Response to Intervention: An Overview for the WRSD

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Response to Intervention An Overview for the
WRSD
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Important Ideas About RTI

1. The goal of RTI is to improve student learning
2. RTI will provide support to teachers, through a
   collegial, team-based process RTI validates
   teachers good teaching methods while providing
   more ideas
3. RTI encourages collaboration and communication
4. RTI results in a consistent problem-solving
   approach for struggling students
5. RTI means making additional good teaching
   strategies available to instructors
6. RTI means providing more resources to teachers to
   support classroom interventions

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The quality of a school as a learning community
can be measured by how effectively it addresses
the needs of struggling students.--Wright
(2005)
Discussion Read the quote below
Do you agree or disagree with this statement?
Why?
Source Wright, J. (2005, Summer). Five
interventions that work. NAESP Leadership
Compass, 2(4) pp.1,6.
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Essential Elements of RTI (Fairbanks, Sugai,
Guardino, Lathrop, 2007)

1. A continuum of evidence-based services available
   to all students" that range from universal to
   highly individualized intensive
2. Decision points to determine if students are
   performing significantly below the level of their
   peers in academic and social behavior domains"
3. Ongoing monitoring of student progress"
4. Employment of more intensive or different
   interventions when students do not improve in
   response" to lesser interventions
5. Evaluation for special education services if
   students do not respond to intervention
   instruction"

Source Fairbanks, S., Sugai, G., Guardino, S.,
Lathrop, M. (2007). Response to intervention
Examining classroom behavior support in second
grade. Exceptional Children, 73, p. 289.
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What does RTI look like when applied to an
individual student?

• A widely accepted method for determining whether
  a student has a Learning Disability under RTI is
  the dual discrepancy model (Fuchs, 2003).
• Discrepancy 1 The student is found to be
  performing academically at a level significantly
  below that of his or her typical peers
  (discrepancy in initial skills or performance).
• Discrepancy 2 Despite the implementation of one
  or more well-designed, well-implemented
  interventions tailored specifically for the
  student, he or she fails to close the gap with
  classmates (discrepancy in rate of learning
  relative to peers).

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Target Student
Dual-Discrepancy RTI Model of Learning
Disability (Fuchs 2003)
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The steps of RTI for an individual case

• Under RTI, if a student is found to be
  performing well below peers, the school will
• Estimate the academic skill gap between the
  student and typically-performing peers
• Determine the likely reason(s) for the students
  depressed academic performance
• Select a scientifically-based intervention likely
  to improve the student's academic functioning
• Monitor academic progress frequently to evaluate
  the impact of the intervention
• If the student fails to respond to several
  well-implemented interventions, consider a
  referral to Special Education

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How can a school restructure to support RTI?

• The school can organize its intervention efforts
  into 3 levels, or Tiers, that represent a
  continuum of increasing intensity of support.
  (Kovaleski, 2003 Vaughn, 2003). Tier I is the
  lowest level of intervention and Tier III is the
  most intensive intervention level.

