RTI & MTI: Building the Foundation TTSD RTI Site Visit October 21, 2008

Objectives  Provide an overview of RTI and MTI and their importance  Describe the importance of Tier I instruction in the RTI system  Describe RTI implementation  Questions and discussion

Pilot Rock SD Athena-Weston SD Ione SD Echo SD

TTSD Demographics ► 17 Schools, 12,000+ students  10 elementary, 3 middle, 2 high, 1 alternative, & 1 charter ► Special Programs participation  1,200 Special Education (10%)  1,800 English Language Learners (15%)  1,500 Talented and Gifted (12%) ► Socio-economic status  Title 1 in 5 elementary schools  Free/Reduced ranges from 7% to 62%

7 pilot elementary schools implement EBS Board adopts EBS district- wide: 5 more schools implement Remaining (2) schools implement; ongoing training & leadership EBIS OSEP Grant: Reading & Special Education initiatives incorporated 2001 Secondary School focus utilizing Title IVa 2003 TTSD Develops the RTI Technical Assistance Manual for ODE ODE Contracts with TTSD to Train 23 School Oregon Districts to Develop & Implement RTI Tigard-Tualatin’s EBIS Implementation Timeline

BIG RTI: Support for All Learners Multi-tiered, Research-based Core Curriculum & Interventions Universal Screening & Progress Monitoring Standardized Decision Rules & Procedures Integrity of Implementation and Sustainability little rti (SLD Assessment Under IDEA) Effective Teaming & Data-based Decision Making

Defining Terms: ► Is a system of organizing gen. ed. curriculum and instruction to meet the needs of all students ► Integrates all support programs to use resources more efficiently ► Applies to all students ► Can exist without using RTI ► Is an evaluation procedure identified in IDEA for identifying learning disabilities ► Is a special education procedure that is limited to assessment ► Applies only to children suspected of having LD ► Cannot be implemented without a system like MTI in place Multi-Tiered Instruction (MTI) Response to Intervention (little rti)

Academic Systems Behavioral Systems 1-5% 5-10% 80-90% Intensive, Individual Interventions Individual Students Assessment-based High Intensity Intensive, Individual Interventions Individual Students Assessment-based Intense, durable procedures Targeted Group Interventions Some students (at-risk) High efficiency Rapid response Targeted Group Interventions Some students (at-risk) High efficiency Rapid response Universal Interventions All students Preventive, proactive Universal Interventions All settings, all students Preventive, proactive Designing School-Wide Systems for Student Success

Tiers of Instruction ► The three-tiered model assumes that:  80% of students or more will meet benchmarks  About 20% of students will need something more  About 5% will need intensive support

Differences Learning to Read Estimates from NICHD research (NC Dept. of Public Education) Population % Journey to Reading Instructional Requirements 5 Easy: children read before starting school Need no formal decoding instruction 35 Relatively Easy Learn to read regardless of instructional approach 40 Formidable Challenge Need systematic and explicit instruction 20 One of the most difficult tasks to be mastered in school Need intensive, systematic, direct, explicit instruction

We can’t intervene one by one... ► Overall, national longitudinal studies show that more than 17.5 percent of the nation's children--about 10 million children--will encounter reading problems in the crucial first three years of their schooling" (National Reading Panel Progress Report, 2000). ► In a 500 student school:  400 students will do fine with a good core curriculum  75 students will need systematic, ongoing specialized instruction  25 students will need intensive, individualized intervention

Tier I ► All students receive Tier I  Research-based core curriculum  Strong fidelity and professional development  Universal screening

If the 80% criterion is not being met: ► 90 minutes of reading daily? ► Protected allocated reading time each day? ► Skill grouping by class or grade? ► Core and supplemental programs implemented with fidelity? ► More professional development needed?

Tiers II and III ► Tier II: Core plus strategic intervention  Research-based program  Small group  min. daily ► Tier III: Core plus intensive intervention  Research-based program  Small group  45+ min. daily

Think, Pair, Share ► Does this description of reading match your experience and perspective? ► How is instruction currently organized at your school to meet the diverse needs of developing readers? ► How might it be organized differently?

