This study examined the treatment integrity with which general education teachers implemented a reinforcement based intervention designed to improve the academic performance of elementary school students. The intervention was implemented for three children who were referred for consultation services and were identified as exhibiting performance deficits based on prior assessment. Treatment integrity was assessed via permanent products produced by the intervention. The results showed that teachers, maintained adequate treatment integrity for two to four days, after which, implementation began to deteriorate. Subsequent implementation of daily performance feedback by a consultant markedly improved treatment integrity. Intervention use improved student performance for two of the participating students.Consultation and collaboration between general education teachers and specialists such as school psychologists have been widely advocated as means of developing and implementing interventions in general education. Models for the delivery of consultation services such as collaborative consultation (

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This study examined the effects of reinforcement contingencies designed to increase the performance of existing reading skills as well as the effects of instruction-modeling and practice-designed to increase skill level for oral reading fluency across three levels of reading materials. Results showed that a combination of contingencies, modeling, and practice was effective in producing substantial increases in reading fluency for all participants at their assigned grade levels. These results demonstrate one strategy for experimentally determining those instructional components that are required to increase oral reading rate.

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Problematic assessment and intervention issues present substantial challenges when making educational decisions for deaf or hard of hearing (D/HH) students who are experiencing reading difficulties. These students present a diverse set of language acquisition skills, hearing ability, and orientation to early school learning activities that are different from the hearing student population. Given the importance of selecting assessment approaches that lead to effective interventions for D/HH students, three assessment procedures for identification of at-risk children and learning disabilities within the D/HH population are examined. Assessments reviewed are teacher referral, norm-referenced testing, and student response to intervention. Challenges to each process and the need for additional assessment and empirically validated treatment options are discussed. Finally, a case example is presented to illustrate a framework that may help school psychologists promote early identification of learning problems and outline interventions that meets a D/HH child's unique needs by focusing on reading outcomes in the curriculum. C 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.