1. Getting Started With ‘Response to Intervention’: A Guide for Schools Jim Wright NYASP Fall Conference October 20, 2006 

2. Building Capacity: Activity At your table…
Discuss up to 3 major ‘challenges’ that your school faces in putting the RTI model into place in your building
Come up with 5 specific strategies that you team or school could adopt to manage these challenges

3. For a comprehensive directory of up-to-date RTI Resources available for free on the Internet, visit RTI_Wire at: php/rti/rti_wire.php

4. RTI_Wire

5. RTI Workshop Goals… As a result of this workshop, you will:
Better understand the ‘Response to Intervention’ (RTI) model
Know where to find resources on the Internet to start RTI in your school
Understand the next steps that your school should take to implement RTI

6. Discussion: Read the quote below:
“The quality of a school as a learning community can be measured by how effectively it addresses the needs of struggling students.” --Wright (2005)
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.

7. What is ‘Response to Intervention’ (RTI)?
'Response to Intervention' is an emerging approach to the diagnosis of Learning Disabilities that holds considerable promise. In the RTI model:
A student with academic delays is given one or more research-validated interventions.
The student's academic progress is monitored frequently to see if those interventions are sufficient to help the student to catch up with his or her peers.
If the student fails to show significantly improved academic skills despite several well-designed and implemented interventions, this failure to 'respond to intervention' can be viewed as evidence of an underlying Learning Disability.

9. What are advantages of RTI?
One advantage of RTI in the diagnosis of educational disabilities is that it allows schools to intervene early to meet the needs of struggling learners.
Another advantage is that RTI maps those specific instructional strategies found to benefit a particular student. This information can be very helpful to both teachers and parents.

10. What previous approach to diagnosing Learning Disabilities does RTI replace?
Prior to RTI, many states used a ‘Test-Score Discrepancy Model’ to identify Learning Disabilities.
A student with significant academic delays would be administered an battery of tests, including an intelligence test and academic achievement test(s).
If the student was found to have a substantial gap between a higher IQ score and lower achievement scores, a formula was used to determine if that gap was statistically significant and ‘severe’.
If the student had a ‘severe discrepancy’ [gap] between IQ and achievement, he or she would be diagnosed with a Learning Disability.

11. Learning Disabilities: Test Discrepancy Model
“Traditionally, disability is viewed as a deficit that resides within the individual, the severity of which might be influenced, but not created, by contextual variables.” (Vaughn & Fuchs, 2003)

12. Limitations to the ‘test-score discrepancy model’ (Gresham, 2001):
Requires chronic school failure BEFORE remedial/special education supports can be given.
Fails to consider that outside factors such as poor or inconsistent instruction may contribute to a child's learning delay.
A ‘severe discrepancy’ between test scores provides no useful information about WHY the student is doing poorly academically.
Different states (and even school districts within the same state) often used different formulas to diagnose LD, resulting in a lack of uniformity in identifying children for special education support.

13. Why is RTI now being adopted by schools?
Congress passed the revised Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) in 2004.
This Federal legislation provides the guidelines that schools must follow when identifying children for special education services.
Based on the changes in IDEIA 2004, the US Department of Education (USDE) updated its regulations to state education departments. The new USDE regulations:
Explicitly ALLOW states to use RTI to identify LD
FORBID states from forcing schools to use a ‘discrepancy model’ to identify LD

14. § 300.307 Specific learning disabilities.
IDEIA Federal (US Dept of Education) Regulations: What do they say about LD diagnosis?
§ Specific learning disabilities.
(a) General. A State must adopt criteria for determining whether a child has a specific learning disability…. the criteria adopted by the State—
(2) May not require the use of a severe discrepancy between intellectual ability and achievement for determining whether a child has a specific learning disability as defined in § 300.8; [‘Discrepancy’ Model]
(3) Must permit the use of a process that determines if the child responds to scientific, research-based intervention…[‘RTI’ Model]
NOTE: [bracketed comments added]
Source: IDEA (2004, 2005). Proposed Regulations from US Department of Education (§ )

15. 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).

16. Avg Classroom Academic
Performance Level
Discrepancy 1: Skill Gap
(Current Performance Level)
Discrepancy 2:
Gap in Rate of Learning (‘Slope of Improvement’)
Target Student
‘Dual-Discrepancy’: RTI Model of Learning Disability (Fuchs 2003)

17. 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 student’s 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

18. Estimate the academic skill gap between the target student and typically-performing peers:
There are three general methods for estimating the ‘typical’ level of academic performance at a grade level:
Local Norms: A sample of students at a school are screened in an academic skill to create grade norms (Shinn, 1989)
Research Norms: Norms for ‘typical’ growth are derived from a research sample, published, and applied by schools to their own student populations (e.g., Shapiro, 1996)
Criterion-Referenced Benchmarks: A minimum level, or threshold, of competence is determined for an skill. The benchmark is usually defined as a level of proficiency needed for later school success (Fuchs, 2003)

19. In their current number form, these data are not easy to interpret.
Baylor Elementary School : Grade Norms: Correctly Read Words Per Min : Sample Size: 23 Students
Group Norms: Correctly Read Words Per Min: Book 4-1: Raw Data
LOCAL NORMS EXAMPLE: Twenty-three 4th-grade students were administered oral reading fluency Curriculum-Based Measurement passages at the 4th-grade level in their school.
In their current number form, these data are not easy to interpret.
So the school converts them into a visual display—a box-plot —to show the distribution of scores and to convert the scores to percentile form.
When Billy, a struggling reader, is screened in CBM reading fluency, he shows a SIGNIFICANT skill gap when compare to his grade peers.

