|
This is the opportunity to have nationally renowed experts answer your questions. We know RTI can be confusing at times, which is why we've lined up some of the top experts in the field to help. Send us your questions and one of our experts will provide an in-depth, informative answer here on the site. Check below for answers to frequent questions.
Why should we undertake Response to Intervention (RTI) when we already have several other initiatives going on in our district?
Response from Ann Casey, Ph.D.: RTI is a framework that could be used as an organizing tool for all of our work in education. The main intent of RTI is to ensure students receive targeted instruction early so all students can be successful. In RTI, we integrate measurement/data systems to focus instruction by using a problem solving process. These components are the framework. If student achievement (both academics and social behavior) is the main goal of schools, then most school initiatives should fit well into this framework. If they don’t fit, then the question to ask is what is the intended outcome of those initiatives.
If I want to know whether students are on track to be proficient readers, why would I use a fluency measure?
Response from Ann Casey, Ph.D.: Considerable research went into determining what quick and easy measures were the best predictor of reading proficiency. There are now hundreds of studies validating the utility of this measurement system. As it turned out, fluency was the best predictor that met these criteria. What is important to understand, however, is that the measurement (words read correctly in one minute) is not the goal – it’s an indicator of whether students are on track to become proficient readers with comprehension. These measures are often referred to as Curriculum Based Measures (CBMs) or General Outcome Measures (GOMS). Reading rate is an indicator, much like a thermometer is an indicator of health. Thus, words read correctly, is an indicator of reading ‘health’ or proficiency. For older students, another measure, maze, is a good indicator of reading proficiency. This measurement can be given in three minutes to a group of students (rather than individually), and consists of having students read a passage silently with every 7th word omitted, and the student is to supply the appropriate missing word from a multiple choice format.
Our teachers monitor student progress now. We have end of unit tests, and so teachers always know what skills students have learned or not learned. Why would we want to add an additional measurement tool such as curriculum based measures, also referred to as general outcome measures?
Response from Ann Casey, Ph.D.: It’s great that you have these data, as it should help your teachers plan their instruction. End of unit tests are a good way to gauge what students learned and did not learn, and is good feedback to teachers. These types of measures are sometimes referred to as mastery monitoring or criterion referenced assessment. We would encourage you to continue to collect these kinds of data. In RTI we need a measurement system that acts as an indicator of progress toward high stakes outcomes. The measure should have reliability and validity for this purpose and also be sensitive to growth over time. Words read correctly and maze meet these criteria. Schools have a variety of assessment needs. The purposes of assessment can be organized into four categories: screening, progress monitoring, instructional planning, and summative evaluation. Schools need measures that meet each of these purposes, and for RTI we focus on the purposes of universal screening and monitoring progress toward high stakes outcomes.
How do we get buy-in from staff?
Response from Ann Casey, Ph.D.: Spending time building consensus for Response to Intervention is a very important activity. It may not be possible to have all your staff on board and supportive, but it’s important to have the majority of staff supportive of implementation. There are many activities that can support consensus building, but perhaps one of the best is to provide teachers with the opportunity to learn how it has worked for other teachers. This can be accomplished in several ways: professional development opportunities such as attending conferences where RTI is a focus, visiting schools where RTI is already under way, and looking at student improvement data from schools where RTI has been implemented. It should also help to present RTI as not yet another thing, but as a framework for our work in schools. Finally, most teachers entered the profession because of their desire to help students learn which is the outcome of RTI.
The current RTI literature focuses primarily on reading. How does RTI work with mathematics instruction?
Response from Amanda VanDerHeyden, Ph.D.: Much of the writing and research on RTI has occurred in the area of reading, but RTI is not limited to reading. Rather, it is a science of decision making that can be applied to a variety of “problem” behaviors. Much of the research that has come to be associated with RTI comes from work in curriculum-based assessment and measurement and the problem-solving model as first described by Deno (1985). Under that model, Deno described the potential for student academic performance data collected at baseline and at routine intervals to inform problem definition, solution development, and solution evaluation. Hence, some writers have described RTI as the application of the scientific method whereby hypotheses are developed about what is causing deficient academic performance and the hypothesis is tested via an intervention trial. If the intervention successfully changed the skill, then the hypothesis was confirmed; If not, the hypothesis was disconfirmed and a new hypothesis was developed. RTI has become a vehicle for system reform because it provides a database for making relative judgments (e.g., who needs help the most and how much help do they need) and distributing instructional resources to promote the greatest good for the greatest number of students. RTI, properly understood and used, is focused on improving student learning.
