1. Intensive Intervention: What it is, Who It’s for, and Why it’s Important
October 17, 2016
This document was produced under U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, Award No. H326Q Celia Rosenquist serves as the project officer. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the positions or policies of the U.S. Department of Education. No official endorsement by the U.S. Department of Education of any product, commodity, service or enterprise mentioned in this document is intended or should be inferred.

2. Today’s Presenters
Lou Danielson: Director, National Center on Intensive Intervention (NCII)
Rebecca Zumeta Edmonds: Co-Director, NCII
Doug Fuchs: Vanderbilt University, Director and Principal Investigator, Accelerating the Academic Achievement of Students with Learning Disabilities Research Initiative
Lynn Fuchs: Vanderbilt University, Principal Investigator, Accelerating the Academic Achievement of Students with Learning Disabilities Research Initiative

3. Today’s Presentation
What is intensive intervention and why do we need it?
National Center on Intensive Intervention’s (NCII) technical assistance and resources
Looking toward the future: Research advances in intensive intervention

4. What is Intensive Intervention?
Intensive intervention addresses severe and persistent learning or behavior difficulties. Intensive intervention should be
Driven by data
Characterized by increased intensity (e.g., smaller group, expanded time) and individualization of academic instruction and/or behavioral supports

5. Data-Based Individualization : A framework for intensive intervention encompassing academics and social behavior

6. DBI Assumptions
Students with disabilities who require special education need specially designed instruction to progress toward standards.
A data-driven, systematized approach can help educators develop programs likely to yield success for students with intensive needs.

7. DBI Assumptions
DBI is a distinctively different and more intensive approach to intervention, compared to primary prevention’s (Tier 1’s) core program and secondary prevention’s (Tier 2’s) validated, supplementary programs (NCII, 2013).
In a longstanding program of field-based randomized controlled trials, DBI has demonstrated improved reading, math, and spelling outcomes, compared with business-as-usual special education practice (e.g., Fuchs, Fuchs, & Hamlett, 1989).

8. Who Needs it?
Students with disabilities who are not making adequate progress in their current instructional program
Students who present with very low academic achievement and/or high-intensity or high-frequency behavior problems (typically those with disabilities)
Students in a tiered intervention system who have not responded to secondary intervention programs delivered with fidelity

9. Why do we need intensive intervention?

10. NAEP Reading, Percentage of Fourth-Grade Students at or Above “Proficient” (1998–2015)
This graph compares the performance across time of students with disabilities (bottom line) and without disabilities (top line) in fourth-grade reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). 12 percent of fourth-graders with disabilities performed at or above the “Proficient” level on the NAEP in 2015, compared to 40 percent of their non-disabled peers. This proficiency rate is up from 11 percent in 2011 (p < .05). Patterns are similar at eighth grade (8 percent Proficient) and for mathematics (16 percent at fourth grade and 8 percent at eighth grade).
Continuing a decade long trend, NAEP data highlight a discrepancy of 30 percentage points between students with IEPs and total student performance (The NAEP Data Explorer Data; The Special Ed Connection, November 12, 2013). Whether measured by grade level proficiency, grade-point average, or credits earned, students with disabilities consistently
fall behind their classmates (Blackorby et al., 2007; Council for Exceptional Children, 2013; Newman et al., 2011a; USED, 2012b; Wagner et al., 2006).
(Downloaded from
Additional information:
The NAEP DATA explorer reports that 67 and 45 percent of fourth-graders with IEPs performed below “below basic” in reading and math respectively in Similarly, 63 and 68 percent of eighth-graders with IEPs performed below “below basic” in reading and math respectively in 2015.
Students w/ no identified disability
Students w/ disabilities (

11. Why Do We Need Intensive Intervention?
More Help
Validated programs are not universally effective programs; 3 to 5 percent of students need more help (Fuchs et al., 2008; NCII, 2013).
More Practice
Students with intensive needs often require 10–30 times more practice than peers to learn new information (Gersten et al., 2008).

12. History of Federal Efforts to Improve Outcomes
IDEA 1997 Amendments
Assessments introduced for students with disabilities
No Child Left Behind
Students with disabilities included as a subgroup that schools are held accountable for
IDEA 2004 Amendments
Performance Measures
Results Driven Accountability
Focus on results

13. Current Context for Results Driven Accountability (RDA)
In 2014 OSEP announced the vision for a revised accountability system in special education to emphasize improved results for students with disabilities
The new accountability system would provide comprehensive, integrated strategies to support SWDs

14. Basics of RDA
RDA is based on this premise: the results we want to achieve drive the actions we need to take:
What improved outcomes for students with disabilities do we hope to achieve?
What actions must we take to achieve those outcomes?

