The Rti Approach to Evaluating Learning Disabilities

Joseph F. Kovaleski, DEd, is Professor of Educational and School Psychology and Director of the Doctoral Program in School Psychology at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He serves on the Advisory Board of the RTI Action Network at the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) and on the Editorial Board of School Psychology Review. In 2005, Dr. Kovaleski, with Edward S. Shapiro, initiated RTI in Pennsylvania through the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network. He has published articles, book chapters, and Web-based content on RTI and other topics related to school reform and school psychology.

Amanda M. VanDerHeyden, PhD, is a private consultant, researcher, and national trainer who has worked in a number of school districts and is President of Education Research and Consulting, Inc., in Fairhope, Alabama. She serves on the Advisory Board of the RTI Action Network at the NCLD and is also a member of the NCLD's Education Programs Committee and a panelist at the Institute for Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Dr. VanDerHeyden received the Lightner Witmer Early Career Contributions Award from Division 16 (School Psychology) of the American Psychological Association (APA). She is Associate Editor of School Psychology Review and has published numerous articles and books related to RTI.

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.