Response to Intervention Establishing RTI in Middle & High Schools: A Step-by- Step Guide Jim Wright

Response to Intervention 2 Download PowerPoints and Handouts from this workshop at: secondaryRTI.php

Response to Intervention 3 Secondary Students: Unique Challenges… Struggling learners in middle and high school may: Have significant deficits in basic academic skills Lack higher-level problem-solving strategies and concepts Present with issues of school motivation Show social/emotional concerns that interfere with academics Have difficulty with attendance Are often in a process of disengaging from learning even as adults in school expect that those students will move toward being ‘self-managing’ learners…

Response to Intervention 4 Why Do Students Drop Out of School?: Student Survey Classes were not perceived as interesting (47 percent) Not motivated by teachers to ‘work hard’ (69 percent) Failing in school was a major factor in dropping out (35 percent) Had to get a job (32 percent) Became a parent (26 percent) Needed to care for a family member (22 percent) Source: Bridgeland, J. M., DiIulio, J. J., & Morison, K. B. (2006). The silent epidemic: Perspectives of high school dropouts. Seattle, WA: Gates Foundation. Retrieved on May 4, 2008, from

Response to Intervention 5 Overlap Between ‘Policy Pathways’ & RTI Goals: Recommendations for Schools to Reduce Dropout Rates A range of high school learning options matched to the needs of individual learners: ‘different schools for different students’ Strategies to engage parents Individualized graduation plans ‘Early warning systems’ to identify students at risk of school failure A range of supplemental services/’intensive assistance strategies’ for struggling students Adult advocates to work individually with at-risk students to overcome obstacles to school completion Source: Bridgeland, J. M., DiIulio, J. J., & Morison, K. B. (2006). The silent epidemic: Perspectives of high school dropouts. Seattle, WA: Gates Foundation. Retrieved on May 4, 2008, from

Response to Intervention 6 Student Motivation & The Need for Intervention “A common response to students who struggle in sixth grade is to wait and hope they grow out of it or adapt, to attribute early struggles to the natural commotion of early adolescence and to temporary difficulties in adapting to new organizational structures of schooling, more challenging curricula and assessment, and less personalized attention. Our evidence clearly indicates that, at least in high-poverty urban schools, sixth graders who are missing 20% or more of the days, exhibiting poor behavior, or failing math or English do not recover. On the contrary, they drop out. This says that early intervention is not only productive but absolutely essential.” Source: Balfanz, R., Herzog, L., MacIver, D. J. (2007). Preventing student disengagement and keeping students on the graduation path in urban middle grades schools: Early identification and effective interventions. Educational Psychologist,42, 223–235..

Response to Intervention 7 RTI ‘Pyramid of Interventions’ Tier I Tier II Tier III Tier I: Universal interventions. Available to all students in a classroom or school. Can consist of whole-group or individual strategies or supports. Tier II: Individualized interventions. Subset of students receive interventions targeting specific needs. An RTI Team may assist with the plan. Tier III: Intensive interventions. Students who are ‘non- responders’ to Tiers I & II may be eligible for special education services, intensive interventions.

Response to Intervention 8 Tier I Instruction/Interventions Tier I instruction/interventions: Are universal—available to all students. Can be delivered within classrooms or throughout the school. Are likely to be put into place by the teacher at the first sign that a student is struggling. All children have access to Tier 1 instruction/interventions. Teachers have the capability to use those strategies without requiring outside assistance. Tier 1 instruction/interventions encompass: The school’s core curriculum and all published or teacher-made materials used to deliver that curriculum. Teacher use of ‘whole-group’ teaching & management strategies. Teacher use of individualized strategies with specific students. Tier I instruction/interventions attempt to answer the question: Are routine classroom instructional strategies sufficient to help the student to achieve academic success?

Response to Intervention 9 Tier 2: Supplemental (Group-Based) Interventions Tier 2 interventions are typically delivered in small-group format. About 15% of students in the typical school will require Tier 2/supplemental intervention support. Group size for Tier 2 interventions is limited to 4-6 students. Students placed in Tier 2 interventions should have a shared profile of intervention need. The reading progress of students in Tier 2 interventions are monitored at least 1-2 times per month. Source: Burns, M. K., & Gibbons, K. A. (2008). Implementing response-to-intervention in elementary and secondary schools. Routledge: New York.

Response to Intervention 10 Tier 3: Intensive Individualized Interventions Tier 3 interventions are the most intensive offered in a school setting. Students qualify for Tier 3 interventions because: –they are found to have a large skill gap when compared to their class or grade peers; and/or –They did not respond to interventions provided previously at Tiers 1 & 2. Tier 3 interventions are provided daily for sessions of 30 minutes. The student-teacher ratio is flexible but should allow the student to receive intensive, individualized instruction. The reading progress of students in Tier 3 interventions is monitored at least weekly. Source: Burns, M. K., & Gibbons, K. A. (2008). Implementing response-to-intervention in elementary and secondary schools. Routledge: New York.

