Response to Intervention Research Paper

Response to Intervention (RtI) came about initially in answer to the over-identification of struggling students as special education students. It was developed starting in the late 1970s by numerous researchers seeking a method of identifying learning disabilities that avoids the problems of the discrepancy model. Many educators were concerned that too many students were being identified as having a learning disability, not because they actually had one, “but because they had not been successful in a general education program” (Prasse, 2010). Many were also concerned that students with a true learning disability were not receiving the help they needed quickly enough. Before RtI, the accepted

Confirm achievement with the learner and plan the next assessment by returning to stage one. Identify any implications for learning, assessment and progression.

As in any research based program there are benefits and challenges. One of the biggest benefits of RTI is it has the ability to transform how we educate all students. When implementing Response to Intervention it helps to treat learning disabilities, identifies students with disabilities, classifies every student’s strengths and targets the specific disability. Perhaps the greatest benefit of an RTI approach is that it eliminates a “wait to fail” situation because students get help promptly within the general education setting. As soon as assessment data indicates a problem area for a student, interventions are put into place to address these concerns. One of the biggest challenges that are occurring is that RTI is still uneven; some districts use it and some do not and because of this it becomes a challenge. There is confusion as to what RTI is and whether schools are required to use. In addition, the evidence based and differentiated instruction is one of the issues in response to education. “Interventions that are research based but not feasible are not likely to be implemented with fidelity, which would undercut the validity of RTI decision making” (Kubiszyn & Borich, 2010,

In the model that Kentucky uses, all students fall into Tier 1 interventions as part of their general education curriculum. Students who are not making progress or exceeding standards fall into the Tier 2 targeted range and are in need of individualized interventions. Students who are not making progress or exceeding Tier 2 standards are in need of intensive Tier 3 interventions. If Tier 3 interventions are not working students are then evaluated for special education services.

In this case study, Miguel clearly shows difficulties in reading. The difficulties stated include: recognizing alphabet letters (alphabetic awareness), matching sounds to letters (letter-sound correspondence), telling sounds apart (sounding out), starting/ending sounds (sounding out), and remembering words quickly (sight word reading) (Meet Miguel, n.d.). In order to address these difficulties, the authors would approach this problem in a two pronged manner: 1) immediate bridge methods for learning, and 2) RTI approach.

The Special Education team for learning disabilities will test the student. These students have shown signs of continuous problems with interventions in place. Psychologist, psychiatrist, and any other testing will be conducted with parental consent have evaluated the student. Parents will be mandated to attend all assessment evaluations and the team shall review the findings for referral back to tier two or upgrade student to tier four for special educational services based on educational or problematic behaviors.

The test is administered in the spring and the results provide students, teachers, and parents with an objective view of the student’s strengths and weaknesses. The listening and speaking scores are combined to obtain an overall scale score, as are the reading and writing scores. The overall performance is determined by the scores in each combined area. A conversion chart is provided in each grade band, to convert the raw score to a scale score. Then depending on where the scale scores land will give you the placement level that the student is at. To move from one level to another both component scores must land in the upper level range. A student, who advances in only one

Tier II: Everyone at the meeting signs and agrees with Tier II intervention. Teacher does progress monitoring. Teacher will use a program to help the student more effectively, it will be more formal.

While the different program may vary from state to state, the basis of the models are the same. The RTI process has three tiers. In tier one is labeled curriculum-based classroom

Streamed reading and problem solving groups are in place to further assist students who need that support. These groups are split across year level teachers while the lowest level group goes to a specialist teacher and receives additional assistance. Students are placed in groups with other students of similar level which is determined by a test that is taken every term. As students are placed in groups of similar level, the specialist teacher can focus on teaching one thing without having

RtI is a great program for students mainly because of its timeliness. “Response to Intervention calls for intervention as soon as a problem is documented” (Friend 50). Prior to RtI, students with learning disabilities would not be identified until they fell far enough behind so they would show a large discrepancy between their achievement level and their potential.

Tier one refers to all students in general and the basic behavioral problems that come with them. Tier two refers to a more condensed group of students that may be more troublesome and need extra attention to focus. Tier three usually consist of special needs students but can contain any student that is in desperate need of constant supervision due to their behavior. A great intervention for Tier one includes praise. This is where a student receives praise for being on task or just simply being nice and compliant. Praise can come from just recognition to their name being put in a drawing for a prize. A Tier two intervention can involve making a plan. I, as a teacher, would get a team together, such as the principle, a tutor, and the student’s parents and we would all discuss the child and create a plan on how to handle the child. For instance, we could create a tutor session where the child can be one on one with someone and can receive proper guidance in the classroom. Another part of the plan would be for the student to be allowed special movement time. If a child is extremely restless, a few minutes out of the day could help him relax if he is able to move about. And finally, a Tier three intervention would be No Passing Time. This means that the child would not be allowed to leave the classroom until the bell rings and then the child will only have five minutes to go to their locker, get their things, go to the bathroom, and anything else they feel they need to do until the bell rings. If a student fails to make it to the classroom by the second bell, they receive a tardy. In some cases, parents are allowed to drop off their child, to the office, a few minutes before the bell and can also pick them up from the office after the end of the day bell. This is for students that cannot obey hallway rules and have truly horrible

Some students require additional interventions or supports to ensure success in and out of the classroom. Tier 2 supports are provided to a small percentage of our students. This group of students may be support by small group work with our counselor. Another possible intervention that may be used at Tier 2 is Check In Check Out (CICO). A smaller amount of students requires Tier 3 supports. These supports are supported by the Grant Wood AEA and involve an extensive evaluation. Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions are always don with parent

If the appropriate progress is not made by a student in Tier III in a timely matter, the next step would be to test the student for any learning disabilities that are hindering their literacy skills.

The second level, tier 2, is more selective or targets children and youth with learning, emotional, or life experiences that put them at risk for behavioral or health challenges. Lastly, tier 3 provides intensive services to children and youth with identified disorders that may limit participation in occupational activities.