15. Why is understanding RDA important?
Meeting RDA goals will require a focus on improving instruction and intervention.
States will be in need of support on how to provide intensive intervention for the kids who need it the most, including—
Evidence-based intervention strategies
Overcoming implementation barriers
Making connections to other state, district, and school initiatives

16. Thinking About Intervention Levels/Tiers in MTSS
Primary (T1)
Secondary (T2)
Intensive (T3)
Instruction/
Intervention Approach
Comprehensive research-based curriculum
Standardized, targeted small-group instruction
Individualized, based on student data
Group Size
Class-wide (with some small group instruction)
3–7 students
No more than 3 students
Monitor Progress
1x per term
At least 1x per month
Weekly
Population Served
All students
At-risk students
Significant and persistent learning needs
Review table. Highlight the differences between the tiers in terms of:
Increasingly focused/tailored approach
Decreasing group size
Increasing frequency of progress monitoring
Increasing student need

17. NCII Technical Assistance

18. Implementation Support for Intensive Intervention Targeting:
State departments of education
School districts
Schools
Inservice/preservice teacher preparation programs

19. Capacity to Implement Intensive Intervention
Implementation Supports
DBI Knowledge and Skills
Readiness

20. Resources: Getting Ready for Implementation

21. Resources: Developing Knowledge and Skills about DBI
Tools charts for identifying evidence-based interventions and assessments (
DBI Training series ( series)
Sample lessons and activities in reading, math, and behavior (
Videos (
Webinars(

22. Resources: Implementation Support

23. Connect to NCII
Sign up on our website intensiveintervention.org to receive our newsletter and announcements
Follow us on YouTube and Twitter
YouTube Channel: National Center on Intensive Intervention
Twitter

24. Next Steps for Intensive Intervention
NCSER’s Accelerating the Academic Achievement of Students with Learning Disabilities Initiative
Next Steps for Intensive Intervention
Douglas Fuchs and Lynn Fuchs
Vanderbilt University
Institute of Education Sciences
National Center for Special Education Research
U.S. Department of Education
IES R23413D0003

25. NCSER’s Accelerating the Academic Achievement of Students with Learning Disabilities Initiative
With DBI, intensive intervention begins using an evidence-based program that most closely approximates the target student’s needs.
This is called the Intensive Intervention Platform.
As the DBI process continues, the interventionist uses progress-monitoring data to determine when adjustments to this Intervention Platform are needed to improve the student’s responsiveness to intervention.

26. NCSER’s Accelerating the Academic Achievement of Students with Learning Disabilities Initiative
Intervention Platforms that address the widest range of student needs with the strongest effects decrease the number of program adjustments needed within the DBI process.
NCSER’s Accelerating the Academic Achievement of Students with Learning Disabilities Initiative is developing innovative intensive Interventions Platforms to expand student responsiveness at grades 3-5.

27. These Intervention Innovations
Focus on critical challenges students experience when transitioning to the intermediate grades Reading: Informational text comprehension Mathematics: Fractions and pre-algebra performance Broaden the comprehensiveness of the instructional approaches incorporated and skills addressed Explicitly teach for transfer Embed explicit instruction on language comprehension and executive function into academic skills instruction

28. NCSER’s Accelerating the Academic Achievement of Students with Learning Disabilities Initiative
In this part of the webinar, we provide two examples of innovative components designed to expand responsiveness to intervention.
Capitalizing on the power of prior knowledge to build informational text comprehension
Capitalizing on the power of executive function to build fractions knowledge

29. Intervention Innovation in Reading Capitalizing on the Power of Prior Knowledge to Build Informational Text Comprehension

30. Inferences and Informational Text
Informational text is non-fiction text written to inform the reader about a topic.
Good readers make correct inferences while reading informational text.

31. Prior Knowledge and Inferences
Inference-making occurs when readers connect prior knowledge to part of the text. This strengthens a reader’s understanding of the text.
Poor readers have trouble with inference-making while reading informational text.
They may not know how to make inferences.
They may not have the necessary prior knowledge to make good inferences.

