What is RTI?

Jen MeyerSherri Parent

Monroeville Local SchoolsOctober 14, 2015

Credit to Jennifer Heim, State Support Team 2

Table Discussion

• Create a list of things you would do if you woke up with a sore throat.

• Add or delete from the list what you would do if you still had the sore throat 48 hours later.

• Add or delete from the list what you would do if the sore throat persists.

Vocabulary Check

1.Universal Screener2.Baseline Data3.Progress Monitoring4.Intervention5.Curriculum Based Measure (CBM)

Code the words with the following:

? = I have not heard of this word OR I have heard of it but cannot define it

✓ = I have heard this word and I might be able to define it

* = I know this word and could teach it to others.

Gateau A Fancy cake

Cake BossWeddings

Universal Screener

• A benchmark assessment given to all students

• Usually given three times during a school year

• Norm referenced

• Measures student level of skill/content attainment

Baseline Data

• Initial information taken on a skill or behavior.– Student’s skill level before intervention begins.

• Serves as the reference point for all future data collected on a student.

9

Intervention

• A change in instructing a student in the area of learning or behavioral difficulty to try to improve performance and achieve adequate progress.

What are interventions? • Targeted assistance based on progress monitoring

• Administered by classroom teacher, specialized teacher, or external interventionist

• Provides additional instruction (e.g. Individual, Small group, and/or technology assisted)

• Teach additional learning strategies – Organizational / Metacognitive / Work habit

• Add intensive one to one or small group instruction

11

Interventions are not

• Preferential seating• Shortened assignments• Parent contacts• Classroom observations• Suspension• Doing MORE of the same / general classroom assignments• Retention• Peer-tutoring• Homework

12

How do we know the Intervention is working?

• Progress monitoring

• As we increase the intervention, we must monitor the student’s progress to determine the effectiveness of the intervention.

13

Curriculum Based Measurement -CBM

• A method of monitoring a student’s educational progress through direct assessment of basic academic skills in basic reading, reading comprehension, reading fluency, mathematics, spelling, written expression, and phonemic awareness skills.

14

Progress Monitoring using CBM

• Student is given a probe once a week or bi-weekly to see if the academic skill is improving or not

• Probes typically 1-4 minutes in duration

• Probes are pre-made. These probes can be purchased, obtained online (free), or made from course text.

• Probes have standard directions and scoring rules.

• Provides indicator of basic skills

15

Data is Collected

• What is the intervention?• How often is the student receiving it?• How is it being measured?• How often?• Dates and scores of baseline and progress

monitoring assessments

What is a “Good” Response to Intervention?

• Good Response– Gap is closing

• Questionable Response– Rate at which gap is widening slows considerably, but gap is still

widening– Gap stops widening but closure does not occur

• Poor Response– Gap continues to widen with no change in rate.

17

No response to intervention.

Check the fidelity of the intervention implementation.

18

Frequent Charting/Assessing

Detect a ProblemPrescribe Treatment

Give it Time

RTI is not a program but a process: -a way to identify who is at-risk, why they

are struggling, and how we can support them as a community.

Response to Intervention

Response to Intervention

• Is defined as a data-based method to determine the level of a student’s response to interventions that range from universal (those provided to all students, e.g., core reading program, core discipline program) to intensive individually delivered interventions.

21

•Focusing on High Quality First Instruction

•Identifying and intervening early

•Monitoring progress frequently

At its core, RTI is about coming together to help all students succeed.

Benefits of RTI• Enhanced Student Performance

• Accountability - Ensures that the student receives appropriate instruction.

• Greater staff involvement, parent involvement, and student involvement

• Reduce the time a student waits before receiving additional instructional assistance.

• Reduce the overall number of students referred for special education services and increase the number of students who succeed within general education.

• Limit the amount of unnecessary testing that has little or no instructional relevance.

23

RTI Myths

Myth #1: The outcome of RTI is special education determination

Reality: By providing instruction and intervention, it helps teachers determine instructional needs and intensity. Special education eligibility decisions can be a product of these efforts, but is not the primary goal.

RTI Myths

Myth #2: Once a student enters the RTI process, there is no way out

Reality: Response to Intervention is a process that provides specific interventions for each child’s unique learning needs. At any time, a student can transition between the tiers based on their need of support in learning.

RTI Myths

Myth #3: Tier 3 is only special education

Reality: Tier 3 is the most intense level of intervention provided in general education. When it becomes necessary to meet a student’s needs in ways that exceed the resources in general education, then special education services may be warranted. These services would be delivered in the least restrictive setting appropriate and students receiving special education services are still considered general education students first.

Response to Intervention is not…

• Special education• A new program• A new assessment• An intervention curriculum• A new barrier to special ed services• An easier way to get special ed

services• A place to send difficult students

Tier 3

Tier 2

Tier 1

Another way to look at it.