Universal intervention Available to all
students Example Readers Workshop
Tier I
Individualized Intervention Students who need
additional support are given individual
intervention plans. Example Additional guided
reading groups beyond those in the RW block
Tier II
Intensive Intervention Students whose
intervention needs are greater than general
education can meet may be referred for more
intensive services. Example Special Education
Tier III
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Tier I Interventions
Tier I interventions are universalavailable to
all students. Teachers deliver these
interventions in the classroom (e.g., providing
additional targeted instruction around decoding
during 11 conferring). Tier I interventions
are those strategies that instructors are likely
to put into place at the first sign that a
student is struggling. Tier I interventions
attempt to answer the question Are routine
classroom instructional modifications sufficient
to help the student to achieve academic success?
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Key Questions About Implementing Classroom
Interventions
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Tier II Interventions
Tier II interventions are individualized and
tailored to the unique needs of struggling
learners. They are reserved for students with
significant skill gaps who have failed to respond
successfully to Tier I strategies. Tier II
interventions attempt to answer the question Can
an individualized intervention plan carried out
in a general-education setting bring the student
up to the academic level of his or her peers?
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Tier II Interventions
There are two different vehicles that schools can
use to deliver Tier II interventions Problem-solv
ing (Classroom-Based Intervention).
Individualized research-based interventions that
match the profile of a particular students
strengths and limitations. The classroom
implements these interventions. A plus of the
problem-solving approach is that the intervention
can be customized to the students needs.
Standard-Protocol (Standalone Intervention).
Group intervention programs based on
scientifically valid instructional practices
(standard protocol) are created to address
frequent student referral concerns. These
services are provided outside of the classroom.
For example, a school may set up a structured
tutorial program staffed by one grade level
teacher to provide support for struggling
readers. Students referred for Tier II would be
placed in this tutoring program. Standard group
intervention protocols often cannot be
individualized easily to accommodate a specific
students unique needs.
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Tier III Interventions
Tier III interventions are the most intensive
academic supports available in a school and are
generally reserved for students with chronic and
severe academic delays or behavioral problems.
In many schools, Tier III interventions are
available only through special education. Tier
III supports try to answer the question, What
ongoing supports does this student require and in
what settings to achieve the greatest success
possible?
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Levels of Intervention Tier I, II, III
Tier I Universal100
Tier II Individualized10-15
Tier III Intensive5-10
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Making RTI Work in Our School Key Expectations
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Making RTI Work in Our School Key Expectations

• Teachers try a larger number of research-based
  classroom strategies before referring a student
  to the schools RTI Team.
• Schools are able to find time to schedule RTI
  Team meetings.
• Twice per month during faculty meeting times
• Cross-grade, multi-disciplinary teams
• Two referrals per meeting
• School staff members are trained to participate
  in RTI Team Meetings
• Team roles
• Team protocol
• Teachers use district documents to further the
  RTI Team process
• Tier II Referral Form
• Goal-Setting Worksheet
• Intervention Plan

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Making RTI Work in Our School Key Expectations
(Cont.)

• Administrators and teachers show strong support
  for RTI, using their influence to encourage
  others to follow-through with classroom
  interventions.
• RTI is accepted by the school community as a
  mainstream initiative, with RTI Team members
  drawn primarily from general education.
• RTI is given the resources that it needs to grow,
  including staff development and intervention
  materials (e.g., multiple-copy book sets).
• The district school has a multi-year plan to
  implement RTI that builds the model at an
  ambitious but sustainable rate.

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Role of School Culture in the Acceptability of
Interventions

• school staffs are interested in
  strategies that fit a group instructional and
  management template intensive strategies
  required by at-risk and poorly motivated students
  are often viewed as cost ineffective. Treatments
  and interventions that do not address the primary
  mission of schooling are seen as a poor match to
  school priorities and are likely to be rejected.
  Thus, intervention and management approaches that
  are universal in nature and that involve a
  standard dosage that is easy to deliver (e.g.,
  classwide social skills training) have a higher
  likelihood of making it into routine or standard
  school practice.

Source Walker, H. M. (2004). Use of
evidence-based interventions in schools Where
we've been, where we are, and where we need to
go. School Psychology Review, 33, 398-407. pp.
400-401
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Barriers in Schools to Innovations in
Interventions

• Factors that have been identified as
  barriers to acceptance and implementation by
  educators of effective behavioral interventions
  for at at-risk students include characteristics
  of the host organization, practitioner behavior,
  costs, lack of program readiness, the absence of
  program champions and advocates within the host
  organization, philosophical objections, lack of
  fit between the program's key features and
  organizational routines and operations, and weak
  staff participation.

Source Walker, H. M. (2004). Use of
evidence-based interventions in schools Where
we've been, where we are, and where we need to
go. School Psychology Review, 33, 398-407. p. 400
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Measuring the Intervention Footprint Issues of
Planning, Documentation, Follow-Through
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Essential Elements of Any Academic or Behavioral
Intervention (Treatment) Strategy

• Method of delivery (Who or what delivers the
  treatment?)Primary providers are teachers. For
  simple interventions (e.g., monitoring repeated
  readings), paraprofessionals, parents,
  volunteers, or computers can provide the
  intervention.
• Treatment component (What makes the intervention
  effective?)Examples include activation of prior
  knowledge to help the student to make meaningful
  connections between known and new material
  guided practice (e.g., Paired Reading) to
  increase reading fluency periodic review of
  material to aid student retention.

