This paper provides a synthesis of the literature on school-based intervention assistance teams and their direct or indirect impact on special education programs and practices. A total of 67 articles, documents, reports, and/or books was reviewed. A background section considers the history of these teams, their composition, and the prereferral intervention model used by them. The review is then organized into findings concerning five specific impacts or outcomes: (1) changes in referrals to special education; (2) appropriateness of special education referrals; (3) team, administrator, and teacher satisfaction; (4) administrator, team, and teacher attitudes, tolerance, and skills for working with students experiencing academic and behavioral difficulties; and (5) changes in student behavioral and academic performance. Among conclusions and recommendations are the following: the term "prereferral intervention" has resulted in many misconceptions; school-based intervention assistance teams should be focused on prevention and early assistance to classroom teachers; use of such teams can result in loss of state and federal funding when funding is based on child count data for children receiving special education; these teams run the risk of becoming another layer of bureaucracy; and evaluation procedures documenting the impact of the teams are essential. Appended are summaries of 32 major studies. (Contains 67 references.) (DB)