supply of beginning teachers. Dr. Sindelar is a member of an NCIPP writing team conducting an analysis of induction and mentoring policy with a particular focus on special education.
Dr. Elizabeth Swanson is a Senior Research Associate at the Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk at The University of Texas at Austin. She currently leads a large-scale, multi-site, randomized control trial investigating the design, implementation, and evaluation of comprehension strategy instruction for adolescent struggling readers. Additional research interests include reading interventions for students with learning disabilities and issues related to response to instruction.
Dr. Lee Swanson has published one of the most comprehensive meta-analysis of intervention studies on children with learning disabilities to date. He has also published on how and which variations in internal and external validity significantly influence intervention outcomes.
Dr. Sylvia Linan-Thompson is an Associate Professor and Fellow in the Cissy McDaniel Parker Fellow Fund at the University of Texas at Austin. She is associate director of the National Research and Development Center on English Language Learners that is examining the effect of instructional practices that enhance vocabulary and comprehension for middle school English language learners in content areas. She has developed and examined reading interventions for struggling readers who are monolingual English speakers, English language learners and bilingual students acquiring Spanish literacy.
