Abstract:

This pilot study was funded by the State of New York through a VESID grant. The grant support research designed to examine initiatives in special education and to examine reasons for success or failure of these initiatives. In this particualr pilot study the the authors created a quantiative and qualitative survey instrument. The instrument was designed to gather the opinions andd perspectives of in-seervice educators from both the public and contract special education sectors. The authors designed the survey to elicit feedback from these eduators on the degree of effectiveness and universal understanding of the Response to Intervention (RTI) protocol that is part of the latest reauthorization of IDEA. While the sample population is small and from one region of the state, thus limiting the generalizabitlity of findings, the study did reveal that there exists significant diversity of understanding of RTI between and among the various educational sectors sampled as to how RTI should be implemented and the degree of success it is having in the field. Another outcome of the pilot study was specific ways to improve and refine the survey instrument so that it may be used on a braoder scale. Teachers, professors and adminstrators in the field of special education will find this presentation useful.

Keywords:

response to intervention, idea, promising practices.