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Interventions, Accommodations Modifications
Sorting Them Out

• Interventions. An academic intervention is a
  strategy used to teach a new skill, build fluency
  in a skill, or encourage a child to apply an
  existing skill to new situations or settings.
  An intervention is said to be research-based
  when it has been demonstrated to be effective in
  one or more articles published in peerreviewed
  scientific journals. The school may also develop
  and implement an intervention that is based on
  guidelines provided in research articlessuch as
  Paired Reading (Topping, 1987).

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Interventions, Accommodations Modifications
Sorting Them Out

• Accommodations. An accommodation is intended to
  help the student to fully access the
  general-education curriculum without changing the
  instructional content. An accommodation for
  students who are slow readers, for example, may
  include having them supplement their silent
  reading of a novel by listening to the book on
  tape. An accommodation is intended to remove
  barriers to learning while still expecting that
  students will master the same instructional
  content as their typical peers. Informal
  accommodations may be used at the classroom level
  or be incorporated into a more intensive,
  individualized intervention plan.

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Interventions, Accommodations Modifications
Sorting Them Out

• Modifications. A modification changes the
  expectations of what a student is expected to
  know or dotypically by lowering the academic
  expectations against which the student is to be
  evaluated. Examples of modifications are
  reducing the number of multiple-choice items in a
  test from five to four or shortening a spelling
  list. Under RTI, modifications are generally not
  included in a students intervention plan,
  because the working assumption is that the
  student can be successful in the curriculum with
  appropriate interventions and accommodations
  alone.

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Evaluating the Quality of Intervention Research
The Research Continuum
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Intervention Research Continuum

• Evidence-Based Practices
• Includes practices for which original data have
  been collected to determine the effectiveness of
  the practice for students with disabilities. The
  research utilizes scientifically based rigorous
  research designs (i.e., randomized controlled
  trials, regression discontinuity designs,
  quasi-experiments, single subject, and
  qualitative research).

Source The Access Center Research Continuum
(n.d.). Retrieved on June 1, 2008 from
http//www.k8accesscenter.org/training_resources/d
ocuments/ACResearchApproachFormatted.pdf
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Intervention Research Continuum

• Promising Practices
• Includes practices that were developed based on
  theory or research, but for which an insufficient
  amount of original data have been collected to
  determine the effectiveness of the practices.
  Practices in this category may have been studied,
  but not using the most rigorous study designs.

Source The Access Center Research Continuum
(n.d.). Retrieved on June 1, 2008 from
http//www.k8accesscenter.org/training_resources/d
ocuments/ACResearchApproachFormatted.pdf
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Intervention Research Continuum

• Emerging Practices
• Includes practices that are not based on
  research or theory and on which original data
  have not been collected, but for which anecdotal
  evidence and professional wisdom exists. These
  include practices that practitioners have tried
  and feel are effective and new practices or
  programs that have not yet been researched.

Source The Access Center Research Continuum
(n.d.). Retrieved on June 1, 2008 from
http//www.k8accesscenter.org/training_resources/d
ocuments/ACResearchApproachFormatted.pdf
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Our RTI Goals for Interventions

• Our school will implement evidence-based
  practices and promising practices
• We will attempt to avoid emerging practices, as
  they are not supported by research
• We will regularly monitor progress in order to
  determine the effectiveness of interventions
• If students fail to respond to interventions (or
  tweeking of interventions) we will revisit these
  cases in the context of the RTI Team

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Next Steps

• All teachers launch Tier I (balanced literacy)
• 15 minute phonics/word study
• 60 minute RW
• 15 minute interactive read-aloud
• 45-60 minute writing block
• Teachers adjust Tier I instruction for
  individuals who appear to need further support
• Teachers receive professional development around
  RTI Teams and evidence-based intervention on
  9.23, 10.10, 11.4, and 12.10
• RTI Teams convene in late October for the first
  Tier II referrals