RtI through the Tiers

Documentation Checklist for Tiers 1 and 2

Myths about SpEd

 Tier 3 level interventions can (and should) exist outside of SpEd

 Colorado incidence levels of students with IEPs: – 10.4% Colorado – SJBOCES

 Average in SJBOCES – 9.74%  A range from 6.5% to 15+%

Myths about SpEd

Effectiveness of LD Programs based on IQ/Achievement Discrepancy Model

  Special education placements tend to stabilize the reading growth of students with reading disabilities rather than accelerate it. (Vaughn, 1998, Moody, 2000)

  Acceleration rates about .04 SD/year. It will take 8 years to move from 5th to 9th percentile (Torgesen, in press; Hanushek, 1998)

  Students who enter special education 2+ years below age mates can be expected to maintain disparity or fall farther behind.

  Effect size for LD programs is .2 (.2 is low, .5 is medium, and .7+ is good) (Reschly)

  It’s the nature of the program more than the label that makes the difference.

From presentation by George Batsche

Some students do qualify for an Individual Education Plan (IEP)

 Recent changes in laws created BIG changes in procedures

 New skills needed for everyone  Colorado is adopting the RtI process  Districts in SJBOCES are already

using the RtI process

Tier 3 SpEd requirements are built upon Tiers 1 & 2

 Need to document that certain key foundations are in place in General Education for ALL students

 Must show that evidence-based strategies and interventions have been implemented for kids who struggle (low skills or accelerated)

 Frequent progress monitoring must be done to inform instruction

RtI Documentation Checklist

 Provides an outline to follow  Covers most areas needing to be

implemented & documented  Continuum from Tier 1 to Tier 3 and

then to SpEd Eligibility

Tier 1 Documentation

 Responsibility of Teacher and Principal to document

Evidence-based Gen Ed Curriculum & Methodologies

 Highly qualified teacher  Curriculum is evidence-based  Teaching Strategies for academics

and behavior used in the classroom are evidence-based and best practice

 Local control district, where teachers select their own curriculum. This teacher uses whole language to teach reading.

 Due to late resignation of a staff member, a substitute teacher has been put in the class who is not highly qualified in the content area

A new evidence-based curriculum adopted in math four years ago:

  CSAP data for this grade have indicated over the past 3 years that only 33% of all students in this grade scored PP or better in math

 Teacher uses a variety of strategies, including cooperative groups, Venn diagrams, asks students to summarize key points, high levels of student interaction, celebrates individual growth of each student

 Student regularly refuses to do work during Science class but is not a disruption; teacher routinely sends student to ISS when she refuses to attend to her work

 Teacher uses lecture format with few opportunities for students to engage with the material

 Students can identify the key learning outcome for the day’s lesson when asked

Fidelity of Instruction

 Following the program the way it was designed to be presented

– Within the general education classroom – For a struggling student in particular (if

student is being considered for interventions or referral)

 Curriculum guidelines are followed closely and teacher supplements with material and activities to help with relevance and generalization of material

 Teacher routinely skips part of the curriculum because teacher doesn’t feel competent to teach that skill

 Target student is frequently late to school and misses the first half hour of the 50 minute class 3 to 4 times a week

Differentiation of Instruction

 Presenting material in a variety of ways using strategies shown to be effective for students with differing skills and competencies

– Within the general education classroom – For this student in particular

 Time is provided twice a week for targeted skill-focused independent learning center work while teacher leads focused small group instruction for struggling students

 Peter is on an ALP for math. To challenge him, his teacher gives him additional math work to complete after he has finished all of the general curriculum assignments.

Universal Screening/Benchmark  Overall performance level of all students is

screened at least 3 X per year in key areas  Data is used as part of a body of evidence

to determine effectiveness of instruction overall as well as for particular groups of students

 Used to identify students in need of supplemental or different instruction or supports (students who are struggling or accelerated)

 NWEA/MAP is administered in the fall only and used to create student groups for instructional purposes

 CBM benchmarking is done 3X a year and data used to identify students in need of support and to look at overall progress of all students

Tier 2 Documentation

 Responsibility of Student Success Team, Student Intervention Team or Child Study Team to document

Evidence-based Interventions

  Intervention = Instruction

  Interventions implemented were evidence-based

 Small groups of 4 – 6 students  30 -60 minutes  3 – 4 times a week  8 – 10 weeks in length (implemented for a

duration during which most struggling students would make progress)

Features of Scientifically Based Reading Interventions

How does an intervention differ from core reading instruction?

Always involves: Direct explanations Modeling of correct responses Opportunities for student responses with corrective feedback

Systematic

Instruction is purposeful and sequential.

A scope and sequence of instruction that is well organized and hierarchical

Always involves:

Students being well prepared for each new task they are asked to do

Intensive The most direct way to increase learning rate is by increasing the number of positive, or successful, instructional interactions (pii) per school day.

