RTI: Response to Intervention

rhbarnes
Feb 28, 2022
3 min read

Making sure interventions work

Response to Intervention (RTI) is a multi-tier approach to the early identification and support of students with learning and behavior needs to prevent learning problems that may lead to the diagnosis of learning disabilities. This reflects a paradigm shift in education as the “learning problems” of various students may actually be “instructional” problems.

Focus is classroom instruction should be high quality to rule out ineffective instruction as a source of problems. It tries to identify students who need assistance early instead of waiting for them to fail.

High quality instruction involves evidenced-based curriculum and instructional procedures (also called scientifically based practices and research-validated instruction).

Progress in skill areas of concern is monitored weekly through formative assessments to provide a fast response to student needs and provide intervention before the student fails unlike other systems where a student fails and then is referred for evaluation of need.

Reading is the most important skill to focus on because it is an underlying skill for all others.

RTI helps students with needs, it is not a diagnostic tool

Achievements

All students receive high quality instruction
Prevents substantial reading problems from developing
Reduces erroneous learning disability diagnoses and placements in special education programs
Delivering services as soon as a student struggles
Reduces bias (race, non-native speakers, etc)

Broad terms:

Universal screening (sometimes part of tier 1): all students are screened/given pre-assessment to determine academic risk early
Tier 1: students receive effective high quality evidenced based instruction in the general education setting.
- Students are monitored and assessed weekly through formative assessments
- Summarize assessments are sometimes given three to four times a year
Tier 2: students whose progress is less than desired receive differentiated or additional support from the teacher or other professional.
- Students continue to be monitored and assessed weekly.
- Students receive intervention once a week to daily
- Intervention lasts 8 to 20 weeks
- Can be homogeneous or heterogenous groups
  - Homogenous: students with same need are grouped together and the intervention focuses on the need
  - Heterogenous: students with different needs are grouped and intervention takes turns targeting all the needs
Tier 3: students whose progress is still less than desired receive more intensive and/or individualized instruction depending upon school or district policy. Students may qualify for special education services or evaluation for learning disability.
- Students receive intervention near daily
- Intervention lasts 8 to 20 weeks
- Should be individual or homogenous groups

Comparison of IQ-Achievement Discrepancy Model vs Response -to- Intervention Approach

	IQ-Achievement Discrepancy Model	Response -to- Intervention Approach
What is the underlying purpose?	To eliminate low intellectual ability (IQ) as the reason for reading problems	To eliminate inadequate instruction as the reason for reading problems
Who is targeted?	Students with suspected learning disabilities	Struggling readers
What process is used?	A prescribed set of standardized tests Identification of discrepancy between IQ scores and achievement scores	Ongoing monitoring of students’ performance Data-driven decisions leading to increasingly intensive services
What information is typically used?	Scores from standardized tests of intelligence (IQ) (e.g., Stanford-Binet) Scores from standardized tests of achievement (e.g., Woodcock-Johnson Achievement Test)	Data collected frequently on students’ performance Possibly some standardized test scores
Who is responsible for collecting the data?	Primarily a certified diagnostician or school psychologist	Primarily the general education teacher or other personnel responsible for instructional interventions
What are the data used for?	To identify whether a disability exists	To guide instructional placement

Comparison of RTI Approaches

Problem Solving Approach:

Universal Screening

Class-wide assessment/universal screening is administered to determine the effectiveness of classroom instruction. Struggling readers are identified.
Can be repeated periodically

Tier 1

Frequent progress monitoring is conducted to assess struggling students’ performance levels and rates of improvement.

Tier 2

A team makes instructional decisions based on an individual student’s performance. Struggling students are presented with a variety of interventions, based on their individual needs and performance data.

Tier 3

Students whose progress is still insufficient in response to Tier 2 instruction may receive even more intensive instruction. Depending on a state’s or district’s policies, some students may qualify for special education services based on the progress monitoring data. In some states or districts, students may receive either an abbreviated or comprehensive evaluation for the identification of a learning disability.

Standard Protocol:

The person delivering the intervention makes instructional decisions that follow a standard protocol. Struggling students are presented with one standard, validated intervention that addresses a variety of skills.

Dual discrepancy approach:

Measures performance level (student’s scores on a test or probe) and rate of growth (average rate of growth of student's skills over time)

A minimum of 5 data points are required

Tier 1: performance level or rate of growth meets target. To move to tier 2, both performance level and rate of growth must be below target

Tier 2: performance level and rate of growth must meet targets.

If both performance level and growth rate targets are met, student can move to tier 1
If one but not both performance level and growth rate target are met, students does another tier 2 intervention
If neither performance level nor growth rate target are met, student moves to tier 3

Tier 3: performance level and rate of growth must meet targets

If both performance level and growth rate targets are met, student can move to tier 2
If both performance level and growth rate target are not met, students does another tier 3 intervention

To calculate the rate of growth: