Response to Intervention Making the Promise of RTI a Reality: Opportunities for Educational Leadership Jim Wright

Response to Intervention

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Making the Promise of RTI a Reality: Opportunities for Educational Leadership

Jim Wrightwww.interventioncentral.org


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Response to Intervention: An Introduction

Understanding the RTI model

Discussing team problem-solving, intervention planning, and assessment as elements of RTI

Today we will work toward the goals of:

Reviewing web resources that can assist your school or district in implementing RTI

Identifying next steps to make RTI a reality in your school or district



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

Source: Wright, J. (2005, Summer). Five interventions that work. NAESP Leadership Compass, 2(4) pp.1,6.

The Focus of RTI: The Struggling Learner



-You're a pretty smart fella.-Not that smart.-How'd you figure it out?-I imagined someone smarter than me. Then I tried to think,"What would he do?”

From HEIST (2001)Written by David Mamet

‘RTI Logic’: The Power of Working Smarter…



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.



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.



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.



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)



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.



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



IDEIA 2004-05 Federal (US Dept of Education) Regulations: What do they say about LD diagnosis?In 2004, Congress reauthorized the Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA 2004), including landmark language in that law to encourage schools to break free of their reliance on the discredited IQ-Achievement Discrepancy method for identifying Learning Disabilities.

The U.S. Department of Education then developed regulations based on IDEIA 2004 to guide state practices. These regulations (34 C.F.R. 300 & 301, 2006) direct that states cannot “require the use of a severe discrepancy between intellectual ability and achievement for determining whether a child has a specific learning disability” [Discrepancy Model]

Furthermore, states “must permit the use of a process based on the child’s response to scientific, research-based intervention” (34 C.F.R. 300 & 301, 2006; p. 46786). [RTI Model]



The federal regulations also require that schools “ensure that underachievement in a child suspected of having a specific learning disability is not due to lack of appropriate instruction” (34 C.F.R. 300 & 301, 2006; p. 46787) by:

– demonstrating that “the child was provided appropriate instruction in regular education settings, delivered by qualified personnel” and;

– collecting “data-based documentation of repeated assessments of achievement at reasonable intervals, reflecting formal assessment of student progress during instruction.”

IDEIA 2004-05 Federal (US Dept of Education) Regulations: What do they say about LD diagnosis? (Cont.)



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).



Target Student

Discrepancy 1: Skill Gap (Current Performance Level)

Avg Classroom Academic Performance Level

‘Dual-Discrepancy’: RTI Model of Learning Disability (Fuchs 2003)

Discrepancy 2:Gap in Rate of Learning (‘Slope of Improvement’)



The steps of RTI for an individual case…

Under RTI, if a student is found to be performing well below peers, the school will:

1. Estimate the academic skill gap between the student and typically-performing peers

2. Determine the likely reason(s) for the student’s depressed academic performance

3. Select a scientifically-based intervention likely to improve the student's academic functioning

4. Monitor academic progress frequently to evaluate the impact of the intervention

5. If the student fails to respond to several well-implemented interventions, consider a referral to Special Education



Tier ITier I

Tier IITier II

Tier IIITier III

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 studentsExample: Additional classroom literacy instruction

Individualized Intervention: Students who need additional support than peers are given individual intervention plans. Example: Supplemental peer tutoring in reading to increase reading fluencyIntensive Intervention: Students whose intervention needs are greater than general education can meet may be referred for more intensive services.Example: Special Education



Tier I Interventions

Tier I interventions are universal—available to all students.

Teachers often deliver these interventions in the classroom (e.g., providing additional drill and practice in reading fluency for students with limited decoding skills).

Tier I interventions are those strategies that instructors are likely to put into place at the first sign that a student is struggling.

Tier I interventions attempt to answer the question: Are routine classroom instructional modifications sufficient to help the student to achieve academic success?



Tier II Interventions

Tier II interventions are individualized, tailored to the unique needs of struggling learners.

They are reserved for students with significant skill gaps who have failed to respond successfully to Tier I strategies.

Tier II interventions attempt to answer the question: Can an individualized intervention plan carried out in a general-education setting bring the student up to the academic level of his or her peers?



