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Research Roundup:
Response to Intervention — Tiers without Tears
By Dr. Sheldon H. Horowitz
Director of Professional Services, NCLD
Response to Intervention revisited
In my July Research Roundup column titled Response to Intervention: A Primer specific mention was made of RTI as a 'new' approach to recognizing and responding to the needs of students who struggle with learning.
"RTI is a service delivery approach that guides educators to anticipate, recognize and document student learning, and to provide timely, well-targeted and effective instruction. How students respond to this instruction (in combination with more formal assessment as needed) determines a students' eligibility for classification as LD."
The column goes on to explain that no single RTI model has proven effective in all settings but rather that successful implementation of RTI does rely on the careful implementation of some common features including:
- student who struggle with learning first receive high quality instruction in general education settings
- to the greatest extent possible, all instruction is research-based
- general education professionals and other teaching staff share active roles in student instruction and in collecting data on student performance
- student progress is monitored across the curriculum (not just on specific isolated skills)
- student progress monitoring is ongoing (not just a snapshot of scores at a particular point in time)
- the RTI approach is most effective when documentation of effort and outcomes are seamlessly integrated into school-wide practice
How does this approach play out in school settings? Successful implementation of an RTI approach to helping students includes at least these three essential components:
- multiple tiers of intervention (the most common number of tiers described in the literature is 3 but some models include 4 or more)
- a well-defined, step-by-step method of problem solving and trouble-shooting to identify precisely where students are experiencing frustration and failure
- a procedure for collecting data that allows for prompt decision making about what to do next to accelerate students' learning
Multiple Tiers: A step-by-step approach to problem solving
Imagine for a moment that every time you drive your car you hear a strange sound coming from under the hood. You're a responsible car owner and you check the tires, change the oil, and go for regular inspections. What steps might you take to identify and alleviate this problem? Surely you wouldn't ignore the problem, neither would you rush to a highly specialized mechanic and demand that extensive (and expensive) diagnostics be run on the engine. Most likely you would think about when the problem was first noticed, be very clear about when it happened and what effect it has on the car's functioning, ask friends and colleague whether they had any thoughts or recommendations, and systematically try to discover the cause and ways to fix the problem. Along the way, you might call upon the expert mechanic to give you feedback and advice, and if all efforts fail, you might hand your keys over to this expert to take charge of the problem-solving process.
Now drive your imagination into the school building or classroom. Without too much difficulty, it's easy to see how a similar approach could be applied to the "tiers" of intervention we refer to in an RTI model.
Tier I Core instruction (80-100% of all students)
Tries to prevent failure and optimize learning by offering the most effective instruction possible to the greatest number of students
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Takes place in a regular education setting and is, for the most part, whole class (scientifically-based) instruction that produces good results for most students
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Involves all students
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Tier II Supplemental instruction (15-20% of all students)
Tries to address instructional challenges that could be contributing to individual students' learning difficulties
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Takes place in a regular or special education setting; features instruction to small groups of students; some students might need more support than others, but most students will respond quickly and make good progress
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Involves students who experienced difficulties with Tier I instruction
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Tier III (5-15% of all students)
Tries to accelerate learning for students who need more intensive help and who are lacking effective strategies for learning
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Is likely to take place in a general education (or part-time special education) setting, with small groups of students or with 1:1 attention
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Involves students who did not respond to Tier II intervention
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Tier IV (up to 5% of all students)
Addresses students' individual learning and behavioral needs through special education services
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Takes place in part- or full- time special education setting; intensive and highly focused, intentional, research-based instruction, possibly over a long period of time
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Involves students who did not respond to Tier III intervention; these students undergo more formal evaluation, have (or are eligible for) IEPs
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RTI approaches work when
At each tier, educators and school leaders must determine such things as:
- how much time is devoted to individual, small group or whole class instruction
- how will teachers learn about and gain proficiency in the use of research-based instructional teaching tools and methodologies
- how much ongoing professional development and teacher support is needed to ensure that students make (and sustain) progress
- what professional resources (i.e. psychologist, special educator, speech-language pathologist, reading specialist) are needed to contribute to student progress
- how will student progress be assessed (i.e. mastery of skills, rate of learning) and monitored over time
Answering these questions is essential to creating an effective RTI model of instruction and support for all students, including those with learning disabilities. The following is a list of new and very useful resources on RTI implementation. And please be sure to look for future columns that will address the challenges of problem-solving and highlight procedures for collecting, analyzing and responding to student data.
Resources
National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities (2005). Responsiveness to Intervention and Learning Disabilities. Learning Disabilities Quarterly, volume 28, Fall , pp. 249-260. (Available online at the LDOnline Web site.)
Batche, G. et al. (2005). Response to Intervention: Policy Considerations and Implementation. National Association of State Directors of Special Education. Alexandria, VA.
Special Series: Research Topics in Responsiveness to Intervention, Part I. (2005). Journal of Learning Disabilities, vol.38, no.6, November/December. PRO-ED. Austin, TX.
This article first appeared in the November 2005 edition of LD News.
Research Roundup Archive
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