Are You Ready for RTI? What Do You Need to Know, and What Do You Need to Do? An RTI Action Network National Online Forum Moderated by Doris McMillon

Are You Ready for RTI?What Do You Need to Know,

and What Do You Need to Do?

An RTI Action Network National Online Forum

Moderated by

Doris McMillon

Featuring

Dr. Ann Casey

Director of the Minnesota Response to Intervention Center

Dr. Judy Elliott

Chief Academic Officer for Instruction for the Los Angeles Unified School District

Dr. David Prasse

Professor and Dean of the School of Education at Loyola University, Chicago

What is Response to Intervention?

• RTI is a framework– For school improvement AND– For student improvement

What is Response to Intervention? (cont.)

• Important features:– High-quality instruction– Monitoring students’ progress

Especially rate of progress over time

• A problem-solving process is the "glue" that connects the two important features together

Is RTI new?

• Certain components are not new

• In 2004, federal education law was changed to include RTI– This was preceded by work in states – such as Iowa, Minnesota,

and Illinois – aiming to improve educational service delivery systems for both general education and special education students

• What is new: formalization of RTI as a major educational reform initiative

Why should schools and districts adopt RTI?

• If you are not completely happy with your school’s data, RTI is a good way to start to improve those numbers

• RTI is a way to help all children achieve to high levels of performance, including gifted children

Why should schools and districts adopt RTI? (cont.)

• RTI helps target limited resources (both fiscal and human capital) to maximize positive outcomes

• RTI can help children improve both behaviorally and academically

What are the basic components of RTI?

• RTI focuses on student outcomes for all children– Cornerstone: focus on student progress, not labels

Less interested in identifying a specific disability More interested in delivering quality interventions and

documenting student progress Focus on student outcomes – this is a positive change in the

terrain of special education

What are the basic components of RTI? (cont.)

• Universal screening – checks all children to identify those who may be at academic or behavioral risk very early in their educational life

• Student progress monitoring – systematically checking on the progress of children several times a year

What are the basic components of RTI? (cont.)

• Using the results of screening and monitoring for data-based decision making: deciding what interventions children need based on the data collected about their academic performance or behavior

• RTI makes prevention a priority; it does not require children to fail before the school system can provide services to try to address their needs

Does RTI work for all academic subjects?

• RTI has proven effectiveness in reading

• Since it is a framework, RTI can be applied across any content area

Does RTI work for all academic subjects? (cont.)

• RTI can work for behavioral interventions as well– Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS)

Widely used in schools Not a program or a curriculum, rather a systems approach to

enhancing the capacity of schools to adopt and sustain school-wide behavior systems

• Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS)– A basic tenet of the PBIS approach includes identifying students

in one of the three categories based on risk for behavior problems

– It focuses on students who need more behavioral support to prevent them from having more significant behavior problems

Does RTI work for all academic subjects? (cont.)

How does RTI work?

• RTI rests on a foundation of high-quality instruction

How does RTI work? (cont.)

• While RTI can’t fix poor core instruction, it can provide insight about the quality of core instruction by systemically looking at data– e.g., if 50% of students are not at proficiency in a core area, the

primary area of investigation into the problem would be core instruction Providing interventions to half the students in a school would

likely be inefficient. Those data suggest that core instruction needs to be

improved.

RTI is a problem-solving process

1. Define the Problem – identify where we expect students to be and where each student actually is

– The difference between these two is the place to pay attention to

RTI is a problem-solving process (cont.)

2. Problem Analysis – figuring out why the student is struggling– It’s not about admiring the

problem– It’s about trying to figure out

what skills students have or don’t have, and then focusing teaching in accordance


• Develop hypotheses during problem analysis

• e.g., second graders who are just not reading yet– One hypothesis: they know how to decode words, but don’t yet

have automaticity or fluency with reading– Another hypothesis: they didn’t learn decoding well enough in

first grade and still need practice

• These are the kinds of thoughts that teachers would probe and develop in the problem analysis stage


3. Implement Plan – depending on what the hypotheses are, develop a plan to intervene in the problem and implement that plan


4. Evaluate – go back to beginning, and re-assess to see if, indeed, students are making progress

– That will validate hypotheses

– Or invalidate hypotheses, in which case additions or revisions are necessary

Different definition of "problem"

• In the past, children have been too often put in a "bucket with a label" (a specific learning disability, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)

• But the diversity of student learners is so great that this "categorical" approach will never allow us to satisfy children’s diverse learning needs

Different definition of "problem" (cont.)

