Chapter 2: Response-to-Intervention - Page 2

RTI vs. Pre-referral Interventions

As discussed in Chapter 1, many schools, school districts — and even some states — have established procedures for pre-referral interventions, which are designed to provide additional support to struggling students prior to referral for special education evaluation. However, little research has been done on the effectiveness of this approach.

Pre-referral interventions have frequently been used without close monitoring or documentation of the student’s progress. Monitoring and record keeping provide the critical information needed to make decisions about the student’s future instruction. If monitoring and record keeping doesn’t occur along with pre-referral strategies, the opportunity to make informed decisions about the student’s future instruction and intervention needs is lost.

Equally important, the adequacy of the instruction being delivered in the general education classroom where the student was experiencing learning difficulties has not usually been examined. Frequently, the instructional program being used in general education, such as the beginning reading program, is not scientifically based and does not have a high success rate for most children.

In contrast, successful implementation of RTI requires a number of essential components that ensure high-quality instruction, careful monitoring and documenting of progress and close collaboration between general education and special education.

Essential Components of RTI

According to the National Research Center on Learning Disabilities (NRCLD), the essential components of RTI include:

• Monitoring a student's progress in the general curriculum using appropriate screenings or tests (assessments)
• Choosing and implementing a scientifically proven intervention to deal with a student's learning problems
• Following formal guidelines to decide which students are not making sufficient progress or responding to the intervention
• Monitoring how the student responds to the intervention by using assessments at least once a week or once every two weeks
• Making sure the intervention is provided accurately and consistently
• Determining the level of support that a student needs in order to be successful
• Giving parents notice of a referral and a request to conduct a formal evaluation if a disability is suspected as required by IDEA

A Three-Tier RTI Model

While there is no single, thoroughly researched and widely practiced “model” of the RTI process, it is generally defined as a three-tier (or 3-step) model of school supports that uses research-based academic and/or behavior interventions. At all stages of the process, RTI should focus on discovering how to make the student more successful rather than focusing on the student’s lack of success.

A three-tier RTI model includes:

Tier 1: Screening and Group Interventions

Students who are "at-risk" are identified using universal screenings and/or results on state or district-wide tests and could include weekly progress monitoring of all students for a brief period. Identified students receive supplemental instruction, or interventions, generally delivered in small groups during the student's regular school day in the regular classroom.
*Images reprinted with permission of the IRIS Center (OSEP grant H325F01003) and the TN State Improvement Grant (OSEP grant H323A030007).

The length of time for this step can vary, but it generally should not exceed eight weeks.

During that time, student progress is closely monitored using a validated screening system such as curriculum-based measurement (see below). At the end of this period, students showing significant progress are generally returned to the regular classroom program. (Note: This step may be broken into two separate tiers in a 4-tier model.) Students not showing adequate progress are moved to Tier 2.

Tier 2: Targeted Interventions

Students not making adequate progress in the regular classroom in Tier 1 are provided with more intensive services and interventions. These services are provided in addition to instruction in the general curriculum. These interventions are provided in small group settings. In the early grades (K-3) interventions are usually in the areas of reading and math.
*Image reprinted with permission of the IRIS Center.

A longer period of time may be required for this tier, but it should generally not exceed a grading period.

Students who continue to show too little progress at this level of intervention are then considered for more intensive interventions as part of Tier 3.

Depending on a school's particular model of RTI, parents may or may not be involved in Tier 2. Ideally, schools involve parents at the earliest stages of RTI by explaining the process in face-to-face meetings, providing written intervention plans and requesting parental consent.

Tier 3: Intensive Interventions and Comprehensive Evaluation

Students receive individualized, intensive interventions that target the student's skill deficits. Students who do not respond to these targeted interventions are then considered for eligibility as required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The data collected during Tiers 1, 2 and 3 are included and used to make the eligibility decision.
*Image reprinted with permission of the IRIS Center.

(Note: This part of the process may be broken into two separate tiers in a 4-tier model).
At any point in an RTI process, IDEA allows parents to request a formal evaluation to determine eligibility for special education. An RTI process cannot be used to deny or delay a formal evaluation for special education.