Intensity can be accomplished in two ways decreasing group size (3-5) Increasing the amount of time in instruction

In general, small group instruction can be just as effective as 1:1 instruction for prevention

Supportive At-risk/struggling readers benefit from a supportive environment, both emotionally and cognitively.

Responsive Scaffolding

Small Groups in Gen Ed

 Gen Ed teachers need to be able to provide small group instruction

 This likely will require work within your PLC groups

 Resource re-allocation necessary  It CAN be done

How can immediate, intensive interventions be scheduled & delivered?

Delivered by regular classroom teacher during the “uninterrupted reading period” in very small groups

From presentation by Dr. Joe Torgesen, FCRR

Classroom Organization: Learning Centers for differentiated groups

 Teacher-Led Center -  Small group instruction

–  Teaching “on purpose” –  Careful observation of individual students –  Addresses particular individual needs –  Opportunities for responsive scaffolding

 Student Centers –  Academically engaged –  Accountability –  Group, Pair, Cooperative, Individual –  Student center activities (K-5) can be

downloaded at www.fcrr.org/activities

How can immediate, intensive interventions be scheduled and delivered?

1.  Delivered by regular classroom teacher during the “uninterrupted reading period” Tier 2

2. Delivered by additional resource personnel during the “uninterrupted reading period”, or at other times during day Tier 2 or Tier 3

3. Delivered delivered by classroom and resource personnel during after school or before school programs – Tier 2 or 3

5.  Delivered by peers during “uninterrupted reading period” – 1.5

6. Delivered by computers throughout the day – Tier 1.5

4. Delivered by well-trained and supervised paraprofessionals during the “uninterrupted reading period” or other times – Tier 2

What materials are available to guide intervention instruction?

1.  New “core reading programs” frequently have systematic intervention programs to use in coordination

2. New “core reading programs” frequently have suggested intervention activities as part of the program

3. There are many programs designed specifically for small group instruction in language, PA, phonics, vocabulary

Language for Learning—early vocabulary Road to the Code – PA and early phonics Great Leaps, Quickreads – Fluency

4. Many Programs are reviewed at www.fcrr.org - FCRR Reports

Elements of Reading: Vocabulary– K-3 vocabulary

‘Adding it Up’, CFE, 2001

Modeling Examples Opportunities to respond

Correction procedures

Thinking aloud

Instructional delivery

Flexible grouping

Student progress

monitoring Effective

math instruction

Scaffolded instruction

Strategy & automaticity interventions

Mark Shinn, http://markshinn.org

 Quality Curriculum and Instruction   Flexible Skill Grouping to Increase

Motivation and Ensure Success  Designed by Strands Instead of Spirals to

Teach to Mastery; Fewer Important Things Taught to Mastery

 Big Ideas Focus  Scaffolded Instruction   Frequent Opportunities to Respond,

Adequate  Practice, and Corrective Feedback   Judicious Review

Mark Shinn, http://markshinn.org

 Teacher selects an intervention that has been shown to be effective for students with this skill deficit and implements it as recommended

 Teacher uses strategies such as preferential seating, extended time and providing class notes for a student with a learning difficulty in written expression

Fidelity of Intervention

 Following the program the way it was designed to be presented

– For this student in particular

 Reading intervention selected includes 5 key areas that must be taught in order each session; teacher uses the intervention, but skips around between the areas randomly

 John is on a Behavior Support Plan for reducing disruptive behavior, and has earned 30 minutes of time with a friend on Friday. On Friday, the teacher does not allow John this time as he did not bring his homework in today.

Progress Monitoring Data

 Student progress is monitored weekly & shared with parents

 Appropriate measures are used for progress monitoring: – CBM as appropriate – Rubrics as appropriate – District Common Assessments as

appropriate

Progress Monitoring Data

 Measures used should be – Reliable & valid measures of

achievement – Sensitive to small amounts of growth

over time – Able to be administered frequently – Available in alternate forms of similar

difficulty – Relatively quick & easy to administer – Able to be used to inform instruction

 Teacher uses just classroom grades to monitor progress

 Uses weekly R-CBM (reading fluency) measure to monitor progress of a reading intervention shown to improve fluency & overall reading skill

 Grade-level district writing rubric providing detailed descriptions of writing development in key skills compared with standards and benchmarks used weekly to measure progress in written expression

 Uses running list of behavioral infractions to monitor behavior

Data-Based Decision Making

 Progress monitoring data is used to make decisions about instruction / intervention

 Programs or interventions are revised or changed as needed, based upon data on student progress

 Instructional or intervention changes are documented with relevant details and aligned w/ PM data

New student this year from Calif.

New student this year from Calif.

Frequency of Behavior