What does response to intervention mean
About 80 percent of students and the most commonly used teaching strategies and interventions are found in the base section of the pyramid. This section is called Tier 1 or the primary level of prevention of failure.
Tier 2 or the secondary level of prevention is in the middle section of the pyramid. Here, the interventions become more intensive because the students are considered to be at a greater risk. About 15 percent of students will be in this section at any given time.
Only about 5 percent of students are in Tier 3, or the tertiary level of prevention, at the top of the pyramid. RTI emphasizes collaborative decision-making using periodic assessment, differentiated instruction in classrooms, and increasingly intense interventions as needed.
The critical components of RTI are well-designed curriculum and instruction, interventions at increasing levels of intensity, well-trained staff, and assessment-driven decision-making. Most schools develop a multi-tiered RTI model to provide struggling learners with services and interventions at increasing levels of intensity, as illustrated in this RTI pyramid:.
In an RTI model all students receive standards-based comprehensive reading instruction with differentiated instruction as needed. Universal screening identifies students who need additional diagnostic assessment and strategic supplementary instruction. These students receive increasingly more intensive instruction with data-driven program adjustments as indicated by periodic assessments of progress. Some schools also use research-based behavior interventions.
Read more about instructional interventions. Another essential component of RTI is called progress monitoring. During an intervention, a teacher or other member of the RTI team uses an assessment tool that measures certain skills. They assess the skills every week or every other week. That may sound like a lot of testing. But each assessment only takes a few minutes to complete. Learn more about progress monitoring.
Think of this tiered system as a pyramid, with the intensity of support increasing from one level to the next:. Get deeper information about the three tiers of support. But it can help general education teachers pick up on early signs that kids are struggling. It also plays a key role in helping schools figure out who qualifies for special education. If a student qualifies for special education, the RTI interventions used can help the school decide which services and supports to include in the IEP.
There are a few other key things to keep in mind about the relationship between RTI and special education:. That kind of modification may be used for some special education students, but not for general education students. They have the right to ask for an evaluation at any time. As part of the evaluation, the school can gather information from the RTI process, like screening and progress monitoring data. But they still have to follow the time frame of completing an initial evaluation within 60 days of getting parent consent.
Learn about evaluations for special education. RTI is effective for lots of reasons. For one, it can help more kids thrive in general education classrooms. Progress-monitoring is a cornerstone of tiered systems because it is used to:. To determine rate of progress compared to peers and grade level benchmarks does the student need more?
To determine mastery of discrete skills is the student mastering prerequisite skills needed to meet grade level benchmarks? To provide information on the effectiveness of instruction and modify the intervention if necessary. To analyze and interpret gaps between standards and achievement how long will it take to close the gap?
What is Progress Monitoring at Tier 1? Assess all students minimally three times per year to monitor student progress e. Use the data to determine the effectiveness of core academic, social-emotional and behavioral instruction and then create a more responsive learning environment for all students that includes small group differentiated instruction.