Response to Intervention 11 RTI: Research Questions Q: How Relevant is RTI to Secondary Schools? The purposes of RTI have been widely defined as: Early intervention in general education Special education disability determination How relevant is RTI at the middle or high school level? Source: Fuchs, D., & Deshler, D. D. (2007). What we need to know about responsiveness to intervention (and shouldn’t be afraid to ask).. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 22(2), 129–136.

Response to Intervention 12 The Purpose of RTI in Secondary 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 13 Inference: Moving Beyond the Margins of the ‘Known’ “An inference is a tentative conclusion without direct or conclusive support from available data. All hypotheses are, by definition, inferences. It is critical that problem analysts make distinctions between what is known and what is inferred or hypothesized….Low-level inferences should be exhausted prior to the use of high-level inferences.” p. 161 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 14 Examples of High vs. Low Inference Hypotheses High-Inference Hypothesis. The student is ‘just lazy’ and would do better if he would only apply himself. Known Unknown Low-Inference Hypothesis. The student has gaps in academic skills that require (a) mapping out those skill gaps, and (b) providing the student with remedial instruction as needed. Known Unknown An 11 th -grade student does poorly on tests and quizzes in math. Homework is often incomplete. He frequently shows up late for class and does not readily participate in group discussions.

Response to Intervention 15 Big Ideas: Similar Behaviors May Stem from Very Different ‘Root’ Causes (Kratochwill, Elliott, & Carrington Rotto, 1990) Behavior is not random but follows purposeful patterns. Students who present with the same apparent ‘surface’ behaviors may have very different ‘drivers’ (underlying reasons) that explain why those behaviors occur. A student’s problem behaviors must be carefully identified and analyzed to determine the drivers that support them. Source: Kratochwill, T. R., Elliott, S. N., & Carrington Rotto, P. (1990). Best practices in behavioral consultation. In A. Thomas and J. Grimes (Eds.). Best practices in school psychology-II (pp. 147=169). Silver Spring, MD: National Association of School Psychologists..

Response to Intervention 16 Student Motivation Levels Are Strongly Influenced by the Instructional Setting (Lentz & Shapiro, 1986) Students with learning or motivation problems do not exist in isolation. Rather, their instructional environment plays an enormously important role in these students’ degree of academic engagement. Source: Lentz, F. E. & Shapiro, E. S. (1986). Functional assessment of the academic environment. School Psychology Review, 15,

Response to Intervention 17 Student academic problems cause many school behavior problems. “Whether [a student’s] problem is a behavior problem or an academic one, we recommend starting with a functional academic assessment, since often behavior problems occur when students cannot or will not do required academic work.” Big Ideas: Academic Delays Can Be a Potent Cause of Behavior Problems (Witt, Daly, & Noell, 2000) Source: Witt, J. C., Daly, E. M., & Noell, G. (2000). Functional assessments: A step-by-step guide to solving academic and behavior problems. Longmont, CO: Sopris West, p. 13

Response to Intervention 18 Tier 3 Targets: Intervention, Curriculum, and Environment “The hypothesis and intervention [in schools] should focus on those variables that are alterable within the school setting. These alterable variables include learning goals and objectives (what is to be learned), materials, time, student-to-teacher ratio, activities, and motivational strategies.” p. 95 Source: Burns, M. K., & Gibbons, K. A. (2008). Implementing response-to-intervention in elementary and secondary schools. Routledge: New York.

Response to Intervention 19 RTI at the Secondary Level: ‘In a Perfect World’… Teachers are able and willing to individualize instruction in their classrooms to help struggling learners. The school has adequate programs and other supports for students with basic-skill deficits. The school can provide individualized problem-solving consultation for any struggling student. The progress of any student with an intervention plan is monitored frequently to determine if the plan is effective. Students are motivated to take part in intervention plans.

Response to Intervention Defining Motivation…

Response to Intervention 21 Definitions of ‘Motivation’ “…motivation refers to the initiation, direction, intensity and persistence of behavior.” Source: Motivation. (2007). Wikipedia. Retrieved March 13, 2007, from “Motivation is an internal state that activates, guides and sustains behavior.” Source: Educational psychology. (2007). Wikipedia. Retrieved March 13, 2007, from logy#Motivation “Motivation is typically defined as the forces that account for the arousal, selection, direction, and continuation of behavior.” Source: Excerpted from Chapter 11 of Biehler/Snowman, PSYCHOLOGY APPLIED TO TEACHING, 8/e, Houghton Mifflin, 1997.