RTI Systems Requirements  Leadership  Universal screening  Progress monitoring  Teaming  Research-based core reading curriculum  Research-based interventions  Standard Policies and Procedures (e.g. decision rules)  Professional development including fidelity of implementation

Universal Screening  Quick measures of key academic skills  Should occur for ALL students 3x per year  Used for data-based decision making about:  How to create instructional change for ALL  Which students need a closer look and/or intervention

Progress Monitoring Progress Monitoring  Quick measure of skills in area of need  All students needing intervention are progress monitored  Frequency is determined by district decision rules  Monthly  Twice per month  Weekly  Twice per week

Effects of Progress Monitoring ► Progress monitoring has been extensively researched in SPED (Fuchs & Fuchs, 1986) ► Students showed improved reading scores when teachers:  MONITORED their progress: +.70 effect size (≈ 25 th  50 th %ile)  GRAPHED their reading scores (+.80 effect size)  used DECISIONS RULES to determine whether to make a change in instruction while monitoring student progress (+.90 effect size)

Teaming Purpose: ► Review data ► Plan interventions ► Partner with parents ► Refer for special education evaluation when indicated

Teaming Team Members: ► Principal-Critical to the team’s effectiveness ► Literacy Specialist/Title I ► Counselor/Psychologist ► ELL teacher ► Special Ed. Teacher ► Grade Level Teachers

Teaming TeamingLogistics: ► Typically a core team meets ONCE a week ► Sort screening data into tiers 3 TIMES PER YEAR ► Review progress monitoring data on students in interventions ► Each grade-level team meets with the core team ONCE every 4-6 weeks

A Tale of Two Teams ► Does the child find the system, or does the system find the child?

Daisy participates in the general curriculum Daisy’s teacher does his best to differentiate instruction and keeps anecdotal data Daisy isn’t doing well Teacher is told to try again Daisy improves Pre-referral team reviews what teacher has tried Resumes regular program Teacher’s effort is deemed sufficient Daisy doesn’t improve Special Education referral is initiated by the teacher Teacher tries again The pre referral/discrepancy approach Daisy is tested, usually by special education personnel, using IQ, achievement, and other tests

Daisy participates in the general curriculum EBIS Team reviews screening data and places Daisy in group intervention Daisy isn’t doing well Daisy improves Daisy improves EBIS Team designs individualized intervention Resumes general program Daisy doesn’t improve Daisy doesn’t improve Special Education referral is initiated Second Group Intervention Intervention is intense and LD is suspected Improvement is good and other factors are suspected as cause Parents Notified How RTI Works from a Student’s Perspective

Think, Pair, Share ► How do the two team processes differ? ► How are teams currently organized in your district? ► How would your team process look different in a multi-tiered, RTI system?

Why change?  Does your current approach enhance outcomes for all students?  Does it promote collaboration, or categorization?  Does your system find the student, or does the student find the system?  Do your current special education evaluations provide instructionally relevant information?  Does the approach systematically rule out exclusionary factors such as language acquisition, lack of instruction, and poverty ?  Are you identifying students with learning disabilities early enough? (1 st or 2 nd grade)

Why change? ► It works!  Remember the research on progress monitoring?  Data from OrRTI Districts

District A, Currently Year 3 of OrRTI: Kindergarten PSF,

District A, Currently Year 3 of OrRTI : DIBELS 1st Grade NWF,

District A, Currently Year 3 of OrRTI : DIBELS 2nd Grade ORF,

A closing thought … A closing thought … RTI is, first and foremost, about good teaching: Even before students are formally classified as having “learning disabilities,” those who need more assistance receive additional interventions…So RTI is as much a prevention model as an identification model. - Michael Hock, WestEd - Michael Hock, WestEd

Contacts and Resources: Dean Richards Erin Lolich