Response to Intervention (RtI)
What is RtI?
RtI is an approach to learning that is different from the “wait to fail” format previously used to identify special education students by waiting until their achievement was significantly below what they should be able to achieve. This meant that these students were losing out on several early years where intensive help could have overcome issues students had with falling behind academically. RTI has teachers and schools monitoring students from when they first arrive in school to determine if a student is struggling in a particular area. If they are, they move from Tier 1 (all students) into Tier 2 where they can receive more intensive support to help them with the area they are struggling with. If they continue to struggle, even with Tier 2 interventions, then students are moved into Tier 3. This gives students even more interventions and more focused support than in Tier 3. One of the more important things to remember about RtI is that it is for all students, and that teachers must be able to provide interventions with fidelity in order to help ensure student success before moving up the tiers.
How is RtI different?
The biggest change with RtI is that teachers are not supposed to wait for students to fail. I have heard over and over again that RtI is not a special education initiative, even though it initially evolved from that realm of education. At its core, RtI is about providing high quality education to all students, and giving extra support immediately to those students who struggle with something. Additionally, it requires documentation of what you are doing to help this student and what the results are. Therefore, if you are following the RtI model faithfully at Tier 1 and providing high quality, research based teaching to all students you are using evidence based practices. Then progress monitoring comes in with the universal screeners and with documenting how interventions are working with your students. This helps students with disabilities because it helps keep them in the classroom, it gives them access to high quality education, and they can be helped to succeed before they fail at something.
For Additional Information:
The following graphic demonstrates how RtI operates as a three tier system. PBIS is usually the behavioral component of RtI and you can read more about PBIS on this webpage. The majority of students should fall into Tier 1, which is composed of high quality instruction for all students. Those who struggle in Tier 1 will receive additional interventions in Tier 2, and if a student still is not succeeding they will move to the highest level of support in Tier 3.
RtI is an approach to learning that is different from the “wait to fail” format previously used to identify special education students by waiting until their achievement was significantly below what they should be able to achieve. This meant that these students were losing out on several early years where intensive help could have overcome issues students had with falling behind academically. RTI has teachers and schools monitoring students from when they first arrive in school to determine if a student is struggling in a particular area. If they are, they move from Tier 1 (all students) into Tier 2 where they can receive more intensive support to help them with the area they are struggling with. If they continue to struggle, even with Tier 2 interventions, then students are moved into Tier 3. This gives students even more interventions and more focused support than in Tier 3. One of the more important things to remember about RtI is that it is for all students, and that teachers must be able to provide interventions with fidelity in order to help ensure student success before moving up the tiers.
How is RtI different?
The biggest change with RtI is that teachers are not supposed to wait for students to fail. I have heard over and over again that RtI is not a special education initiative, even though it initially evolved from that realm of education. At its core, RtI is about providing high quality education to all students, and giving extra support immediately to those students who struggle with something. Additionally, it requires documentation of what you are doing to help this student and what the results are. Therefore, if you are following the RtI model faithfully at Tier 1 and providing high quality, research based teaching to all students you are using evidence based practices. Then progress monitoring comes in with the universal screeners and with documenting how interventions are working with your students. This helps students with disabilities because it helps keep them in the classroom, it gives them access to high quality education, and they can be helped to succeed before they fail at something.
For Additional Information:
The following graphic demonstrates how RtI operates as a three tier system. PBIS is usually the behavioral component of RtI and you can read more about PBIS on this webpage. The majority of students should fall into Tier 1, which is composed of high quality instruction for all students. Those who struggle in Tier 1 will receive additional interventions in Tier 2, and if a student still is not succeeding they will move to the highest level of support in Tier 3.