• In an RTI model, the problem is that the child’s behavior or achievement is at one level, while his or her peer group is at a different level

• It’s a measurable, definable problem that focuses on the data, not an underlying attribution as to what may be causing the differential rate of learning

Tiered system of interventionsTier 1– The base of the pyramid– Comprises all children receiving

core instruction– About 80% of children fall into Tier

1 only – these are students who are responding very well to core instruction, achieving proficiency, and getting their needs met

Tiered system of interventions (cont.)

Tier 2– A smaller number of students– "Extra scoop" kids– Need intervention or extra

instruction in addition to core instruction to help them make progress and learn

Tiered system of interventions (cont.)

Tier 3– The top of the pyramid– About up to 5% to 10% of children

may fall into Tier 3– These children need something

significantly different than core instruction as usual

– Often need more time-intensive instruction as well

RTI without recrimination

• Tiers are not an indictment of teachers

• No matter how excellent instruction is, there will always be students who need an "extra scoop"

• Some systems we’ve developed over the last 30 years or so have become an impediment to getting each child the education they need -- RTI is a way to change this status quo

Identifying students who need special interventions

• In Tier 1, use universal screening– To check all students for basic academic and/or behavioral

benchmark accomplishments– At least three or four times a year– From this data, identify students who might be at greater risk for

later academic outcomes and deliver interventions immediately

Identifying students who need special interventions (cont.)

• In Tiers 2 and 3, use progress monitoring– Frequent checks to see if students are responding to inventions– Not just once a year– Progress data are gathered weekly, even daily– Shows if children are moving in the right direction in response to

the interventions

How to select interventions

• Part of the "problem analysis" step

• When choosing for an individual child– Ask what were the hypotheses about why he or she is not at the

expected achievement level– Hypothesize about what could contribute to helping that student

improve– Develop interventions around those hypotheses

How to select interventions (cont.)

• When choosing for a whole school or school district– Take an intervention inventory– Note all the interventions currently in place (most schools have

more than they think) and create a "catalogue"– Figure out which ones really have evidence for their use, and get

the catalogue down to a manageable size– Ensure that people get the professional development they need

to use the interventions


• It’s clear that trying different approaches and then abandoning them after a couple of years is ineffective

• Must use evidence-based interventions – If there is no evidence that this is an effective intervention for this

particular situation, do not continue using that intervention


• Interventions can’t really be categorized into "Tier 1," "Tier 2," or "Tier 3"

• However, the thought process that guides such classification in one school building can help drive some professional development


• The driving question should be, "what does the student need" or "what are the effective interventions that we need to deliver to this student"– This is a change from many Individualized Education Plan (IEP)

meetings, in which the question was too often, "we’re here to decide if the student satisfies criteria for a particular disability"

How does RTI interface with special education?

• The President’s Task Force on Special Education Report identified a number of concerns about the special education service delivery system, including a "wait to fail" model

• The idea of trying to force round pegs into square holes

How does RTI interface with special education? (cont.)

• RTI facilitates getting resources to children without necessarily identifying them as "special ed"

• Sometimes we put kids in special education and on IEPs because it’s "the only game in town"

How does RTI interface with special education? (cont.)

• RTI can help address issues that divide general and special education– With RTI, school systems have a way to help children without

requiring them to "qualify" for special educational services

How do districts implement RTI?

• Consensus– Builds upon places for improvement, and the data can illuminate

those places– Most critical piece for implementation

How do districts implement RTI? (cont.)

• Infrastructure– Aligning or realigning all initiatives and/or reform efforts to the RTI

framework– Realigning how resources are spent to support the RTI framework– Empowered and diverse leadership team needed– Members of the district, board of education, curriculum people,

students services, special education are all involved

RTI implementation is multi-faceted

• Some implementation considerations:– Need technology to gather and look at data– Need data management systems so principals can get the data

they need to make decisions

RTI implementation is multi-faceted (cont.)

• Some implementation considerations:– Need district leadership about what and when interventions will

be offered– Provide professional development so teachers can deliver

interventions effectively

RTI implementation is multi-faceted (cont.)

• Some implementation considerations:– Develop an evaluation plan so you know instruction and

interventions are being implemented with fidelity– "Vertical articulation": elementary, middle, and high schools are

aware of what the others are doing– Districts must create a vision and give schools permission

to do it

How does an individual school implement RTI?

