Response to Intervention (RTI)

Response to Intervention (RTI) is a new and highly-effective approach to help identify students at risk for learning disabilities and work with all students to ensure their educational success. See below for links to more detailed information and support materials from NCLD and other leading organizations.

The site will feature content on implementing RTI from preschool to secondary; information for administrators, teachers, specialists, and families; unprecedented access to the nation’s top researchers and experienced implementers; and numerous networking opportunities to talk to colleagues nationwide.

Be sure to visit RTINetwork.org and don't forget to sign up for the RTI Action Network's online newsletter, RTI Action Update, today!

Introduction and Background Information:

A Parent's Guide to Response to Intervention (RTI) (PDF)
IDEA includes a new provision that allows states and school districts to use high quality, research-based instruction in general and special education to provide services and interventions to students who may be at risk or suspected of having learning disabilities. NCLD has written this Guide to provide an overview of the RTI process, describe how it is implemented in schools and offer questions that parents can ask.

LD News Response to Intervention Archive
Every month in LD News, NCLD highlights the latest news, research and practices in Response to Intervention. To visit the LD News Response to Intervention archive, click here.

Word with RTI Action Network Director, Dr. Kathleen Whitmire (LD News-RTI Update Feature) 
The National Center for Learning Disabilities will be launching the RTI (Response to Intervention) Action Network and its corresponding Web site in spring 2008.  Kathleen A. Whitmire, Ph.D. has joined NCLD as the director of the RTI Action Network. Dr. Whitmire is passionate about RTI and for the legacy of student success it promises.  LD News sat down with Dr. Whitmire to hear first-hand about how she was drawn to both NCLD and the RTI Action Network.
The Case for RTI: NCLD Recommends No Child Left Behind include RTI-Specific Language
NCLD's Response to Intevention overview answers the question, "What is Response to Intervention (RTI)?"

Core Findings About Response to Intervention
NCLD offers the core findings of Response to Intervention (RTI), and highlights the six primary components of the RTI model.

More on Response to Intervention
NCLD's Director of Professional Services, Dr. Sheldon Horowitz, revisits the topic of Response to Intervention and invites discussion about the opportunities and challenges posed by this approach as it addresses issues of early intervening services, screening and assessment, student progress monitoring, LD identification and more.

The RTI Revolution: School-wide Reform to Improve Achievement for All Students 
This PowerPoint presentation, created by NCLD Public Policy Director Laura Kaloi, was used in a briefing of key Senate and House committee staff members to ensure their understanding of the RTI model, as well as to present valuable insight as to why it is essential that the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation include RTI-specific language.

Reading and Response to Intervention (RTI): How Students Benefit from Multi-Tiered Instruction and Intervention
In this April 2007 LD talk event, featured LD Talk experts Drs. Sharon Vaughn and Jeanne Wanzek answered questions about features of evidence-based reading instruction, the delivery of effective supplemental services, the importance of collecting and using data to inform instruction, as well as offering vaulable information about the implementation of Response to Intervention (RTI).

Response to Intervention: What Parents Need to Know
In this April 2006 LD Talk event, featured expert Dr. Judy Elliott answered questions about RTI from parents and educators alike.

Research Roundup and RTI Primer
NCLD Director of Professional Services Dr. Sheldon Horowitz has focused on Response to Intervention in his monthly Research Roundup column in LD News.  Read a primer on RTI in his July 2005 Research Roundup and find more in-depth material regarding this approach in his November 2005 column and June 2007 column.

Response to Intervention and Specific Learning Disabilities
The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) has recently released it's position statement on Specific Learning Disabilities,entitled, "Identification of Students with Specific Learning Disabilities." Download PDF file here.
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Research:

The National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities (NJCLD) Report:
Responsiveness to Intervention & Learning Disabilities (2005)
NJCLD is comprised of representatives from key organizations (including NCLD) that are committed to the education and well-being of individuals with learning disabilities. NJCLD's major purpose is to provide an interdisciplinary forum to review issues for educational and governmental agencies. This brief outlines the membership's current position on RTI.