Tier II InterventionsThere are two different vehicles that schools can use to deliver Tier II interventions:

Standard-Protocol (Standalone Intervention). Group intervention programs based on scientifically valid instructional practices (‘standard protocol’) are created to address frequent student referral concerns. These services are provided outside of the classroom. A middle school, for example, may set up a structured math-tutoring program staffed by adult volunteer tutors to provide assistance to students with limited math skills. Students referred for a Tier II math intervention would be placed in this tutoring program. An advantage of the standard-protocol approach is that it is efficient and consistent: large numbers of students can be put into these group interventions to receive a highly standardized intervention. However, standard group intervention protocols often cannot be individualized easily to accommodate a specific student’s unique needs.

Problem-solving (Classroom-Based Intervention). Individualized research-based interventions match the profile of a particular student’s strengths and limitations. The classroom teacher often has a large role in carrying out these interventions. A plus of the problem-solving approach is that the intervention can be customized to the student’s needs. However, developing intervention plans for individual students can be time-consuming.



Tier III Interventions

Tier III interventions are the most intensive academic supports available in a school and are generally reserved for students with chronic and severe academic delays or behavioral problems.

In many schools, Tier III interventions are available only through special education.

Tier III supports try to answer the question, What ongoing supports does this student require and in what settings to achieve the greatest success possible?



RTI: School-Wide Three-Tier Framework (Kovaleski, 2003; Vaughn, 2003)

Tier IIITier III‘Long-Term Programming for Students Who Fail to Respond to Tier II Interventions’ (e.g., Special Education)

Tier ITier I

‘School-Wide Screening & Group Intervention’

Tier IITier II‘Non-Responders’ to Tier I Are Identified & Given ‘Individually Tailored’ Interventions (e.g., peer tutoring/fluency)



Tier I: Universal100%

Tier II: Individualized10-15%

Tier III: Intensive5-10%

Levels of Intervention: Tier I, II, & III



How Do We Define a Tier I (Classroom-Based) Intervention?




Tier I InterventionsTier I interventions are universal—available to all students. Teachers often deliver these interventions in the classroom.

Tier I interventions are those strategies that instructors are likely to put into place at the first sign that a student is struggling.

These interventions can consist of:

-Effective ‘whole-group’ teaching & management strategies

-Modest individualized strategies that the teacher uses with specific students.

Tier I interventions attempt to answer the question: Are routine classroom instructional modifications sufficient to help the student to achieve academic success?



Examples of Evidence-Based Tier I Management Strategies (Fairbanks, Sugai, Guardino, & Lathrop, 2007)

• Consistently acknowledging appropriate behavior in class

• Providing students with frequent and varied opportunities to respond during instructional activities

• Reducing transition time between instructional activities to a minimum

• Giving students immediate and direct corrective feedback when they commit an academic error or engage in inappropriate behavior

Source: Fairbanks, S., Sugai, G., Guardino, S., & Lathrop, M. (2007). Response to intervention: Examining classroom behavior support in second grade. Exceptional Children, 73, p. 290.



Reducing Problem Behaviors Through Good Academic Management: 10 Ideas

• Be sure that assigned work is not too easy and not too difficult

• Offer frequent opportunities for choice • Select high-interest or functional learning

activities• Instruct students at a brisk pace• Structure lessons to require active student

involvement



Reducing Problem Behaviors Through Good Academic Management: 10 Ideas (Cont.)

• Incorporate cooperative-learning opportunities into instruction

• Give frequent teacher feedback and encouragement

• Provide correct models during independent work

• Be consistent in managing the academic setting

• Target interventions to closely coincide with ‘point of performance’



Good Behavior Game(Barrish, Saunders, & Wold, 1969)



The Good Behavior Game is a whole-class intervention to improve student attending and academic engagement.

Description: The class is divided into two or more student teams. The teacher defines a small set of 2 to 3 negative behaviors. When a student shows a problem behavior, the teacher assigns a negative behavior ‘point’ to that student’s team. At the end of the Game time period, any team whose number of points falls below a ‘cut-off’ set by the teacher earns a daily reward or privilege.

Guidelines for using this intervention: The Game is ideal to use with the entire class during academic study or lecture periods to keep students academically engaged

The Game is not suitable for less-structured activities such as cooperative learning groups, where students are expected to interact with each other as part of the work assignment.

Sample Classroom Management Strategy: Good Behavior Game (Barrish, Saunders, & Wold, 1969)



1. The instructor decides when to schedule the Game. (NOTE: Generally, the Good Behavior Game should be used for no more than 45 to 60 minutes per day to maintain its effectiveness.)

