Developing an Effective RTI Model to Help Struggling Readers: Guidelines for Educators Jim Wright www.interventioncentral.org.

Developing an Effective RTI Model to Help Struggling Readers: Guidelines for Educators Jim Wright

Developing an Effective RTI Literacy Model: Workshop Agenda
RTI & Literacy: Key Concepts Scheduling and Managing a School-Wide RTI Literacy Model Conducting Assessment & Progress-Monitoring Identifying ‘Evidence-Based’ Reading Interventions Web Resources to Support RTI Literacy

RTI & Literacy: Key Concepts

Five Core Components of RTI Service Delivery
Student services are arranged in a multi-tier model Data are collected to assess student baseline levels and to make decisions about student progress Interventions are ‘evidence-based’ The ‘procedural integrity’ of interventions is measured 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,

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

RTI is a Model in Development
“Several proposals for operationalizing response to intervention have been made…The field can expect more efforts like these and, for a time at least, different models to be tested…Therefore, it is premature to advocate any single model.” (Barnett, Daly, Jones, & Lentz, 2004 ) Source: Barnett, D. W., Daly, E. J., Jones, K. M., & Lentz, F.E. (2004). Response to intervention: Empirically based special service decisions from single-case designs of increasing and decreasing intensity. Journal of Special Education, 38,

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.

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.

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

Five Big Ideas in Reading
“Phonemic Awareness: The ability to hear and manipulate sounds in words. Alphabetic Principle: The ability to associate sounds with letters and use these sounds to form words. Fluency with Text: The effortless, automatic ability to read words in connected text. Vocabulary: The ability to understand (receptive) and use (expressive) words to acquire and convey meaning. Comprehension: The complex cognitive process involving the intentional interaction between reader and text to convey meaning.” SOURCE: University of Oregon:

RTI: Understanding Interventions

Interventions, Accommodations & Modifications: Sorting Them Out
Interventions. An academic intervention is a strategy used to teach a new skill, build fluency in a skill, or encourage a child to apply an existing skill to new situations or settings. An intervention is said to be research-based when it has been demonstrated to be effective in one or more articles published in peer–reviewed scientific journals. Interventions might be based on commercial programs such as Read Naturally. The school may also develop and implement an intervention that is based on guidelines provided in research articles—such as Paired Reading (Topping, 1987).

Accommodations. An accommodation is intended to help the student to fully access the general-education curriculum without changing the instructional content. An accommodation for students who are slow readers, for example, may include having them supplement their silent reading of a novel by listening to the book on tape. An accommodation is intended to remove barriers to learning while still expecting that students will master the same instructional content as their typical peers. Informal accommodations may be used at the classroom level or be incorporated into a more intensive, individualized intervention plan.

Modifications. A modification changes the expectations of what a student is expected to know or do—typically by lowering the academic expectations against which the student is to be evaluated. Examples of modifications are reducing the number of multiple-choice items in a test from five to four or shortening a spelling list. Under RTI, modifications are generally not included in a student’s intervention plan, because the working assumption is that the student can be successful in the curriculum with appropriate interventions and accommodations alone.

Big Ideas: The Four Stages of Learning Can Be Summed Up in the ‘Instructional Hierarchy’ (Haring et al., 1978) Student learning can be thought of as a multi-stage process. The universal stages of learning include: Acquisition: The student is just acquiring the skill. Fluency: The student can perform the skill but must make that skill ‘automatic’. Generalization: The student must perform the skill across situations or settings. Adaptation: The student confronts novel task demands that require that the student adapt a current skill to meet new requirements. Source: Haring, N.G., Lovitt, T.C., Eaton, M.D., & Hansen, C.L. (1978). The fourth R: Research in the classroom. Columbus, OH: Charles E. Merrill Publishing Co.

Scheduling & Managing a Schoolwide RTI Literacy Model

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

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?

Building Tier 1 Capacity in the Teaching of Reading: Example of Differentiating Instruction
In grades K-3, teachers can differentiate instruction for children during the block of ‘core literacy instruction’ through flexible small-group instruction. Reading centers are set up in the classroom, at which students might work in groups, in pairs, or individually. These centers might be designed for students to access independently or to be teacher-led. Group sizes can range from 3-5 for ‘struggling students’ up to 5-7 for those students who are on grade level. Source: Kosanovich, M., Ladinsky, K., Nelson, L., & Torgesen, J. (n.d.). Differentiated reading instruction: Small group alternative lesson structures for all students. Florida Center for Reading Research. Retrieved on November 5, 2008, from