• Same pieces are important:– Build consensus– Develop infrastructure– Implement with integrity

• Success begins with the building-level leadership, the principal

How does an individual school implement RTI? (cont.)

• Consensus building can start with data – are we happy with the way our children are doing? Where can we improve?

• Parental involvement is very important

How does an individual school implement RTI? (cont.)

• Professional development is key – People greatly resist new ideas – There must be opportunity to learn how to do what is required

• Building leadership teams are essential

• Can’t be an "after-school add-on;" must be integrated into the whole school day

Collecting and analyzing data

• Usually screen students three times a year – fall, winter, and spring– In fall, screening picks up needs that can be addressed and

remedied in the fall– In January, screening can double check on students who were

borderline, but they looked like they were doing all right. Did they actually do okay?

Collecting and analyzing data (cont.)

• Screening by nature will be given to all children– Has to be simple and quick to use– Has to be valid and have predictive validity


• Because universal screening must be a quick measure, schools and school districts can train almost anyone to use them– Can call upon university training programs at every level


• Good to provide time for the teaching teams to – Meet every four to six weeks – Examine the data– Talk about instruction plan and necessary adjustments or

augmentations in light of those data

• This time should be solely focused on data and instructional planning

RTI in secondary schools

• RTI components and principles are the same, preK-12

RTI in secondary schools (cont.)

• Universal screening would probably use multiple measures such as– State assessment scores– Grades– Pre-assessment for core English language arts book– Score on intervention diagnostic assessments


• The master schedule is a driving force in high schools

• In high schools, "Double Blocks" — 45 minutes of core instruction paired with a second 45 minute block of time for reading, math, or other intervention — are often used


• What it might look like:– "SWAT teams" would conduct universal screening, using

multiple measures, of eighth graders entering ninth grade in the fall

– Look at the data and figure out how many Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 students are going in to each high school

– Contact the principal, so they can build the master schedule of the school in accordance, e.g., "you need nine sections of scoop kids, Tier 2; and three sections of Tier 3."


• Times of student transition (e.g., from eighth to ninth grade) are important times to be assessing and responding to data in order to support positive student outcomes

Professional development

• Knowledge– What is RTI? – Why are we doing it? – What are the challenges we're trying to address?

Professional development (cont.)

• Skills– How to collect data– How to read, interpret, and understand these data– How to use data to form decisions about resource allocation– How to use data to decide what interventions need to be

delivered in Tiers 1, 2, and 3 – How to work collaboratively

How does RTI fit into an already busy schedule?

• It’s not "yet another thing," it's a framework for all the other things good teachers and schools are doing

• Many initiatives in every school — if they're good they should be able to fit into this framework of improvement – And if not, maybe they should be discarded

How does RTI fit into an already busy schedule? (cont.)

• RTI doesn't add more to the plate, it takes away things that are not effective

• Resistance is often a response to a sense of loss — a loss of time• Teachers can voice concern and then be encouraged to identify

what tasks can be morphed into the framework and what needs to go

Getting started

• Start by finding out what the data is saying

• Do a consensus of need– How are the lowest performing students and the highest

performing students doing?

Getting started (cont.)

• The National Association of State Directors of Special Education recently released "Response to Intervention Blueprints for Implementation" to help districts and school buildings start RTI

RTI implementation across the country

• In some places, it has really taken off

• In other places, it’s not really on their radar screen

• But there are some great models to build on

RTI implementation across the country (cont.)

• Every state has different requirements, so there is always variation

• But because RTI is a framework, it accommodates all sorts of school systems

Building momentum

• At this stage, the specifics of implementation in each state are not as important as getting the word out to all states

Building momentum (cont.)

• State Education Agency support is a great help to implementing RTI; SEAs are the driving force in district reform efforts

Question: Advice for a teacher who wants to bring RTI into the classroom?

• Look at student data and who needs a little bit more support

• Figuring out the intervention piece is a little more challenging if the whole school isn't supporting RTI efforts

Question: Advice for a teacher who wants to bring RTI into the classroom? (cont.)

• In some respects, good teachers use a tiered model all the time, knowing which students need an "extra scoop" and which need something very different (differentiated instruction)

• If there's a lack of support at the district level, a teacher can keep the pressure on and it will usually have positive outcomes

Question: Why a whole-school change for a few struggling students?