2. The instructor defines the 2-3 negative behaviors that will be scored during the Game. Most teachers use these 3 categories:

• Talking Out: The student talks, calls out, or otherwise verbalizes without teacher permission.

• Out of Seat: The student’s posterior is not on the seat.• Disruptive Behavior: The student engages in any other

behavior that the instructor finds distracting or problematic.

Good Behavior Game: Steps



3. The instructor selects a daily reward to be awarded to each member of successful student teams. (HINT: Try to select rewards that are inexpensive or free. For example, student winners might be given a coupon permitting them to skip one homework item that night.)

4. The instructor divides the class into 2 or more teams. 5. The instructor selects a daily cut-off level that represents the

maximum number of points that a team is allowed (e.g., 5 points).




6. When the Game is being played, the instructor teaches in the usual manner. Whenever the instructor observes student misbehavior during the lesson, the instructor silently assigns a point to that student’s team (e.g., as a tally mark on the board) and continues to teach.

7. When the Game period is over, the teacher tallies each team’s points. Here are the rules for deciding the winner(s) of the Game:

• Any team whose point total is at or below the pre-determined cut-off earns the daily reward. (NOTE: This means that more than one team can win!)

• If one team’s point total is above the cut-off level, that team does not earn a reward.

• If ALL teams have point totals that EXCEED the cut-off level for that day, only the team with the LOWEST number of points wins.




Here are some tips for using the Good Behavior Game:• Avoid the temptation to overuse the Game. Limit its use to no more

than 45 minutes to an hour per day.• If a student engages in repeated bad behavior to sabotage a team

and cause it to lose, you can create an additional ‘team of one’ that has only one member--the misbehaving student. This student can still participate in the Game but is no longer able to spoil the Game for peers!

• If the Game appears to be losing effectiveness, check to be sure it is being implemented with care and that you are:

– Assigning points consistently when you observe misbehavior.– Not allowing yourself to be pulled into arguments with students

when you assign points for misbehavior.– Reliably giving rewards to Game winners. – Not overusing the Game.

Good Behavior Game: Troubleshooting



Team 1 Team 2

Good Behavior Game Cut-Off=5

Out of Seat Call Out

Disruptive

Game Over

Question: Which team won this Game?Answer: Both teams won the Game, as both teams’ point totals fell BELOW the cut-off of 5 points.



Building Positive Relationships With Students




Avoiding the ‘Reprimand Trap’When working with students who display challenging behaviors, instructors can easily fall into the ‘reprimand trap’. In this sequence:

1. The student misbehaves.2. The teacher approaches the student to reprimand and

redirect. (But the teacher tends not to give the student attention for positive behaviors, such as paying attention and doing school work.)

3. As the misbehave-reprimand pattern becomes ingrained, both student and teacher experience a strained relationship and negative feelings.



Sample Ideas to Improve Relationships With Students: The Two-By-Ten Intervention (Mendler, 2000)

• Make a commitment to spend 2 minutes per day for 10 consecutive days in building a relationship with the student…by talking about topics of interest to the student.

Avoid discussing problems with the student’s behaviors or schoolwork during these times.

Source: Mendler, A. N. (2000). Motivating students who don’t care. Bloomington, IN: National Educational Service.



Sample Ideas to Improve Relationships With Students: The Three-to-One Intervention

(Sprick, Borgmeier, & Nolet, 2002)

• Give positive attention or praise to problem students at least three times more frequently than you reprimand them. Give the student the attention or praise during moments when that student is acting appropriately. Keep track of how frequently you give positive attention and reprimands to the student.

Source: Sprick, R. S., Borgmeier, C., & Nolet, V. (2002). Prevention and management of behavior problems in secondary schools. In M. A. Shinn, H. M. Walker & G. Stoner (Eds.), Interventions for academic and behavior problems II: Preventive and remedial approaches (pp.373-401). Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.



How Do Schools ‘Standardize’ Expectations for Tier I Interventions? A Four-Step Solution

1. Develop a list of your school’s ‘top five’ academic and behavioral referral concerns (e.g., low reading fluency, inattention).

2. Create a survey for teachers, asking them to jot down the ‘good teaching’ ideas that they use independently when they encounter students who struggle in these problem areas.