Building Tier 1 Capacity in the Teaching of Reading: Example of Differentiating Instruction (Cont.)
Reading center activities can include guided reading and skills-focused lessons. ‘Guided reading’ activities provide more general reading instruction. The teacher guides a group discussion of the text (e.g., selection of the text, introducing the text to students, talking about the content of the text, providing instruction in ‘strategic strategies’ to better access the text, etc.). ‘Skills-focused’ lessons provide specific, focused instruction and practice in crucial reading skills (e.g., letter-sound correspondence, phoneme segmentation). Students with similar reading deficits are placed in specific skills-focused groups to allow targeted interventions. Source: Kosanovich, M., Ladinsky, K., Nelson, L., & Torgesen, J. (n.d.). Differentiated reading instruction: Small group alternative lesson structures for all students. Florida Center for Reading Research. Retrieved on November 5, 2008, from

Building Tier 1 Capacity in the Teaching of Reading: Example of Differentiating Instruction (Cont.)
The teacher determines the composition and instructional activities to be used in reading centers via ongoing reading assessment information (e.g., DIBELS progress-monitoring data, classroom observations, etc.). The teacher creates a master ‘reading center’ schedule ( a series of teacher-led and independent reading centers to accommodate all students in the classroom). Recruitment for reading centers is flexible: Children are assigned to specific reading centers based on their reading profile. Those center assignments are regularly updated based on classroom reading assessment data. Source: Kosanovich, M., Ladinsky, K., Nelson, L., & Torgesen, J. (n.d.). Differentiated reading instruction: Small group alternative lesson structures for all students. Florida Center for Reading Research. Retrieved on November 5, 2008, from

Documenting Tier 1 Interventions
Teachers can conveniently document their Tier 1 (classroom) intervention and progress-monitoring by using the Tier 1 Intervention Planner form (next slide). The Tier 1 Intervention Planner is most useful when it is filled in as part of a conversation with other educators about effective intervention ideas. For example: The teacher can bring the student up for discussion in a planning meeting with other teachers from the same grade level. Together, those instructors can brainstorm intervention strategies that the classroom teacher can try with the student. The teacher may have a list of consultants (e.g., reading specialist, school psychologist, special education teacher, school administrator) with whom that teacher is welcome to meet with to generate additional evidence-based classroom intervention strategies.

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.

Group-Based Tier II Services: How Much Time Should Be Allocated?
Emerging guidelines drawn largely from reading research suggest that standard protocol interventions should consist of at least three to five 30-minute sessions per week, in a group size not to exceed 6 students. Standard protocol interventions should also supplement, rather than replace, core instruction taking place in the classroom. Sources: Burns, Al Otaiba, S. & Torgesen, J. (2007). Effects from intensive standardized kindergarten and first-grade interventions for the prevention of reading difficulties. In S. R. Jimerson, M. K. Burns, & A. M. VanDerHeyden (Eds.), Response to intervention: The science and practice of assessment and intervention (pp ). National Reading Panel. (2000). Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction. Bethesda, MD: National Institute of Child Health & Human Development, National Institutes of Health.

Tier 2: Exploring Use of Non-Instructional Personnel
To expand their intervention capacity, schools may want to explore using people other than teachers to assist with some RTI interventions, including: peer or older student tutors adult volunteers graduate students paraprofessionals Of course, any person serving as a tutor would need to be trained appropriately and their tutoring activities overseen by a certified educator. (Burns & Gibbons, 2008). Source: Burns, M. K., & Gibbons, K. A. (2008). Implementing response-to-intervention in elementary and secondary schools. Routledge: New York.

Tier 2 Resources: Maintain Flexibility by Assigning to Grade Levels
If there are personnel resources available to support classroom RTI (e.g., paraprofessional time, push-in support available from a reading teacher), those resources should be allocated to the grade level, not to individual classrooms. This permits greater flexibility in moving resources around to target shifting student needs. 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.

Scheduling Elementary Tier 2 Interventions
Option 1: Independent Scheduling. Teachers independently schedule their own Tier 2 intervention time. An advantage is flexibility. A disadvantage is that scheduling outside providers to assist is difficult. Anyplace Elementary School: 9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. Grade K Classroom 1 Classroom 2 Classroom 3 Grade 1 Classroom 1 Classroom 2 Classroom 3 Grade 2 Classroom 1 Classroom 2 Classroom 3 Grade 3 Classroom 1 Classroom 2 Classroom 3 Grade 4 Classroom 1 Classroom 2 Classroom 3 Grade 5 Classroom 1 Classroom 2 Classroom 3 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.

