Responsiveness to Instruction RtI Tier III

Before beginning Tier III Review Tier I & Tier II for … oClear beginning & ending dates oIntervention design

Tier I  Focus: Ongoing monitoring and adjustments of instruction are designed to meet the needs of students.  Design: Specific to the student’s learning profile Utilization of flexible grouping for differentiation of instruction based on skill level Research-based classroom interventions designed to achieve grade-level content expectations Minimum 2 to 3 intervention sessions per week  Interventionist: Primarily the classroom teacher and parent. Other school personnel may be involved in rare cases, when identified by need.  Setting: Intervention sessions should be occurring primarily in the general education classroom.  Progress Monitoring: Must take place a minimum of once a month

Tier II  Focus: Student receives supplementary instruction, in addition to the core instruction. The intention of the supplementary instruction is to provide time-limited interventions with the goal of accelerating student learning to meet grade level expectations.  Design: Specific to the student’s learning profile Minimum of 2 interventions per area of need Minimum 3 to 4 intervention sessions per week At least one intervention session per week must be provided in a small group setting (maximum of 5 to 7 students)  Interventionist: Classroom teacher and other school personnel as identified by need.  Setting: Appropriate setting as determined by the need; can be conducted in and out of the general education classroom.  Progress Monitoring: Must take place a minimum of once every two weeks.

Before beginning Tier III Review Tier I & Tier II for … oClear beginning & ending dates oIntervention design oImplementation & evidence

Reflective Questions  Implementation Did the delivery of interventions follow the plan with consistency and accuracy? Is progress monitoring of the intervention used and adjustments made as needed. Did the intervention match the student’s specific need? If the answer is “no” to any of the above questions, you must first make adjustments to the plan before considering moving the student to Tier III

Reflective Questions  Evidence Does the instruction or the intervention decrease the student’s learning gap (learning rate)? Does the intervention reduce the problem behavior and/or increase the desired behavior? Does progress monitoring data determine the intervention to be effective? Does student performance improve as measured by assessment(s)?

Activities at Tier III Steps of cyclical problem-solving model repeat but in a more formal and systematic way and with the RTI team.

RTI Team  A collaborative team of general and special educators, including parents, who implement the RtI/problem-solving process for student at risk for school failure.  Recommended Team Participants consists of referring teacher, parent, administrator, psychologist, EC staff member, counselor, regular education representative, anyone else needed.

Tier III Forms Tier III

Define the Problem  In general - Identify initial concern General description of problem Prioritize and select target behavior Describe what is known about problem and generate questions  Environment  Instruction  Curriculum  Learner

Four Domains  Environment How environment effects learning - arrangement of classroom, material, media equipment  Curricular Is curriculum appropriate for student? Consider sequence of objectives, teaching methods, and practice materials provided  Instructional Manner in which teacher uses curriculum Consider instructional techniques, presentation style, questioning, feedback techniques  Learner Student skill - necessary prerequisite skills Student process - capacity to learn and problem solving techniques

RIOT  Review, Interview, Observe, Test Review records and work samples, interview staff and parents, testing involves CBM Proceed from general to specific  Global  Specific questions aimed at answering assessment questions

Analysis of Assessment Plan  Review data - can’t do or won’t do  Calculate discrepancy between baseline and acceptable level of performance  Baseline is median of three measures  Indicate standard  Make an informed statement as to why the problem is occurring  Make a prediction regarding intervention  Chart and set goal

Prediction and Goal Setting  Without goal setting, it is impossible to judge progress and determine effectiveness of intervention  Goal statements are based on baseline data  Written in specific and measurable terms

Goal Statement Definition  Specific description of change you expect to see in student’s behavior as a result of the intervention Includes behavior to change Conditions that will bring about change Level of behavior that is expected

Definition Continue  Short-term goals describe progress student is expected to make in a short period of time - during the intervention phase  Long-term goals describe progress student is expected to make in a year - often associated with a program, sometimes with intervention phase

Goal Statement  Behavior needs to be measurable, observable, and specific - focus on increasing positive behaviors, rather than decreasing negative ones  For academic issues conditions include: timeline, measurement, situation, and measurement materials used  For behavior issues conditions include: timeline, setting, environmental stimuli that will elicit behavior  Level of behavior that is expected

Ways to Establish Expected Level of Behavior  Norms/percentile cutoffs  Gap Analysis  Realistic/ambitious growth  Growth rates

Develop Intervention Plan  Procedures (Instructional Strategies)  Arrangements  Timeframe  Person(s) Responsible  Measurement Strategy  Evaluation Plan

Tier III  Focus: Student receives supplementary instruction that consists of intensive individualized interventions.  Design: Specific to the student’s learning profile. At least one intervention session per week must be provided in a small group setting (maximum of 1 to 5 students)  Time: Before a student can move to Tier IV, the student must be receiving interventions for a minimum of: One skill area - Two hours per week Two skill areas - Three hours per week Three or more skill areas - Five hours per week  Interventionist: Classroom teacher and other school personnel as identified by need.  Setting: Appropriate setting as determined by the need; can be conducted in and out of the general education classroom  Progress Monitoring: Must take place a minimum of two to three times a week.

Evaluation Plan  Frequency of data collection  Strategies to be used to summarize data for evaluation  Number of data points or length of time before data analysis/decision rule

Key to Tier III  Progress Monitoring Frequent- 2 to 3 times a week Standard against which progress can be compared (Trend Line) Allows for aim line to be established Graph Decision Making Plan

 If the graph shows scores are increasing above the aimline: Raise the Performance Goal  When at least 6 scores and at least 3 weeks have passed since goal was set, examine the 4 most recent scores.  When all scores are above the aimline, then raising the goal is recommended.

Decision Making Plan  If the graph shows scores have not significantly changed or that they fall below the aimline: Change the Intervention  Examine the most recent 3 to 4 data points to help you make the decision.

Other Possible Decisions  Student is performing at/around goal line Continue with same goal  Student is performing below goal line despite modifying interventions Consider entitlement

Decision Making Plan  If the decision is to adjust an intervention, small changes or refinements are recommended before major changes.  Changes should be substantial enough that it has a possibility to result in improved student performance  If making an adjustment, do not make two at the same time. It may result in the team being unable to determine what caused increased student performance.

Decision Making Plan Considering Eligibility  Three complete phases of intervention plan Rule for altering intervention (3 to 4 data points below the aim line)  Consideration of goal What level of performance would be acceptable?  Consideration of “intervention effort” What resources does the intervention take?  Consideration of “dual discrepancy” Performance discrepant from peers (below grade level) Performance rate discrepant from peers (rate of learning - trend lines)

End of Intervention Time  Complete the evaluation section on page 4.  Be sure all screenings have been completed.  Review the data and make a decision.

Decision  Continue with Tier III interventions  Back the student down to Tier II  Recommend Tier IV