• It's a misconception that RTI is only for struggling students

• It focuses on all kids

Question: Why a whole-school change for a few struggling students? (cont.)

• The goal of RTI is making sure that every student — whether struggling or gifted or both — gets the robust instruction that he or she needs, according to his or her needs

Question: Involving community partners and families?

• Use all of the mechanisms that a school building has in place to involve parents in the educational life of that building

• Parents need to know about RTI as a part of consensus building

• It’s not enough for parents to just hear about it, they need to be involved in rolling it out

Question: Involving community partners and families? (cont.)

• Community partnerships are critical when schools have such limited fiscal resources

• Think about how to use data to tell your school's story and reach out to community partners

Question: Would RTI replace the "student study team" model?

• The name "student study team" can connote putting a kid under a microscope and seeing what’s wrong with him or her

• But the work of a student success team and RTI teams can be the same

• If the student study team is a pre-referral process, then RTI will definitely replace that system

Question: How long would you give an intervention to work?

• No exact answer about how long to try an intervention before deciding either to move onto another invention or move a student into another tier

• Variables to consider: – How discrepant the student or students are from where they

should be

Question: How long would you give an intervention to work? (cont.)

• More variables to consider– What the actual intervention is; some take longer or shorter

depending on the skills they’re targeting, for example Decide at the beginning how long to implement each

intervention Once this time elapses, the team meets again to consider

data and determine whether to continue or change it

• More variables to consider– Grade level; if the students are in high school, for example,

trying a new intervention every week or two is probably counterproductive; semester changes are more appropriate

– If the intervention is one-on-one or for a group of students

• But in all cases, the data from student progress monitoring needs to inform the decision

Question: How long would you give an intervention to work? (cont.)

Question: Pre-service training about RTI?

• Should integrate both the knowledge and the skills into college and university curricula

• There is growing knowledge of RTI in some specialty disciplines — e.g., school psychology, educational administration, and leadership

• This needs to continue in general education preparation programs as well

Question: Scheduling techniques?

• At the high school level, double blocks are used

• Time is an ally and an enemy – If children receiving interventions do not get more time, you’re

not going to see a whole lot of progress

• Time allocation should not be the responsibility of individual teachers; it is a school-wide organization issue

Question: Scheduling techniques? (cont.)

• Time for RTI must be built into the master schedules; if it's in the master schedule, these interventions will happen

• Part of consensus building is asking people to consider how they spend time and what changes could be made based on what’s important for students

Question: How does RTI align with standards-based instruction?

• Standards — what all kids should know and be able to do — have been outlined and identified by content area and by grade level

• Standards provide the map of what level of competency and proficiency are expected

Question: How does RTI align with standards-based instruction? (cont.)

• At Tier 3, students will have the same standards, but their rate of progress of getting there is slower

Question: Standard intervention protocol versus problem solving protocol?

• Historically, there was a distinction between problem solving approach and the standard protocol approach

• Standard protocol first came out of the research literature; "standard" interventions had to be designed so they could be tested reliably, with integrity

Question: Standard intervention protocol versus problem solving protocol? (cont.)

• The problem solving approach was considered more an individual, one-student-at-a-time approach– That has morphed a bit now


• The standard protocol approach can be considered more what needs to be done at Tier 2 — make some decisions about which evidence-supported interventions will be standard for students at Tier 2


• A problem solving approach can be considered applicable in Tier 3 — take the standard interventions and tweak them to meet the needs of students who haven’t made the kind of progress desired

Question: RTI and inclusion?

• In classrooms that include all sorts of learners, the RTI framework fits right on top

Questions: RTI and inclusion? (cont.)

• Students who have Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) could be Tier 2, "extra scoop" kids

Question: RTI and inclusion? (cont.)

• There are wonderful resources — special education teachers and school psychologists/counselors — that RTI can help connect with students

• RTI may eventually help teachers feel less overwhelmed– RTI facilitates reallocation and coordination of

resources to help teachers

Question: RTI and PBIS?

• If a school has put PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support) in place, including the FBS (Functional Behavioral Assessments) data collection it entails, it seems establishing RTI will be easier– Hopefully the school has fewer behavioral problems, which

makes any job easier– PBIS success eases consensus building for RTI– Adding RTI is just adding an academic side to existing PBIS

framework

Question: The role of related services in RTI?