20. Baylor Elementary School : Grade Norms: Correctly Read Words Per Min : Sample Size: 23 Students
Group Norms: Correctly Read Words Per Min: Book 4-1: Raw Data
Correctly Read Words-Book 4-1
Group Norms: Converted to Box-Plot
Median (2nd Quartile)=71
1st Quartile=43
3rd Quartile=108
Billy=19
Low Value=31
Hi Value=131

21. Research Norms: Example
Norms for ‘typical’ growth are derived from a research sample, published, and applied by schools to their own student populations
Estimates of ‘Typical’ [‘Instructional’] Reading Fluency Level Ranges By Grade Based on a Research Sample (from Shapiro, 1996)
Grade
Correctly Read Words Per Min
Reading Errors 1
40-60
Fewer than 5 2 3
70-100
Fewer than 7 4 5 6

22. Criterion-Referenced Benchmarks: Example
The benchmark represents a level of proficiency needed for later school success. A good example of a commonly used set of benchmarks for reading are those that were developed for use with the DIBELS [Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills].
Using the DIBELS benchmarks, for example, 3rd-grade students are at ‘low risk’ for reading problems if they reach these reading-fluency goals:
Start of School Year: 77 Correctly Read Words Per Min
Middle of School Year: 92 Correctly Read Words Per Min
End of School Year: 110 Correctly Read Words Per Min

23. Determine the likely reason(s) for the student’s depressed academic performance:
There can be several possible underlying reasons why a student is doing poorly in an academic area. It is crucial to determine the reason(s) for poor performance in order to select an appropriate intervention:
Skill Deficit: The student lacks the necessary skills to perform the academic task.
‘Fragile’ Skills: The student possesses the necessary skills but is not yet fluent and automatic in those skills.
Performance (Motivation) Deficit: The student has the necessary skills but lacks the motivation to complete the academic task.

24. Select a scientifically-based intervention likely to improve the student's academic functioning:
Any intervention idea chosen for the student should be backed by scientific research (e.g., research articles in peer-reviewed professional journals) demonstrating that the intervention is effective in addressing the student’s underlying reason(s) for academic failure.

25. Implementing Interventions: Two Approaches
Scheduled Intervention: Intervention may be ‘embedded in classroom routine. Measured as duration in minutes that strategy was used. Example: Paired reading between student and tutor.
Contingency-Driven Intervention: Intervention occurs dependent--or contingent’--upon a ‘trigger’ (i.e., the presence or absence of a student behavior or change in the environment). Measured as percentage of times that the intervention was implemented during situations when it should have been implemented. EXAMPLE: Student earns a token for each half-hour in which she successfully completes a certain amount of seatwork.
Source:  Barnett, D. W., Daly, E. J., Jones, K. M., & Lentz, F.E. (2004). Response to intervention: Empirically based special service decisions from single-case designs of increasing and decreasing intensity. Journal of Special Education, 38,

26. Monitor academic progress frequently to evaluate the impact of the intervention:
Under RTI, interventions are monitored frequently (e.g., weekly) using valid and reliable measures that are sensitive to short-term gains in student performance:
Measures for Basic Academic Skills: Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) probes are short, timed assessments that have been developed to measure phonemic awareness, oral reading fluency, math computation, writing, and spelling skills (Shinn, 1989).
Measures for Classroom Academic and General Behaviors:
Daily Behavior Report Cards (DBRCs): These customized teacher rating forms allow the instructor to evaluate the student’s behaviors each day (Chafouleas et al. 2005).
Direct Observation: An external observer visits the classroom to observe the student’s rates of on-task and academically engaged behaviors. (Shapiro, 1996)

27. If the student fails to respond to a series of several well-implemented interventions, consider a referral to Special Education.
In the RTI model, the student would be referred for a special education evaluation if:
A series of research-based interventions have been attempted
There is documentation that the interventions were carried out as designed (treatment/intervention integrity)
Progress-monitoring data shows that the student failed to meet the goal set for his or her improvement (that is, the student shows a ‘discrepancy in rate of learning’ relative to grade-peers).

28. 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: Additional classroom literacy instruction
Tier I
Individualized Intervention: Students who need additional support than peers are given individual intervention plans.
Example: Supplemental peer tutoring in reading to increase reading fluency
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

29. RTI: School-Wide Three-Tier Framework (Kovaleski, 2003; Vaughn, 2003)
Tier I ‘School-Wide Screening & Group Intervention’
Tier II
‘Non-Responders’ to Tier I Are Identified & Given ‘Individually Tailored’ Interventions (e.g., peer tutoring/fluency)
Tier III
‘Long-Term Programming for Students Who Fail to Respond to Tier II Interventions’ (e.g., Special Education)

30. Curriculum-Based Measurement

32. Curriculum-Based Measurement : Defining Characteristics:
‘Tests’ preselected objectives from local curriculum
Has standardized directions for administration
Is timed, yielding fluency, accuracy scores
Uses objective, standardized, ‘quick’ guidelines for scoring
Permits charting and teacher feedback

33. CBM Techniques have been developed to assess:
Reading fluency
Math computation
Writing
Spelling
Phonemic awareness skills

34. Curriculum-Based Measurement : Defining Characteristics:
Samples objectives from local curriculum
Uses items from a predefined ‘measurement pool’
Has standardized directions for administration
Is timed, yielding fluency, accuracy scores
Uses objective, standardized, ‘quick’ guidelines for scoring
Permits charting and teacher feedback

35. DIBELS Reading Probe: Benchmark 2.1

36. 57 WPM

37. END