The Utility of Psychoeducational Assessment in a Response to
Intervention Model
By Catherine Christo and Amanda
Clinton Higuita
The California State University,
Sacramento
According to Section
614 (b)(6) A of the re-authorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Act
(IDEA; 2004), a local educational agency (LEA) “shall not be required to take
into consideration whether a child has a severe discrepancy between achievement
and intellectual ability” when determining if a child has a specific learning
disability. IDEA 2004 also includes language that allows for the use of “a
process that determines if the child responds to scientific, research-based
interventions as a part of the evaluation procedures” (Section 614 (b)(6) B). The
use of such procedures in determining whether a child needs special education
services is typically referred to as a Response to Intervention (RTI) model.