Response to Intervention RTI: Using Curriculum-Based Measurement to Monitor Student Progress in Basic Academic Skills Jim Wright

Response to Intervention RTI & Literacy: Key Concepts

Response to Intervention 3 Five Core Components of RTI Service Delivery 1.Student services are arranged in a multi-tier model 2.Data are collected to assess student baseline levels and to make decisions about student progress 3.Interventions are ‘evidence-based’ 4.The ‘procedural integrity’ of interventions is measured 5.RTI is implemented and developed at the school- and district-level to be scalable and sustainable over time Source: Glover, T. A., & DiPerna, J. C. (2007). Service delivery for response to intervention: Core components and directions for future research. School Psychology Review, 36,

Response to Intervention 4 RTI ‘Pyramid of Interventions’ Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3 Tier 1: Universal interventions. Available to all students in a classroom or school. Can consist of whole-group or individual strategies or supports. Tier 2 Individualized interventions. Subset of students receive interventions targeting specific needs. Tier 3: Intensive interventions. Students who are ‘non- responders’ to Tiers I & II may be eligible for special education services, intensive interventions.

Response to Intervention 5 At the Federal Level: A ‘Hands-Off Approach to RTI Implementation “There are many RTI models and the regulations are written to accommodate the many different models that are currently in use. The Department does not mandate or endorse any particular model. Rather, the regulations provide States with the flexibility to adopt criteria that best meet local needs. Language that is more specific or prescriptive would not be appropriate. For example, while we recognize that rate of learning is often a key variable in assessing a child’s response to intervention, it would not be appropriate for the regulations to set a standard for responsiveness or improvement in the rate of learning.” p Source: U.S. Department of Education. (2006). Assistance to States for the education of children with disabilities and preschool grants for children with disabilities; final rule. 71 Fed. Reg. (August 14, 2006) 34 CFR Parts 300 and 301.

Response to Intervention 6 The Purpose of RTI in Schools: What Students Should It Serve? Early Identification. As students begin to show need for academic support, the RTI model proactively supports them with early interventions to close the skill or performance gap with peers. Chronically At-Risk. Students whose school performance is marginal across school years but who do not qualify for special education services are identified by the RTI Team and provided with ongoing intervention support. Special Education. Students who fail to respond to scientifically valid general-education interventions implemented with integrity are classified as ‘non-responders’ and found eligible for special education.

Response to Intervention 7 Target Student Discrepancy 1: Skill Gap (Current Performance Level) Avg Classroom Academic Performance Level ‘Dual-Discrepancy’: RTI Model of Learning Disability (Fuchs 2003) Discrepancy 2: Gap in Rate of Learning (‘Slope of Improvement’)

Response to Intervention Student Assessment, & Progress- Monitoring Under RTI: The Role of Curriculum-Based Measures

Response to Intervention 9 Source: National Research Council. (2002). Helping children learn mathematics. Mathematics Learning Study Committee, J. Kilpatrick & J. Swafford, Editors, Center for Education, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. 5 Strands of Mathematical Proficiency 1.Understanding 2.Computing 3.Applying 4.Reasoning 5.Engagement 5 Big Ideas in Beginning Reading 1.Phonemic Awareness 2.Alphabetic Principle 3.Fluency with Text 4.Vocabulary 5.Comprehension Source: Big ideas in beginning reading. University of Oregon. Retrieved September 23, 2007, from Models in Reading & Math

Response to Intervention 10 Curriculum-Based Evaluation: Definition “Whereas standardized commercial achievement tests measure broad curriculum areas and/or skills, CBE measures specific skills that are presently being taught in the classroom, usually in basic skills. Several approaches to CBE have been developed. Four common characteristics exist across these models: The measurement procedures assess students directly using the materials in which they are being instructed. This involves sampling items from the curriculum. Administration of each measure is generally brief in duration (typically 1-5 mins.) The design is structured such that frequent and repeated measurement is possible and measures are sensitive to change. Data are usually displayed graphically to allow monitoring of student performance.” SOURCE: CAST Website:

Response to Intervention SOURCE: CAST Website:

Response to Intervention 12 Curriculum-Based Measurement: Advantages as a Set of Tools to Monitor RTI/Academic Cases Aligns with curriculum-goals and materials Is reliable and valid (has ‘technical adequacy’) Is criterion-referenced : sets specific performance levels for specific tasks Uses standard procedures to prepare materials, administer, and score Samples student performance to give objective, observable ‘low- inference’ information about student performance Has decision rules to help educators to interpret student data and make appropriate instructional decisions Is efficient to implement in schools (e.g., training can be done quickly; the measures are brief and feasible for classrooms, etc.) Provides data that can be converted into visual displays for ease of communication Source: Hosp, M.K., Hosp, J. L., & Howell, K. W. (2007). The ABCs of CBM. New York: Guilford.

Response to Intervention 13 Standards for Judging Academic Measures for RTI (National Center for Student Progress Monitoring)

Response to Intervention RTI Literacy: Conducting Assessment & Progress-Monitoring

Response to Intervention 15 RTI Literacy: Assessment & Progress-Monitoring The RTI Literacy model collects reading assessment information on students on a schedule based on their risk profile and intervention placement. Reading measures used are valid, reliable, brief, and matched to curriculum expectations for each grade. Depending on the grade, the battery of reading measures used can include assessments in phonological awareness, oral reading fluency, and basic reading comprehension. Source: Burns, M. K., & Gibbons, K. A. (2008). Implementing response-to-intervention in elementary and secondary schools: Procedures to assure scientific-based practices. New York: Routledge.

Response to Intervention 16 RTI Literacy: Assessment & Progress-Monitoring (Cont.) To measure student ‘response to instruction/intervention’ effectively, the RTI Literacy model measures students’ reading performance and progress on schedules matched to each student’s risk profile and intervention Tier membership. Benchmarking/Universal Screening. All children in a grade level are assessed at least 3 times per year on a common collection of literacy assessments. Strategic Monitoring. Students placed in Tier 2 (supplemental) reading groups are assessed 1-2 times per month to gauge their progress with this intervention. Intensive Monitoring. Students who participate in an intensive, individualized Tier 3 reading intervention are assessed at least once per week. Source: Burns, M. K., & Gibbons, K. A. (2008). Implementing response-to-intervention in elementary and secondary schools: Procedures to assure scientific-based practices. New York: Routledge.

Response to Intervention 17 RTI Literacy: The Visual Display of Progress- Monitoring Data Time-series charts can make progress- monitoring data more accessible, allowing stakeholders to judge within weeks whether an intensive intervention is effective.

Response to Intervention 18 Sample Peer Tutoring Chart

Response to Intervention 19 Apply the ’ ’ Rule to Determine if the Focus of the Intervention Should Be the Core Curriculum, Subgroups of Underperforming Learners, or Individual Struggling Students (T. Christ, 2008) –If less than 80% of students are successfully meeting academic or behavioral goals, the intervention focus is on the core curriculum and general student population. –If no more than 15% of students are not successful in meeting academic or behavioral goals, the intervention focus is on small- group ‘treatments’ or interventions. –If no more than 5% of students are not successful in meeting academic or behavioral goals, the intervention focus is on the individual student. Source: Christ, T. (2008). Best practices in problem analysis. In A. Thomas & J. Grimes (Eds.), Best practices in school psychology V (pp ).

Response to Intervention Example: Using Local Reading Norms in Coordination with Research Norms

Response to Intervention 21 Baylor Elementary School : Grade Norms: Correctly Read Words Per Min : Sample Size: 23 Students Group Norms: Correctly Read Words Per Min: Book 4-1: Raw Data LOCAL NORMS EXAMPLE: Twenty-three 4 th -grade students were administered oral reading fluency Curriculum-Based Measurement passages at the 4 th -grade level in their school.  In their current number form, these data are not easy to interpret.  So the school converts them into a visual display—a box-plot —to show the distribution of scores and to convert the scores to percentile form.  When Billy, a struggling reader, is screened in CBM reading fluency, he shows a SIGNIFICANT skill gap when compared to his grade peers.

