Appendix F: Sample Response-To-Intervention (RTI) Materials (page 3)

Exhibit F.1 shows the information that the Bartow County School System shares with parents about its response-to-intervention (RTI) program. The information is based on Georgia's four-tier RTI model; however, most states use a three-tier model.

What Is Response to Intervention?

Parents and educators alike are concerned when children experience difficulty learning in school. Response to intervention (RTI) is an education model that promotes early identification of students who may be at risk for learning difficulties. For students who are identified as struggling, the RTI process includes a multi-step approach for providing services and interventions at increasing levels of intensity. Federal laws (No Child Left Behind and Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004) emphasize the importance of providing high-quality, scientifically based instruction and interventions for all students, as well as those who are struggling to meet grade-level standards. RTI is a method for measuring how students respond to academic and behavior interventions in regular education prior to identifying a disability.

The essential elements include:

• Universal screenings of academics and behavior in order to determine which students need closer monitoring or additional interventions;
• Differentiation of instruction and use of scientific, research-based instruction and interventions;
• Multiple tiers of increasingly intense scientific, research-based interventions that are matched to student needs;
• Monitoring student progress in response to the instruction and interventions
• Use of progress-monitoring data to shape instruction and make educational decisions;
• Parent involvement throughout the entire process.

In Georgia, a four-tier RTI model has been adopted for early intervention and to determine the student's response as required by Georgia Exceptional Student regulations (160-4-7). Students receive instruction based on their needs and may move within the pyramid as data supports.

Tier 1 consists of a standards-based classroom with all students participating in instruction that is differentiated, research-based, and guided by progress monitoring and balanced assessments.

Students who are identified as struggling participate in Tier 1 and Tier 2 instruction, which consists of needs-based instruction with standard intervention protocols. Tier 2 uses established intervention protocols such as research-based reading or math programs, which provide enhanced opportunities for extended learning, using flexible, small groups, and include more frequent progress monitoring.

Students who are found to be in need of more intense instruction continue to participate in Tier 2 interventions in addition to Tier 3. Tier 3 includes individual assessments, tailored interventions to respond to their needs, frequent formative assessments, and consideration for specially designed instruction when data indicates a need.

Students found eligible for specially designed instruction participate in Tier 4 with specialized programs that implement adapted content, methodology, or instructional delivery with access to Georgia Performance Standards.

Important Terms:

Response to Intervention (RTI)—addressed through federal and state law and refers to a tiered approach to instruction. Students who do not make adequate academic progress and who are at risk for reading and other learning difficulties receive increasingly intensive instructional and behavioral interventions.

Differentiation of Instruction—instruction tailored to meet the needs of diverse learners in the general education classroom.

ProgressMonitoring—is a scientifically based practice of assessing students' performance on a regular basis. Progress monitoring helps school teams make decisions about instruction.

Universal Screening—is a step taken by school personnel early in the school year to determine which students are at risk for not meeting gradelevel standards. Universal screenings can be accomplished by reviewing recent results of state tests, or by administering an academic screening test to all children in a given grade level. Students whose test scores fall below a certain cutoff are identified as needing more specialized academic interventions.

Scientific, Research-Based Instruction—specific curriculum, educational, and behavioral interventions that have been proven to be effective through scientific peer-reviewed journals.

Parent's Role in RTI:

• Be involved and proactive in the education of your child.
• Feel free to request to visit your child's classroom and ask for ways to assist your child to improve his or her performance.
• Work with your child at home on particular skills identified through screenings.
• If concerns arise, request a parent conference with your child's teacher or the administration.

Tier 2 Intervention Form

Exhibit F.2 shows a form that is used to gather information about students who are having academic or behavioral difficulties and then to plan and monitor interventions to help them. The form is based on Georgia's four-tier RTI model. In states that use a three-tier model, this intervention plan might be used at Tier 1 or Tier 2.

Tier 3 Intervention Form

If a student needs more specialized interventions, he will be moved to Tier 3 in Georgia's four-tier RTI model (or Tier 2 intervention in a three-tier model) (see Exhibit F.3).

On the first page of this form, the student support team (SST) comes up with a specific plan to address academic or behavioral problems. The team lists the date when the interventions are to be implemented, the strategy or strategies to be used, who will be responsible for the implementation of the intervention, how progress will be evaluated (refer to the bottom of the form for possible methods), and the date when the specific intervention was ended.

On the second page of the form, the team graphs the progress of the student. Baseline data will be listed first, to facilitate comparison with future performance. Each time data are collected, they will be mapped on the graph and the date will be included at the bottom. The numbers will vary depending on what is being measured. It may be words read in a sixty-second period, the number of words written within a three-minute period, and so on. The numbers are simply included as a guide. This process allows the SST to see whether a student is making progress and over what period of time the progress has occurred. The two rows in the "Data Points" table are given if the team wants to track different types of data.