32. Intervention Components
Using Prior Knowledge
Intervention Components
Students learn to answer inference questions about information in the text by using inside-text strategies (see below).
They learn to answer comprehension questions that go beyond the text by using outside-text strategies that require background knowledge.

33. Poor Readers Demonstrate Gaps in Prior Knowledge
Question: Why is the brain the most important organ in your body?
There are several clues in the passage
Elementary-age students are not likely to have prior knowledge about other organs
A poor reader may have difficulty accessing that limited knowledge
Solution: Give students tools to fill gaps in their prior knowledge

34. Notes Why do you need a brain? Studying the Brain Animal Brains
Parts of the Brain
Why are Brains Wrinkly?

35. Using Media to Empower Struggling Readers
Media consumption should be active, not passive:
Students make choices regarding the media they consume
Students answer questions about media
Students engage in substantive discussion around media
Students connect media to text before, during, and after reading
There are several reasons to access media while reading
Increasing interest in the topic/ engagement
Explain a confusing concept/ Provide visual information
Provide necessary background knowledge
Dig deeper/ learn more about a topic
Provide visual information

36. Intervention Innovation in Mathematics: Capitalizing on the Power of Executive Function to Build Fractions Knowledge

37. Executive Function Intervention Components
Students complete a Fractions Super Challenge (CBM) every other week.
Students use performance feedback to track progress, set goals, and help determine direction of their program.
Students learn about grit, the ups and downs of working hard toward math goals, and transferring what’s learned during intervention to math work – in and out of school.

38. The Super Challenge
Each Super Challenge includes every fraction skill taught in the program at that grade level.
Each Super Challenge is an alternate form of equivalent difficulty.
The problem types on each alternate form are the same.
The problem for each skill on each alternate form is different.
Problem types are presented in random order on each Super Challenge.
Students use the Super Challenge graphed scores and skills profiles to track their progress and set goals.

39. What does the Super Challenge look like?
Each grade has different problem types, reflecting the content included in the program at that grade level. Each Super Challenge has 20 problems (front and back). This is page 1 (of 2 pages) at G3.

40. Super Challenge Graph
Hulk
After each Super Challenge, the interventionist scores each student’s performance. Students use graphs to track their progress.

41. Super Challenge Skills Profile
Skills Profile (bottom) shows difficulty level of each skill group for that Super Challenge.
Green = skill group has been taught & practiced
Yellow = recently taught skill group
Red = skill group has yet to be taught
As weeks progress, more and more skills have been taught (are green).
When student gets all problem types in a skill group correct, earns a checkmark for that skill group.
Checkmarks allow student to track progress in the skill groups over time.
Hulk

42. Super Challenge Overlays
Overlays are color coded to help student see to problem difficulty.
green= skill has been taught & practiced
yellow= recently taught skill
red= skill yet to be taught

43. Super Solvers Homework
Students complete Homework Sheets.
They select Homework Sheets to target problem types they want to improve on.
On each homework sheet, student finds a “trick problem” (not same problem type as other problems on the sheet).
Small copy of the program’s help card is shown (bottom left) to assist students (but taught to use the help card only as needed).

44. Power Practice
Power Practice Sheets (individual practice) within lessons also show the lettered problem type next to each problem.
Interventionists use the Power Practice sheets to figure out the problem types the student needs work on and helps interventionists coach Homework choices.

45. Executive Function Intervention Components
Students complete a Fractions Super Challenge (CBM) every other week.
Use performance feedback to track progress, set goals, and help determine direction of their program.
Learn about grit, the ups and downs of working hard toward math goals, and transferring what’s learned during intervention to other math work, in and out of school.

46. NCSER’s Accelerating the Academic Achievement of Students with Learning Disabilities Initiative
As part of this NCSER initiative, these and other intervention components are being developed; integrated into comprehensive intervention programs; and rigorously tested.
The goal is to strengthen Intensive Intervention Platforms to further strengthen outcomes.

47. Award
This presentation was funded by Award No. H326Q from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, and Grant No. R324D from the U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences National Center on Special Education Research.

48. Disclaimer
This presentation was produced under the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, Award No. H326Q Celia Rosenquist serves as the project officer. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the positions or policies of the U.S. Department of Education. No official endorsement by the U.S. Department of Education of any product, commodity, service, or enterprise mentioned in this webinar is intended or should be inferred. 48

49. Contacts 1000 Thomas Jefferson Street NW Washington, DC 20007-3835