Response to Intervention 22 Baylor Elementary School : Grade Norms: Correctly Read Words Per Min : Sample Size: 23 Students January Benchmarking Low Value=31 Hi Value=131 Median (2 nd Quartile)=713 rd Quartile=1081 st Quartile=43 Billy=19 Group Norms: Correctly Read Words Per Min: Book 4-1: Raw Data Correctly Read Words-Book 4-1 Group Norms: Converted to Box-Plot Source: Tindal, G., Hansbrouck, J., & Jones, C. (2005). Oral reading fluency: 90 years of measurement [Technical report #33]. Eugene, OR: University of Oregon. National Reading Norms: 112 CRW Per Min

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Response to Intervention 24 Reading: Phonemic Awareness / Alphabetics Description: The student is shown 4 pictures, each depicting an object that begins with a different letter sound. The examiner gives the student a letter sound and asks the student to select the picture of the object that begins with that letter sound. The process is repeated with new sets of pictures until the time Where to get materials: DIBELS  Initial Sound Fluency  : 3 minutes Administration : 1:1

Response to Intervention 25 Reading: Phonemic Awareness / Alphabetics Description: The student is read a list of words that contain from 2 to five phonemes. For each word, the student is asked to recite all of the phonemes that make up the word. Where to get materials: DIBELS  Phoneme Segmentation Fluency  1 minute Administration : 1:1

Response to Intervention 26 Reading: Phonemic Awareness / Alphabetics Description: The student is shown a list of nonsense words of 2 to 3 letters in length. For each word, the student is to read the word or give the sounds that make up the word. Where to get materials: DIBELS  Nonsense Word Fluency  1 minute Administration : 1:1

Response to Intervention 27 Reading: Phonemic Awareness / Alphabetics Description: The student is presented with a list of randomly arranged letters. The student names as many letters as possible. Where to get materials: DIBELS  Letter Naming Fluency  1 minute Administration : 1:1

Response to Intervention 28 Reading: Phonemic Awareness / Alphabetics Description: The student is presented with a list of randomly arranged letters. The student gives the sounds of as many letters as possible. Where to get materials:  Letter Sound Fluency  1 minute Administration : 1:1

Response to Intervention 29 Reading: Phonemic Awareness / Alphabetics Description: The student is presented with a list of words randomly selected from a larger word list (e.g., Dolch Wordlist). The student reads as many words as possible. Where to get materials:  Easy CBM  Intervention Central (Dolch wordlists)  Word Identification Fluency  1 minute Administration : 1:1

Response to Intervention 30 Reading: Fluency Description: The student reads aloud from a passage and is scored for fluency and accuracy. Passages are controlled for level of reading difficulty. Where to get materials:  DIBELS  AimsWeb  Easy CBM  Intervention Central (Use the OKAPI page to create customized ORF passages)  Oral Reading Fluency  : 1 minute Administration : 1:1

Response to Intervention 31 Reading: Basic Comprehension Description: The student is given a passage in which every 7 th word has been removed. The student reads the passage silently. Each time the student comes to a removed word, the student chooses from among 3 replacement words: the correct word and two distractors. The student circles the replacement word that he or she believes best restores the meaning of the text. Where to get materials:  AimsWeb  Intervention Central (Use the Maze Passage Generator page to create customized Maze passages)  Maze Passages  : 1-3 minutes Administration : Group

Response to Intervention 32 Reading: Basic Comprehension Description: The student is given a passage to read. The student then answers a series of standardized comprehension questions based on the text. Where to get materials:  Easy CBM  Multiple-Choice Reading Comprehension  : Unknown Administration : Group

Response to Intervention 33 Team Activity: Building School Capacity to Monitor Basic Academic Skills At your tables: Discuss the range of literacy progress- monitoring tools that schools have to track basic academic skills. How can schools ‘sell’ the idea of regular student progress-monitoring to teachers? How can schools make the task of student assessment and progress-monitoring feasible for classroom teachers?