Option 2: Schoolwide Shared Schedule. All teachers run Tier 2 interventions at the same time each day. An advantage is the ability to group students across classrooms and grades. A disadvantage is that outside providers cannot provide support to all classrooms. Anyplace Elementary School: 9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. Grade K Classroom 1 Classroom 2 Classroom 3 Grade 1 Classroom 1 Classroom 2 Classroom 3 Grade 2 Classroom 1 Classroom 2 Classroom 3 Grade 3 Classroom 1 Classroom 2 Classroom 3 Grade 4 Classroom 1 Classroom 2 Classroom 3 Grade 5 Classroom 1 Classroom 2 Classroom 3 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.

Option 3: ‘Floating RTI’:Gradewide Shared Schedule. Each grade has a scheduled RTI time across classrooms. No two grades share the same RTI time. Advantages are that outside providers can move from grade to grade providing push-in or pull-out services and that students can be grouped by need across different teachers within the grade. Anyplace Elementary School: RTI Daily Schedule Grade K Classroom 1 Classroom 2 Classroom 3 9:00-9:30 Grade 1 Classroom 1 Classroom 2 Classroom 3 9:45-10:15 Grade 2 Classroom 1 Classroom 2 Classroom 3 10:30-11:00 Grade 3 Classroom 1 Classroom 2 Classroom 3 12:30-1:00 Grade 4 Classroom 1 Classroom 2 Classroom 3 1:15-1:45 Grade 5 Classroom 1 Classroom 2 Classroom 3 2:00-2:30 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.

Secondary Students: Should Interventions Be ‘Off-Level’ or Focus on Grade-Level Academics?
There is a lack of consensus about how to address the academic needs of students with deficits in basic skills in secondary grades (Espin & Tindal, 1998). Should the student be placed in remedial instruction at a point of ‘instructional match’ to address those basic-skill deficits? (Instruction is adjusted down to the student) Or is time better spent providing the student with compensatory strategies to learn grade-level content and ‘work around’ those basic-skill deficits? (Student is brought up to current instruction) Source: Espin, C. A., & Tindal, G. (1998). Curriculum-based measurement for secondary students. In M. R. Shinn (Ed.) Advanced applications of curriculum-based measurement. New York: Guilford Press.

Remediating Academic Deficits: The Widening Curriculum Gap…
Reading Fluency Small academic gap (elementary school). Student is only mildly off-level. The building curriculum overlaps the student’s point of ‘instructional match’. Subject-Area Rdng Comprehension Rdng-Basic Comprehension Rdng Fluency K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Rdng-Basic Comprehension Reading Fluency Widening academic gap (middle school). Student is significantly off-level. The building curriculum barely overlaps the student’s point of ‘instructional match’. Subject-Area Rdng Comprehension Rdng-Basic Comprehension Rdng Fluency K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Largest academic gap (high school). Student is significantly off-level. The building curriculum does not overlap the student’s point of ‘instructional match’ at all. Rdng-Basic Comprehension Subject-Area Rdng Comprehension Rdng-Basic Comprehension Rdng Fluency K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Tier 2 ‘Standard Protocol’ Treatments: Strengths & Limits in Secondary Settings
Research indicates that students do well in targeted small-group interventions (4-6 students) when the intervention ‘treatment’ is closely matched to those students’ academic needs (Burns & Gibbons, 2008). However, in secondary schools: students are sometimes grouped for remediation by convenience rather than by presenting need. Teachers instruct across a broad range of student skills, diluting the positive impact of the intervention. students often present with a unique profile of concerns that does not lend itself to placement in a group intervention. 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.

Caution About Secondary Tier 2 Standard-Protocol Interventions: Avoid the ‘Homework Help’ Trap
Tier 2 group-based or standard-protocol interventions are an efficient method to deliver targeted academic support to students (Burns & Gibbons, 2008). However, students should be matched to specific research-based interventions that address their specific needs. RTI intervention support in secondary schools should not take the form of unfocused ‘homework help’.

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.

Tier 3 Interventions Are Developed With Assistance from the School’s RTI (Problem-Solving) Team
Effective RTI Teams: Are multi-disciplinary and include classroom teachers among their members Follow a structured ‘problem-solving’ model Use data to analyze the academic problem and match the student to effective, evidence-based interventions Develop a detailed research-based intervention plan to help staff with implementation Check up on the teacher’s success in carrying out the intervention (‘intervention integrity’)

The Problem-Solving Model & Multi-Disciplinary Teams
A school consultative process (‘the problem-solving model’) with roots in applied behavior analysis was developed (e.g., Bergan, 1995) that includes 4 steps: Problem Identification Problem Analysis Plan Implementation Problem Evaluation Originally designed for individual consultation with teachers, the problem-solving model was later adapted in various forms to multi-disciplinary team settings. Source: Bergan, J. R. (1995). Evolution of a problem-solving model of consultation. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 6(2),

Tier 3 Targets: Intervention, Curriculum, and Environment
“For [a tier 3] intervention to be effective and robust, it must focus on the specific needs of the student. It should also address the reason that the student is experiencing difficulty…. Rather than considering a [student] problem to be the result of inalterable student characteristics, teams are compelled to focus on change that can be made to the intervention, curriculum or environment that would result in positive student outcome. The hypothesis and intervention 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.

