NHASP Spring Conference 2026

Friday April 3, 2026

8:15 - 3:30 

Changing the Story: Defensible academic assessment and intervention for student progress across a tiered system

A conference for education professionals who have an interest in research-supported practices, including school psychologists, curriculum specialists, regular and special education teachers, and education administrators 

Continuing Education Credits

6.0 CPD hours are available for this event!

NHASP is approved by the National Association of School Psychologists to offer professional development for school psychologists and other professionals. NHASP maintains responsibility for the program. Certificates of Attendance will be provided following completion of the event. A total of 6.0 CPD hours will be awarded for this event. These hours are accepted towards the NCSP and other professional credentials. 

Conference Description

Presenter:  Dr. Matthew K. Burns, Fein Professor of Special Education, University of Florida 

Dr. Burns will draw on findings and lessons from the many research studies he and collaborators have conducted over the past 20 years. He will cover a variety of topics related to preventing, identifying, and solving student academic problems, and highlight the value of curriculum-based measures (CBM) in those efforts. Dr. Burns will address decision-making with academic data at all tiers of a multitiered system of support, starting with the purposes of academic assessments (e.g., screening, diagnostic, progress monitoring). For example, he will review the type, amount, and scheduling of academic screenings for all students to determine risk of failure. Dr. Burns will also discuss factors surrounding the selection of core instructional programs (Tier I), and the current understanding of effective reading and mathematics interventions at Tier II and III. 

His presentation will also include: 

• Using assessment tools to match reading materials to skill levels (frustrational, instructional, independent) 
• Measurement concepts like expected (normative) rate of improvement 
• An expert perspective on CBM tools sold by companies such as AIMSweb, FastBridge, easyCBM, and Star CBM 
• Specific subskill mastery measures (SSMMs) to monitor student improvement in more targeted skills (e.g., targeting consonant blends) 
• Decision-making models for evaluating response to intervention 
• Components of small-group academic interventions which drive their effectiveness 
• Decision accuracy of commonly used dyslexia screeners 
• An expert perspective on the identification of Learning Disability using a Response-to-Intervention framework 

Learning Objectives 

• Participants will describe the purposes of academic assessments at different tiers of a multitiered system of support.  
• Participants will identify effective, defensible assessment tools for studying different kinds of student academic problems. 
• Participants will identify evidence-based academic interventions which are appropriate at different tiers of support. 
• Participants will apply knowledge of evidence-based assessment and intervention practices to academic problem-solving in their own professional practice.