In mathematics, a reform process similar to that that occurred in reading in the 1990’s appears to be underway. Whereas math has been under-researched relative to reading, research findings are available to guide RTI application in mathematics. Specifically, research is available to guide the selection of adequate screening measures, selection of adequate progress monitoring measures, development of decision criteria, and the development of intervention protocols appropriate for use at all tiers of instruction. For more information, read RTI and Math Instruction.
National drop-out rates are outrageous throughout the nation. What programs actually work and can be replicated and implemented for under-served students, especially in impoverished urban and rural areas?
Response from Pedro A. Noguera, Ph.D. : There are no programs per se that work at reducing the drop-out rate but there are several strategies that are showing results. The first question we should ask is “Why is it that there are several secondary schools across the country that serve "high need" students but have low dropout rates?” Invariably what we find when we look at these schools are:
-
early intervention strategies for kids in trouble
-
pro-active mentoring programs so that at risk students are connected to caring adults who provide guidance and advice
-
academic support strategies that help students who come to high school with low skills and/or over-age
-
community partnerships to connect kids to jobs, internships and opportunities that help them to set clear future goals
Following are two references for additional reading on this topic:
Barth, P., Haycock, K., Jackson, H., Mora, K., Ruiz, P., Robinson, S., & Wilkins, A. (Eds). (1999). Dispelling the myth: High poverty schools exceeding expectations. Washington, DC: Education Trust.
Bryk, A. & Schneider, B. (2002). Trust in schools: A core resource for improvement. New York: Russell Sage.
How can you garner buy-in from veteran teachers who have seen it all come and go before and believe RTI is just another swing of the pendulum?
Response from Tom Komp: The question of “How to Engage Veteran Teachers in RTI?” comes up repeatedly during many workshops on RTI. There is no definitive answer. The only advice that I give is the knowledge that the data collected through RTI makes a good teacher want to get better and great teachers will shine! Most of our experienced teachers have ridden the tide of many educational initiatives. RTI is not the latest educational fad. It validates good teaching and gives more information to teachers so they may help their students. RTI helps organize and monitor good teaching practices that have existed for years. It also infuses many research based and validated programs that never existed 20 years ago.
I have had several teachers “put off” retirement because of the excitement generated by the validation of their teaching. I have also experienced teachers that are “counting down the days”. The students in both of these classrooms continue to be monitored to assure a quality education. Extra support for the students in either class is given as needed. Our veteran teachers have invaluable experience that the RTI process seems to complement. Their expertise is utilized through the decision making process that is necessary for an effective program to succeed.
Our most experienced teachers are the cornerstone for success. Their “gut feelings” about students are often validated through data. Using their experience and research, we frequently find solutions to difficult student issues. Ownership of this process helps to establish an effective RTI.
Why are you supporting RTI at the high school level when the research base for high school efficacy is not particularly strong?
Response from Barbara J. Ehren, Ed.D.: In general RTI at the secondary level does not have the track record that it has at the elementary level. In the scheme of things, we haven’t been at this process for very long. When addressing RTI efficacy it is important to ask “efficacy for what purpose.” In looking at the twofold purpose of RTI, we could address efficacy in preventing school failure and efficacy in identifying students with learning disabilities. I would like to address the first purpose. When we talk about prevention in high school, we are addressing the prevention of further failure and the often dire consequences of school failure (e.g. alienation, dropping out, anti-social behavior). It would be hard to argue that a high school shouldn’t address the needs of struggling learners by having intervention options that increase with intensity (aka RTI). The alternative is to allow students to fail unless they can qualify for special education (and not all of them should or would qualify). Moral reasons aside, in this age of accountability high schools cannot afford to ignore struggling learners. It is a myth that adolescence is too late for intervention. We do have a substantial body of research that has demonstrated that intervention with high school students can improve academic performance, including literacy. However, until we have more experience with RTI in high school we will not know how effective a systematic approach to varying levels of intervention intensity can be in preventing school failure. But can we live with the alternative in today’s schools?
