The RTI Approach to Evaluating Learning Disabilities

Joseph F. Kovaleski, DEd, NCSP, is Professor Emeritus of Educational and School Psychology at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where he directed the Doctoral Program in School Psychology. Dr. Kovaleski has worked as a school psychologist and district administrator in school districts in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. He directed Pennsylvania's Instructional Support Team Project and has served as a university consultant for Pennsylvania's Response to Intervention and Multi-Tiered System of Support initiatives. Dr. Kovaleski's special areas of expertise include using student data to inform instructional planning and behavior change programs. He has published a number of articles and book chapters on RTI and data-based decision making and presents frequently at national and state conferences. Dr. Kovaleski is a recipient of awards from the National Association of School Psychologists, the Pennsylvania Psychological Association, the Association of School Psychologists of Pennsylvania, and The Pennsylvania State University.

Amanda M. VanDerHeyden, PhD, a policy adviser and active researcher, is President of Education Research and Consulting in Daphne, Alabama, and has a faculty affiliation with the Wheelock College of Education at Boston University. Widely published, she regularly delivers webinar, panel, and keynote sessions, including addresses to state school psychology associations and departments of education in 35 states, Singapore, China, and Portugal. Dr. VanDerHeyden has authored policy guides and position statements, has developed widely used models of academic screening, conducts innovative research in mathematics screening and progress monitoring, and is the creator of SpringMath. She has served as a panel member for the National Institutes of Health and the Institute of Education Sciences at the U.S. Department of Education, and as an adviser and reviewer for the National Center on Intensive Intervention, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the IRIS Center, the Dyslexia Foundation, the RTI Advisory Board for the National Center for Learning Disabilities, and Amplio Learning.

Timothy J. Runge, PhD, NCSP, BCBA, is Professor in the Department of Psychology at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Runge has been a school psychologist in public schools and a consultant for the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network. He continues to provide consultative support to schools implementing multi-tiered systems of support for academics and behavior. Dr. Runge is the lead on the statewide evaluation of Pennsylvania's School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports initiative. His research interests include behavior support at the individual, classroom, and school levels; literacy assessment and instruction; curriculum-based assessment; and measurement of responsiveness to intervention.

Perry A. Zirkel, PhD, JD, LLM, is University Professor Emeritus of Education and Law at Lehigh University, where he formerly was Dean of the College of Education and subsequently held the Iacocca Chair in Education. Dr. Zirkel has done presentations in every state in the United States and has written more than 1,600 publications on various aspects of school law, with an emphasis on legal issues in special education. He writes regular columns for the journal Exceptionality and for Communiqué, the newsletter of the National Association for School Psychologists (NASP). Dr. Zirkel is a recipient of awards from the American Educational Research Association, the Council for Exceptional Children, the Education Law Association, NASP, and the University Council for Educational Administration.

Edward S. Shapiro, PhD, until his death in 2016, was Director of the Center for Promoting Research to Practice and Professor in the School Psychology Program at Lehigh University. Best known for his work in curriculum-based assessment and nonstandardized methods of assessing academic skills problems, Dr. Shapiro was author or coauthor of numerous books. He also developed the widely used BOSS (Behavioral Observation of Students in Schools) software system and presented papers, chaired symposia, and delivered invited addresses at conferences around the world. Dr. Shapiro's contributions to the field of school psychology have been recognized with the Outstanding Contributions to Training Award from Trainers of School Psychologists, the Distinguished Contribution to School Psychology Award from the Pennsylvania Psychological Association, the Eleanor and Joseph Lipsch Research Award from Lehigh University, and the Senior Scientist Award from the Division of School Psychology of the American Psychological Association, among other honors.