15%of students

5% of students

Tier 1– All students– Evidence-based universally designed

instruction in the general classroom setting guided by progress monitoring(Formative Assessment and Differentiation)

30

Average is a myth…

There is no average learner If you design learning for the average learner, you design for no one.

5

Tier 1: Core Instruction• Identify at risk students through universal screeners. (MAP)

• Classroom teachers utilize research and standards based core curriculum.

• Classroom teachers will employ strategies and interventions within the classroom using differentiated groups and assess/plan/teach model.

• Classroom teachers document results of interventions with at risk students.

• Teachers will collect data and monitor student progress.

• Teachers will determine if the employed differentiation worked and continue core instruction cycle

Teacher Teams Essential

• It doesn’t matter what you call them, but need to have teams looking at student data on a regular basis– TBT’s

33

“If a child is not learning the way you

are teaching, then you must teach in the way

the child learns.”- Rita Dunn

Tier 2

– Students experiencing academic and/or behavioral difficulties

• (identified through progress monitoring data)

– Instruction that uses established intervention protocols

– Frequent progress monitoring– Tier 1 strategies continue– Implemented for minimum of 5 data collection

points

35

Characteristics of Tier 2 Interventions

• Available in general education settings

• Opportunity to increase exposure (academic engaged time) to curriculum

• Sufficient time for interventions to have an effect (10-30 weeks)

• Often are “standardized” supplemental curriculum protocols

36

Core Features

• Small Groups (e.g., 1:3, 1:5)

• 10-12 wks, 3-4x per wk, 20-60 min per session

• Scripted, specific interventions

• Immediate corrective feedback

• More time spent on difficult activities

• More opportunities to respond

• Setting goals and self monitoring

37

Remember:

• Increased opportunity to learn • Increased instructional time • Increased assessment

– Data collection and analysis – Data-based decision-making

38

Tier 3

– Individualized assessment and interventions– More frequent progress monitoring– Tier 1 strategies continue– Time/intensity of supplemental instruction at Tier

2 increases

39

Tier 3

• Increased intensity of interventions (e.g., frequency of delivery, amount of time, duration, best validated)

• Individually tailored interventions • Instructional grouping of < 1:3 • Frequent progress monitoring measures • Delivered by general education with consultation and

collaboration by special education

40

41

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3

Curricular Breadth Core Core + Supplemental Core + Supplemental and/or Intensive

Curricular Focus Reading and Math: As Required by Curriculum

 Behavior:

As Required by School-wide Expectations

Reading, Math, and Behavior:  

Targeted area(s) of Deficit as identified by the Grade/Content

Level Team  

Reading, Math, and Behavior: 

Specific deficit(s) as identified by the Student Level Team

  

Time As Required by building schedule for core instruction

  

 

Minimum of three times per week/30 minutes or more or as

prescribed by the intervention as designed

*minimum of 30 min/3x per week has highest effect size

Minimum of three times per week/30 minutes or more or as

prescribed by the intervention as designed

*minimum of 30 min/3x per week has highest effect size

Group Size Whole Classroom No more than 6-8 students (or as determined appropriate by the

Building Level Team)

No more than 3 students (or as determined appropriate by the

Building Level Team)

Frequency of Progress Monitoring

Three times a year (Universal Benchmarks)

Weekly or less as deemed necessary by the Grade/Content

Level Team

Weekly or more as deemed necessary by the Student Level

Team

Levels of Intervention Overview

ERASE• Eagles• Reaching• At-Risk• Students• Efficiently, Effectively, Everyday

As a staff and as individuals...

• We are called on to employ systems of collaboration and problem solving to identify difficulties early and with enough specificity to intervene

• We need to accept that every student is everyone’s responsibility for ensuring that all students learn

•Who are our students? What do they need to learn? How can we help when they struggle?

•Why are some still struggling? What other skills do they need?

•Did it work? Is there another way?

The right Response begins with the right Questions

There is no way a single teacher has all the time,

all the knowledge, and all the skills

to meet all the needs of every child in his or her class(es).

Buffman, Mattos, & Webber 2009

As a community we do and we can.

46

Intervention Central- http://www.interventioncentral.org/

Intervention Hero- Academic and Behavioral Interventions

http://www.interventionhero.com/

RTI Toolkit

Data Collection Resources• https://sites.google.com/a/appletreeinstitute.org/rti-resources/project-o

ne/data-collection

• http://www.rtinetwork.org/images/content/downloads/get%20started/interventionschart.pdf

• http://www.rtinetwork.org/getstarted/checklists-and-forms

• http://mdk12.org/data/progress/developing/m4w2/pr2/index.html

• RTI Classroom Progress-Monitoring Worksheet: Guidelines

• Wooster City Schools RTI Plan Progress Monitoring Data Form

1. National Center on Response to Intervention: www.rti4success.org

2. Curriculum Based Measurements for screening and progress monitoring: www.easycbm.com

3. Intervention Central to create your own progress monitoring: www.interventioncentral.com

Additional Resources