1. Dynamic Assessment and Response to Intervention
Carol S. Lidz, Psy.D.

2. The Issues:
Controversy re definitions of specific learning disabilities
Large increase in numbers of children diagnosed with SLD (therefore, increasing costs)
Dissatisfaction with reliance on discrepancy formulae

3. Response to issues:
2004 update of IDEA (IDEIA: Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act) allowed the use of RTI that incorporated scientific and evidence-based interventions to be included in classification of students as SLD as part of a comprehensive assessment.
Use of discrepancy formulae were no longer required (though not disallowed)

4. What is Response to Intervention?
May serve as source of evidence that contributes to classification of student as LD
Usually installed as a school-wide practice
Usually focuses on reading in early primary grades

5. What is Response to Intervention?
Usually expressed as a multi-tiered process, e.g.,
Tier (Step) 1: school-wide screening to identify students “at risk” for failure
Tier (Step) 2: provision of regular evidence-based classroom instruction & monitoring of these students re their response to the intervention
Tier (Step) 3: two months of supplementary diagnostic instruction for at-risk students, & monitoring of their RTI
Tier (Step) 4: referral of Tier 3 non-responders for individual comprehensive assessment

6. Some Key RTI Features Focus on monitoring
Relies on use of evidence-based interventions/instruction
Data typically rely on curriculum-based assessment

7. Positive Aspects of RTI
Enables service to students with mild special needs without requiring classification
Encourages use of evidence-based practices, and, therefore, concern with noting and gathering evidence
Can result in early identification and “prevention”

8. Negative Aspects of RTI
Can involve considerable amount of time
May delay service to children with more complex, severe needs
Assumes awareness of, availability of, use of, evidence-based practices
In the end, is a “failure-based” model, i.e. children move through based on their non-response
Assessment is used to provide evidence re response or non-response
i.e., not to otherwise inform instruction
Could result in making children who do respond below Tier 4 ineligible for LD classification

9. DA & RTI Similarities
Focus on outcomes of intervention for learner. i.e., response of learner to
the intervention
Concerned with evidence-base for interventions
Emphasis on what to do with, rather than with what to call, learner
Provides within-child comparisons

10. DA & RTI Differences DA: Test-teach-test model
Assessment used to determine effective interventions for individuals, i.e. individual-based
Takes some (not necessarily a lot of) time
RTI:
Teach-test-teach model
Assessment used to monitor progress of children taught in groups, i.e., system-wide
Takes even more time

11. DA & RTI Differences, cont’d
Independent of issues of classification
Theory-based
Evidence for choice of intervention is single-case study of individual to whom it will apply
RTI
Tied to special education classification
Atheoretical
Evidence for choice of intervention is group-based

12. DA & RTI Differences, cont’d
Increasingly large number of research studies
Process + content focus
(how)
RTI
Not yet well documented with research
Content focus (what)

13. Challenges to Both DA & RTI
Operationalization of concepts and practices, e.g., response, evidence, learning disability
Basis for establishing validity and reliability for assessments
Training, monitoring teachers and consultants
RTI & DA have been developing in parallel universes. Researchers concerned with RTI for the most part (exceptions: Gigorenko and the Fuchs’) ignore DA

14. The Best of Both Worlds
RTI needs to be freed from alignment with special education and classification
DA needs to be embedded within system-wide RTI and used at strategic points to increase efficiency and individualization of services
The goal: for students to receive high quality appropriate education quickly and appropriately
School systems should become data-oriented as well as data-generators. Classrooms need to be research-based laboratories.