Response to Intervention 22 Unmotivated Students: What Works The relationship between the two factors is multiplicative. If EITHER of these factors (the student’s expectation of success on the task OR the student’s valuing of that success) is zero, then the ‘motivation’ product will also be zero. 1.the student’s expectation of success on the task 2.the value that the student places on achieving success on that learning task Motivation can be thought of as having two dimensions: Multiplied by Source: Sprick, R. S., Borgmeier, C., & Nolet, V. (2002). Prevention and management of behavior problems in secondary schools. In M. A. Shinn, H. M. Walker & G. Stoner (Eds.), Interventions for academic and behavior problems II: Preventive and remedial approaches (pp ). Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists. ……………… 10 X 0...………… 0 ……………… 0 X 10...………… 0 ……………… 10 X...………… 100

Response to Intervention 23 Childhood and Beyond Longitudinal Project 3 cohorts of children (about 250 children per cohort) were followed across elementary, middle and high school. (Children were recruited from 4 middle-class school districts in the midwest.) In the subject areas of math, language arts, and sports, students were asked each year to rate their competence in the subject and their valuing of it. Source: Jacobs, J. E., Lanza, S., Osgood, D. W., Eccles, J. S., & Wigfield, A. (2002). Changes in children’s self-competence and values: Gender and domain differences across grades one through twelve. Child Development, 73,

Response to Intervention 24 Childhood and Beyond Longitudinal Project: Some Findings Ratings of both competence and value declined for all 3 subject areas (math, language arts, and sports) for boys and girls as they grew older. Girls rated themselves lower in competence in math throughout school— until grade 12, when boys and girls converged in their ratings (because boys’ ratings declined faster than did girls’ ratings). Across all grade levels, boys rated themselves significantly less competent than did girls in language arts. Not surprisingly, boys’ and girls’ valuing (enjoyment, liking) of a subject area correlated with perceived ability. Generally, boys and girls who rated themselves as lowest in ability also rated their valuing of the subject area as lowest. Source: Jacobs, J. E., Lanza, S., Osgood, D. W., Eccles, J. S., & Wigfield, A. (2002). Changes in children’s self-competence and values: Gender and domain differences across grades one through twelve. Child Development, 73,

Response to Intervention 25 What Are the ‘Early Warning Flags’ of Student Drop-Out? A sample of 13,000 students in Philadelphia were tracked for 8 years. These early warning indicators were found to predict student drop-out in the sixth-grade year: Failure in English Failure in math Missing at least 20% of school days Receiving an ‘unsatisfactory’ behavior rating from at least one teacher Source: Balfanz, R., Herzog, L., MacIver, D. J. (2007). Preventing student disengagement and keeping students on the graduation path in urban middle grades schools: Early identification and effective interventions. Educational Psychologist,42, 223–235..

Response to Intervention 26 What is the Predictive Power of These Early Warning Flags? Source: Balfanz, R., Herzog, L., MacIver, D. J. (2007). Preventing student disengagement and keeping students on the graduation path in urban middle grades schools: Early identification and effective interventions. Educational Psychologist,42, 223–235.. Number of ‘Early Warning Flags’ in Student Record Probability That Student Would Graduate None56% 136% 221% 313% 47%

Response to Intervention 27 Our Working Definition of ‘School Motivation’ For This Workshop The student puts reasonable effort into completing academic work in a timely manner.

Response to Intervention Ideas to Empower Students to Take a Role in Their Own Intervention Plans Jim Wright

Response to Intervention 29 Intervention Responsibilities: Examples at Teacher, School-Wide, and Student Levels Signed agenda ‘Attention’ prompts Individual review with students during free periods Lab services (math, reading, etc.) Remedial course Homework club Teacher School-Wide Take agenda to teacher to be reviewed and signed Seeking help from teachers during free periods Student

Response to Intervention 30 Intervention Plans for Secondary Students: The Motivational Component Intervention plans for secondary students may require ‘motivational’ strategies to encourage engagement in learning

Response to Intervention 31 Promoting Student Involvement in Secondary School RTI Intervention Team Meetings Train students in self-advocacy skills to participate at intervention team meetings (can be informal: e.g., conversation with Guidance Counselor) Provide the student with different options to communicate needs, e.g.,: –Learning needs questionnaire –Personal interview prior to meeting –Advocate at meeting to support student Ensure student motivation to take part in the intervention plan (e.g., having student sign ‘Intervention Contract’)

Response to Intervention 32 When Interventions Require Student Participation... Write up a simple ‘Intervention Contract’ that spells out –What the student’s responsibilities are in the intervention plan –A listing of the educators connected to parts of the intervention plan that require student participation--and their responsibilities –A contact person whom the student can approach with questions about the contract Have the student sign the Intervention Contract Provide a copy of the Intervention Contract to the student and parents Train the student to ensure that he or she is capable of carrying out all assigned steps or elements in the intervention plan

Response to Intervention 33 Sample ‘Student Intervention Contract’ p. 19

Response to Intervention 34 If the Student Appears Unwilling to Follow Through With the Plan… 1.Verify that the student has the necessary skills to complete all steps or elements of the intervention plan without difficulty. 2. Check that all adults who have a support role in the student’s personal intervention plan are carrying out their responsibilities consistently and correctly. 3.Hold an ‘Exit’ conference with the student--either with the entire RTI Intervention Team or with the student’s ‘adult contact’. It is recommended that the student’s parent be at this meeting. 4.At the ‘Exit’ meeting: Review all elements of the plan with the student. Share the evidence with the student that he or she appears able to implement every part of the personal intervention plan. Tell the student that he or she is in control—and that the intervention cannot be successful unless the student decides to support it. Tell the student that his or her intervention case is ‘closed’ but that the student can restart the plan at any time by contacting the adult contact.