What is the difference between a pre-referral team and a problem-solving team?
Response from Barbara J. Ehren, Ed.D.: It depends on who is using the term. Before RTI became an initiative, some schools used pre-referral or problem-solving teams to assist teachers in implementing classroom interventions to help individual struggling students. In some instances other options were also available (e.g. small group instruction from a Title I teacher). Another popular label for such a group was “teacher assistance team.” When used in a preventative manner, these groups contained the seeds of what we now call RTI because they identified ways to provide support to students outside of special education. However, in some places referring students to this group was a perfunctory move en route to eligibility for special education (i.e., What hoops do we have to jump through before we can have this student evaluated for special education?). As many schools and districts have rolled out RTI, they have identified a group of professionals to review assessment data (screening and progress) to identify students in need of support beyond universal, scientifically-based instruction (Tier 1). They may call such a group by many different names, including “pre-referral team” and. “problem-solving team.” However, I would like to argue that the use of the former flies in the face of the spirit of RTI. To use the term “pre-referral” orients schools toward the traditional special education referral process. It literally means “before referral” and is too closely associated with the old way of doing business when special education was the desired destination for struggling students.
Can you provide some information on using RTI for speech/language therapy? What type of success has there been? Is it possible to describe the models that have been successful for SLPs?
Response from Judy Rudebusch, Ed.D, CCC-SLP: Thanks for the question about speech-language pathologists being involved in RTI. I think there are some exciting possibilities as well as some promising practices already in place. Here are some examples from my experience in Texas:
SLPs have been providing an in-classroom Tier 1 support program helping students dictate and write stories in addition to developing questioning skills to help peers extend and expand their stories. The purpose of this approach is to catch oral language problems early and provide an intervention to prevent referral and placement in special education. Here, SLPs are helping with academic difficulties by supporting language skills. This approach is modeled after a program started in San Diego schools.
SLPs can also be involved in direct and indirect activities in an RTI framework to support balanced literacy interventions, especially in the areas of phonemic awareness, comprehension, and vocabulary. SLPs also serve as important members of Problem Solving teams to look at individual student concerns when poor communication skills may result in academic or behavior problems.
Next year, the Pasadena Independent School District (TX) is starting two language initiatives conducted by SLPs. At one school, we will be looking at the effectiveness of using a story lab approach to strengthen English oral language production for ELL students in bilingual classes. The SLP will work with the second grade bilingual classrooms and their teachers during ESL time and work on grammar, syntax, and story telling. At another school, the SLP is starting a program that boosts the phonological awareness and metalinguistic awareness skills, as part of a balanced literacy approach, through a program she is designing for struggling kindergarten students. Again, these approaches demonstrate support of language skills which directly scaffolds academic issues a student may have, thus falling under RTI.
Finally, SLPs are also using the tiered framework of RTI to expedite articulation interventions. In one school district, they have an ArticLab in place for students with one, two or three sound errors which serves as a Tier 2 targeted intervention to clear up articulation errors and prevent referral and/or placement in speech-language therapy. In their initial cohort of 89 students, after about 14 hours of intervention, 9 students continued in the artic lab, 2 students were referred for individual evaluation (a special education referral), and 78 students improved their artic sound errors and required no further need of service. The artic work uses the RTI framework by utilizing Early Intervening Services (EIS) which then prevents referral or placement in special education. EIS is a funding strategy, and Tier 2 artic work serves as the activity for prevention of future problems.
In another district, SLPs are focusing on articulation to prevent referrals using approaches that center around practice with correct sound production. This approach was developed by SLPs and implements an RTI-like framework but is not directly within RTI services.
|
The RTI Action Network is made possible by