• Providers of related services, such as occupational therapists, are definitely part of the team

• The specialized, knowledgeable opinions of related service providers is very useful in selecting interventions, especially for specific groups of children

Question: The role of related services in RTI? (cont.)

• Related services, and every educational professional in the school, has a shared responsibility for the education of each child in the school

Question: Intervention integrity?

• Important to discern between an intervention that is not getting the proper student response versus one that’s being poorly delivered

• Some interventions are more complex then others

Question: Intervention integrity? (cont.)

• Professional development is required in order to implement interventions effectively

Question: Staffing considerations?

• All staff share in the responsibility of educating students, so all staff should be involved in RTI

Question: Staffing considerations? (cont.)

• Specific involvement will vary based on the data – If the data shows 52% of students are below benchmark, that

would indicate a systemic problem and staff would work on changing the system

– If data shows that 10% are below benchmark, staff time would be focused on helping those children improve

Question: Staffing considerations? (cont.)

• A tiered framework doesn't change the number of students enrolled in a school, so it doesn't change the number of full time staff needed.

• Entails reallocating staff time and effort

• Since no school has unlimited funds, careful planning of resources — especially staff — is important

Question: Is RTI like tracking?

• No – When people think of tracking, they think of a system in use 25

to 30 years ago in which students were grouped with other students of similar ability

• We no longer believe that a homogeneous grouping is really important for all students

Question: Is RTI like tracking? (cont.)

• But there does need to be time periods during the day in which children can get instruction that meets their needs

• That might take the form of meeting with a small group of students who have similar concerns; but it is of limited duration, and then the whole class gets back together and goes on with the rest of the day


• If kids who need that "extra scoop" are in "Tier 2" all day long, that would indeed be tracking

• RTI is meant to be fluid, changeable


• Even labeling kids by tiers is too much like categorizing or tracking

• Need to think of groups as a way, given limited and precious resources, to organize alignment of services to maximize the benefit to most kids

Question: Resources for finding good interventions?

• What Works Clearinghouse

• State departments of education – This link lists contact information for state educational agencies

• National Association of State Directors of Special Education, Inc.

http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/

http://wdcrobcolp01.ed.gov/Programs/EROD/org_list.cfm?category_ID=SHE

http://www.nasdse.org/

Question: Resources for finding good interventions? (cont.)

• Interventions should be selected based on what the data shows

• There is no such thing as "Tier 3" intervention — a blanket solution like that is not properly responding to the students' needs

• There is no "RTI in a Box;" there isn't one right way to do it

Question: What if my child has been placed in the wrong tier?

• Tiers are not placements

• If a parent is having that question, either – More consensus building and parent education must be done– The school is not implementing the RTI framework correctly– The school doesn't understand what it's implementing

Question: What tier do gifted children fall into?

• Perhaps you wouldn't describe it as a tier

• But assessment data will show which students are performing below benchmark, at benchmark, and above benchmark

Question: What tier do gifted children fall into? (cont.)

• Students who are performing above benchmark might need an "extra scoop" of enrichment activities or more advanced instruction

• RTI framework aims to get specialized instruction (fundamental or advanced) to meet students' unique needs

Question: Will RTI delay special education services for my child?

• It couldn't be further from the truth that RTI would prevent children from receiving special education services

• RTI actually aims to end the delay of services to children who need special support

Question: Will RTI delay special education services for my child? (cont.)

• Surveys show that a large percentage of parents who have participated in RTI models are very happy because their children are getting support

Question: Will RTI delay special education services for my child? (cont.)

• In the old model, sometimes the only assistance for struggling learners was special education. So parents felt an urgency to classify their child so he or she could get needed support

• In an RTI framework, children shouldn't have to wait or "qualify"

Ann’s final thoughts

• RTI is not "yet another initiative," it's a framework that can work in any school to help all students make progress

David’s final thoughts

• It's a needed change in the delivery system that will improve the status quo

Judy’s final thoughts

• Integrating service delivery across all "silos" in schools and school districts and using data to make decisions are the keys to success

• It’s not about playing the blame game; it’s about getting better … getting into the classrooms and looking at instruction and expecting the best out of all our students

RTI Action Network

• For more information, visit the RTI Action Network at www.rtinetwork.org

http://www.rtinetwork.org/

Documents

Are You Ready for RTI? What Do You Need to Know, and What Do You Need to Do? An RTI Action Network National Online Forum Moderated by Doris McMillon