ABSTRACT
Treatment responsiveness as a framework for identifying students with learning disability (LD) was originally conceptualized by Heller, Holtzman, and Messick (1982) and subsequently operationalized by others (e.g., Fuchs, 1995; Fuchs & Fuchs, 1998; Vellutino et al., 1996). The premise is that students are identified as learning disabled when their response to educational treatment is dramatically inferior to that of peers. The inference is that children who respond poorly to otherwise effective treatments have some critical constellation of deficits that require specialized intervention to effect the important schooling outcomes associated with successful adult life. A central assumption is that responsiveness to treatment can differentiate between two explanations for low achievement: poor instruction versus disability.