3. Collect the best of these ideas into a menu. Add additional research-based ideas if available.

4. Require that teachers implement a certain number of these strategies before referring to your RTI Intervention Team. Consider ways that teachers can document these Tier I interventions as well.



Link Smarter, Not Harder: How Good Student Academic Assessment Leads to Better

Classroom Interventions



Curriculum-Based Assessment: Advantages Over Commercial, Norm-Referenced Achievement Tests



Commercial Tests: Limitations

• Compare child to ‘national’ average rather than to class or school peers

• May have poor overlap with student curriculum, classroom content

• Can be given only infrequently• Are not sensitive to short-term student gains

in academic skills



• Assesses 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

Curriculum-Based Measurement/Assessment : Defining Characteristics:



• Reading fluency• Reading comprehension• Math computation• Writing• Spelling• Phonemic awareness skills• Early math skills

CBM Techniques have been developed to assess:



Example of Curriculum-Based Assessment Reading Probe



DIBELS Reading Probe: Benchmark 2.1



57 WPM



Monitoring Student Academic Behaviors:Daily Behavior Report Cards



Daily Behavior Report Cards (DBRCs) Are…

brief forms containing student behavior-rating items. The teacher typically rates the student daily (or even more frequently) on the DBRC. The results can be graphed to document student response to an intervention.



Daily Behavior Report Cards Can Monitor…

• Inattention/Hyperactivity• On-Task Behavior (Attention)• Work Completion• Organization Skills• Compliance With Adult Requests• Ability to Interact Appropriately With Peers



Daily Behavior

Report Card: Daily

Version

Jim Blalock May 5Mrs. Williams Rm 108



Daily Behavior Report

Card: Weekly Version

40 0 60 60 50

Jim BlalockMrs. Williams Rm 108

05 05 07 05 06 07 05 07 07 05 08 07 05 09 07



Daily Behavior Report Card: Chart



Student Case Scenario: Jim

Jim is a 10th-grade student who is failing his math course and in danger of failing English and science courses. Jim has been identified with ADHD. His instructional team meets with the RTI Team and list the following academic and behavioral concerns for Jim.

• Does not bring work materials to class• Fails to write down homework assignments• Sometimes does not turn in homework, even when completed• Can be non-compliant with teacher requests at times.



RTI Teams: Following a Structured Problem-Solving Model



“Everybody is entitled to their own opinion but they’re not entitled to their own facts. The data is the data.”Dr. Maria Spiropulu, Physicist

New York Times, 30 September 2003(D. Overbye) Other dimensions? She’s in pursuit. F1, F4



RTI TeamMeeting Process

Student Assessment

Research-Based Interventions



• Teams of educators at a school are trained to work together as effective problem-solvers.

• RTI Teams are made up of volunteers drawn from general- and special-education teachers and support staff.

• These teams use a structured meeting process to identify the underlying reasons that a student might be experiencing academic or behavioral difficulties

• The team helps the referring teacher to put together practical, classroom-friendly interventions to address those student problems.

The RTI Team: Definition



Team Roles

• Coordinator• Facilitator• Recorder• Time Keeper• Case Manager



Step 1: Assess Teacher Concerns 5 Mins

Step 2: Inventory Student Strengths/Talents 5 Mins

Step 3: Review Background/Baseline Data 5 Mins

Step 4: Select Target Teacher Concerns 5-10 Mins

Step 5: Set Academic and/or Behavioral Outcome Goals and Methods for Progress-Monitoring 5 Mins

Step 6: Design an Intervention Plan 15-20 Mins

Step 7: Plan How to Share Meeting Information with the Student’s Parent(s) 5 Mins

Step 8: Review Intervention & Monitoring Plans 5 Mins

RTI Team Consultative Process



Establishing RTI in Your School or District: First Steps



“Any mule can kick down a barn but it takes a good carpenter to build one.”--Lyndon Johnson



RTI Can Serve as the Organizing ‘Umbrella’ Under Which a District’s

Efforts Are Organized to Support Struggling Learners of Any Age




1. Establish an ‘RTI Steering Group’




2. Educate Staff and Other Stakeholders to Build Support for RTI




3. Create an Inventory of the District/School’s RTI Resources




4. Establish an ‘RTI Intervention Team’




5. Train Staff in Techniques to Monitor Short-Term Student Academic and Behavioral Progress

Documents

Response to Intervention Making the Promise of RTI a Reality: Opportunities for Educational Leadership Jim Wright