Appendix F: Sample Response-To-Intervention (RTI) Materials (page 4)

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.

Research-Based Intervention:

Standard Protocol: Choose one

Reading

• Read 180
• Partner Reading
• Six Minute Solution
• Reader's Theater
• Click or Clunk
• Writing Destinations
• RAP (Paraphrasing)
• Story Mapping
• DISSECT
• Word Building
• Other (be specific) _____

Math

• Study Island
• Cover/Copy/Compare (Flue)
• CRA (Concrete, Rep/Abs)
• Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS)
• Schema-based Instruction
• Incremental Rehearsal
• FAST Draw (mnemonic)
• QAR (Quest/Ans/Relat)
• CAI–Computer-Assisted Instruction

Behavior

• Check in/Check out
• Good Behavior Game
• Mystery Motivator
• Visual Cues
• Self-Monitoring
• Rubber Band Plan
• Points for Grumpy
• Talk Ticket
• Response/Cost
• Group Control
• Positive Peer Reporting
• Counselor Groups (name of group)
• Other (be specific) _____

Communication

• Language for Learning
• Earobics
• Speedy Speech
• Articu Check
• Bridge of Vocabulary
• Story Schedules

On the first page of this form, the student support team (SST) identifies a specific area of concern: reading, math, written expression, speech/language, or behavior. (More than one of these pages can be used if there is more than one area of concern.) The team also indicates which research-based interventions have been attempted. Teachers may have used some of the standard research-based interventions listed on the form, or they may have used interventions from other sources. The plan for implementation includes information such as the start date of the intervention, the student's current performance (baseline data), who will be implementing the intervention, how frequently and for how long the intervention will be implemented, the ways in which progress will be monitored, the criteria that will be used to make a determination about whether progress has been demonstrated, and when the intervention will end.

The second page of the form allows schools to document the results of their conference meeting. The student's strengths, talents, and interests are identified, the data collected are specified, recommendations are made, and the parent's concerns are listed. More than one conference may occur at Tier 2.