Students with specific learning disabilities (SLD) represent roughly five percent of U.S. public school students aged 3-21. Current federal policy outlines guidelines for identification of SLDs, while ultimately leaving specific procedures to the determination of state and local education agencies. Research into how the method used in identification is related to the timing of diagnosis and student outcomes is inconsistent and inconclusive. This dissertation utilized data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-2011 to provide further understanding of these identification decisions and how they impact students with SLDs. Study 1 ("Is the use of particular methods in the identification of specific learning disabilities related to school demographics?") examined exploratory data to establish if the use of SLD identification methods (e.g., IQ-Achievement Discrepancy [IQAD] and Response to Intervention [RTI]) was consistent across schools with varied demographics. Results of multinominal logistic regressions found that there were associations between the method used for identification and schools' demographics, including race and ethnicity, English learner status, and socioeconomic status (SES). Similarly, results of over-time analysis including Poisson and negative binomial regressions identified relationships between prolonged RTI use and school demographics. Study 2 ("The association between the method used for disability identification decisions and the timing of diagnosis for students with specific learning disabilities") tested associations between SLD identification methods (RTI, IQAD, Both RTI and IQAD, and Neither RTI nor IQAD) and the timing of SLD diagnosis. Results of Poisson regression analyses showed no statistically significant relationship between the method used for SLD identification and the timing of SLD diagnosis when compared to students in schools in which neither method is used. The analyses did identify trends in identification decisions that may impact timing of diagnosis, including student- (race, ethnicity, sex, SES, kindergarten achievement), and school-level (race, ethnicity, and SES percentages) factors. Study 3 ("The relationship between response to intervention use in disability identification and fifth grade academic and behavioral outcomes for students with specific learning disabilities") employed linear regression to understand how students diagnosed with SLDs before or during elementary school perform academically and behaviorally at the end of fifth grade. Results indicated no significant association between the implementation of RTI for SLD identification and fifth-grade student outcomes for students diagnosed with SLDs. Despite this, covariates included in the analyses did highlight the need to further attend to the relationships between student demographics, student kindergarten achievement, and later academic and behavioral outcomes to better support students with disabilities in U.S. elementary schools. Overall, this dissertation highlighted the associations between school demographics and SLD identification methods. It provided answers to prior questions about the impact of SLD identification methods on students diagnosed with SLDs. Though findings for the associations between identification method and timing of diagnosis and student outcomes were not significant, significant relationships with certain student- and school-level covariates and the outcome variables (e.g., timing of identification, fifth-grade student achievement and behavior) emerged. Finally, this work raised further inquiries about how schools implement such identification methods with fidelity, and whether such processes support students with SLDs or potentially inhibit student success. Implications for research, policy, and practice are discussed throughout each study and overall implications are presented in the conclusion chapter. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]