ABSTRACT

Ongoing legislative and educational reform efforts direct school personnel to use data-based, outcomes-driven models to support instruction that places students on a road to becoming ‘career and college ready’ (e.g., ESEA Blueprint for Reform 2010; IDEIA, 2004; NCLB, 2001). In these approaches, information about student performance drives multi-tiered cycles of continuous monitoring and improvement of instruction. Critical features include reliable and valid information about student learning, a problem-solving framework to guide decision-making, and consensus among educators about the need for such reflective practices (Castillo, Hines, Batsche, & Curtis, 2011; Curtis, Castillo, & Cohen, 2008; Small & Yasin, 2000). Providing general, special, or inclusive education services without these features or systems (and practices related to them) in place often results in less than optimal outcomes for students (Fuchs & Fuchs, 1986; Griffiths, Parson, Burns, VanDerHeyden, & Tilly, 2007).