Preventing Reading Difficulties: A Three-Tiered Intervention Model 
(Vaughn Gross Center for Reading & Language Arts)

Toolkit on Teaching and Assessing Students with Disabilities 
(Jointly released by the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) and the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE) on April 25, 2006).

A Promising Alternative for Identifying Students with Learning Disabilities
(WestEd: Excellence in Research, Development & Service)

Response-to-Intervention: Policy Considerations & Implementation
A resource book on RTI law and  policy predating IDEA 2004 and the core implementation issues.  Click here to download the order form.  (National Association of State Directors of Special Education) 

Response to Intervention Webcast Training Series
The California Department of Education offers free materials from their "Response to Intervention Training for California Educators" Webcast Training Series.  The series offered presentations and information on implementing a multi-tier Response to Intervention system (RTI) that is designed to align with No Child Left Behind legislation. For a breakdown of each session, click here.

The National Association of School Psychologists Endorses Response to Intervention in Position Statement on Specific Learning Disabilities
NASP's latest position statement on Specific Learning Disabilities clearly states the organization’s endorsement of Response to Intervention as the instruction model that best relates to its mission of "promoting policies and practices that are consistent with scientific research and that yield optimal student outcomes." NASP asserts that the tiered Response to Intervention model effectively addresses the learning needs of all children (including those with SLD), by providing for quality instruction in the general education classroom while allowing for efficient and appropriate instructional interventions prior to special education instruction referral.

Examples of RTI models rooted in pre-referral group problem solving:
A. Minneapolis Public Schools Problem Solving Model
B. Kovaleski, J. &Prasse, D. P. (2004). Response to Instruction in the Identification of Learning Disabilities: A Guide for School Teams.  Communique, 32 (5), insert.
C. Canter, A. (2004). A Problem-Solving Model for Improving Student Achievement.  Principal  Leadership, Vol. 5, No. 4, December 2004, (pp.11-15). Reston, VA. National Association of Secondary School Principals.

General Info:

A New Era: Revitalizing Special Education for Children and Their Families 
(President's Commission on Excellence in Special Education Report)

Responsiveness-to-Intervention - A New Way to Identify LD 
(SchwabLearning: A Parent's Guide to Helping Kids with Learning Disabilities)

RTI (Response to Intervention): Rethinking special education for students with reading difficulties (Yet Again)
(Reading Research Quarterly, International Reading Association)

IRA Resource Library: Focus on Response to Intervention
(International Reading Association)

Progress Monitoring/Intervention/ Training:

RTI Update: A new module from the IRIS Center, "RTI: Considerations for School Leaders"
The IRIS Center for Training Enhancements, a national center that provides "free, online, interactive training enhancements that translate research about the education of students with disabilities into practice" for university faculty to use with students, has posted the fifth online training module in its Response to Intervention (RTI) series, "Star Legacy Modules."

"Response to Intervention as it Relates to Early Intervening Services"
Project Forum at the National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE) conducted a policy forum on RTI and EIS October 30-31, 2006. The forum was professionally facilitated and was attended by a number of the most knowledgeable stakeholders in the areas of RTI and EIS. 
This document provides legislative background pertaining to RTI and EIS, OSEP’s description of RTI and identifies barriers to the implementation of RTI, as well as policy recommendations for the successful implementation and identification of specific implementation considerations.
(ProjectForum.org)

Responsiveness-to-Intervention Evaluation, Technical Assistance & Dissemination Activities 
(The National Research Center on Learning Disabilities)

RTI Training Resources
Information that can assist in training staff in the key concepts of RTI and to determine school readiness to implement the model (RTI Wire) 

From Intelligence & Achievement Testing to Response-to-Intervention
(National Center on Student Progress Monitoring)

Comprehensive Evaluation of Learning Disabilities: A Response-to-Intervention Perspective
(The National Association of School Psychologists)

Problem Solving & RTI: New Roles for School Psychologists
(The National Association of School Psychologists)

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