Response To Intervention

1299 Words6 Pages
Above is a quote said by Hans Asperger. This quote simply shows that no one person is the same, and everyone has their differences. In a school environment, students all learn at various levels and styles. For the students that need the extra assistance special education programs are in place to aid them. When it came to the evaluating students that may need extra assistance, for my year the only method used was the discrepancy model. However, in 2004 the IDEA signed into law a new method, Response to Intervention, also known as RTI. These models are used to determine whether a child qualifies for special education services and or if the child needs an Individualized Education Plan. Both of these methods have positives and negatives. Let’s take a look into these methods. Through the traditional discrepancy model, a learning disability has been determined primarily through a combination of cognitive and academic achievement testing. When a 'severe discrepancy' between ability and achievement is found, along with indication of underlying information processing issues, a learning disability can be identified and special education services can be provided. This means if the student’s IQ is either average or above average and their academic achievement is below average, they are then entitled to assistance in their education. Each State establishes its own formula for determining when a 'discrepancy' can be considered 'severe'. The problems with the discrepancy model are early detection and there is no measurement of error taken into consideration. Although the traditional discrepancy model provides a purpose for identifying a learning disability there are a couple of very significant limitations to this process. First, it is extremely difficult to accurately determine 'severe discrepancy' for young students. Students arrive in kindergarten with varying
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