Special Education Research Advances Knowledge in Education

Research in special education has yielded beneficial outcomes for students with disabilities as well as typical achieving students. The authors provide examples of the valuable knowledge special education research has generated, including the elements of response to intervention (e.g., screening and progress monitoring), instructional practices such as systematic instruction and feedback, and intensive interventions designed to meet the specific learning needs of students with disabilities. They present the importance of maintaining an appropriate funding stream for research in special education to ensure that robust research findings continue to be available to the educational community to improve outcomes for students with disabilities as well as typical learners. at COUNCIL FOR EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN (CEC) on November 25, 2015 ecx.sagepub.com Downloaded from 12 Exceptional Children 82(1) with disabilities, served in the general education classroom. This emphasis is a result of initiatives (e.g., regular education initiative, inclusive schools movement) that entitled students with disabilities to be included in the general education setting aimed at promoting interaction between general and special education as a unified system. With this shift toward the expectation that all educators have responsibility for serving students with disabilities (Harkins, 2012; Will, 1986) came greater need for instructional techniques effective for a wide range of learners that could be feasibly implemented in the general education setting. As a result, instructional methods effective for students with disabilities were adopted and tested for efficacy in general education settings. Perhaps one of the most successful examples of special education research influencing general education organization, instruction, and practice has been RTI (L. S. Fuchs & Vaughn, 2012). It was included in the most recent reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act in 2004 as an approved method for identifying learning disabilities and has laid the groundwork for enhancing the performance of all students—with and without disabilities—through a common system where classroom teachers, special education teachers, and other specialists work together (D. Fuchs, Fuchs, & Compton, 2012; D. Fuchs, Fuchs, & Vaughn, 2014). RTI has yielded a network of changes in screening, assessment, and intervention that relate to both prevention and remediation of students at risk for academic and behavioral difficulties. [RTI is] an approved method for identifying learning disabilities and has laid the groundwork for enhancing the performance of all students—with and without disabilities—through a common system where classroom teachers, special education teachers, and other specialists