Tier 3: Scripting Interventions to Promote Better Compliance
Interventions should be written up in a ‘scripted’ format to ensure that: Teachers have sufficient information about the intervention to implement it correctly; and External observers can view the teacher implementing the intervention strategy and—using the script as a checklist—verify that each step of the intervention was implemented correctly (‘treatment integrity’). Source: Burns, M. K., & Gibbons, K. A. (2008). Implementing response-to-intervention in elementary and secondary schools. Routledge: New York.

Intervention Script Builder Form

Advancing Through RTI: Flexibility in the Tiers
For purposes of efficiency, students should be placed in small-group instruction at Tier 2. In early reading instruction, this intervention option is usually simple to implement. However, group interventions may not always be possible because –due to scheduling or other issues—no group is available. (For example, students with RTI behavioral referrals may not have a group intervention available.) In such a case, the student will go directly to the problem-solving process (Tier 3)—typically through a referral to the school RTI Team. Nonetheless, the school must still document the same minimum number of interventions attempted for every student in RTI, whether or not a student first received interventions in a group setting.

Increasing the Intensity of an Intervention: Key Dimensions
Interventions can move up the RTI Tiers through being intensified across several dimensions, including: Student-teacher ratio Length of intervention sessions Frequency of intervention sessions Duration of the intervention period (e.g., extending an intervention from 5 weeks to 10 weeks) Type of intervention strategy or materials used Motivation strategies Source: Burns, M. K., & Gibbons, K. A. (2008). Implementing response-to-intervention in elementary and secondary schools. Routledge: New York. Kratochwill, T. R., Clements, M. A., & Kalymon, K. M. (2007). Response to intervention: Conceptual and methodological issues in implementation. In Jimerson, S. R., Burns, M. K., & VanDerHeyden, A. M. (Eds.), Handbook of response to intervention: The science and practice of assessment and intervention. New York: Springer.

NYSED RTI Guidance Memo: April 2008

“The Regents policy framework for RtI: Defines RtI to minimally include: Appropriate instruction delivered to all students in the general education class by qualified personnel. Appropriate instruction in reading means scientific research-based reading programs that include explicit and systematic instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary development, reading fluency (including oral reading skills) and reading comprehension strategies. Screenings applied to all students in the class to identify those students who are not making academic progress at expected rates.”

“Instruction matched to student need with increasingly intensive levels of targeted intervention and instruction for students who do not make satisfactory progress in their levels of performance and/or in their rate of learning to meet age or grade level standards. Repeated assessments of student achievement which should include curriculum based measures to determine if interventions are resulting in student progress toward age or grade level standards. The application of information about the student’s response to intervention to make educational decisions about changes in goals, instruction and/or services and the decision to make a referral for special education programs and/or services.”

“Written notification to the parents when the student requires an intervention beyond that provided to all students in the general education classroom that provides information about the: -amount and nature of student performance data that will be collected and the general education services that will be provided; -strategies for increasing the student’s rate of learning; and -parents’ right to request an evaluation for special education programs and/or services.”

“The Regents policy framework for RtI: Defines RtI to minimally include: Requires each school district to establish a plan and policies for implementing school-wide approaches and prereferral interventions in order to remediate a student’s performance prior to referral for special education, which may include the RtI process as part of a district’s school-wide approach. The school district must select and define the specific structure and components of its RtI program, including, but not limited to the: -criteria for determining the levels of intervention to be provided to students, -types of interventions, amount and nature of student performance data to be collected, and -manner and frequency for progress monitoring.”

RTI Literacy: Conducting Assessment & Progress-Monitoring

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.

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.

Letter-Naming Fluency (DIBELS) Initial Sound Fluency (DIBELS)
Reading ‘Big Idea’ (U of Oregon) Sample Benchmarking/Progress-Monitoring Tools “Phonemic Awareness: The ability to hear and manipulate sounds in words.” Letter-Naming Fluency (DIBELS) Initial Sound Fluency (DIBELS) Phoneme Segmentation Fluency (DIBELS) “Alphabetic Principle: The ability to associate sounds with letters and use these sounds to form words” Nonsense Word Fluency (DIBELS) “Fluency with Text: The effortless, automatic ability to read words in connected text.” Oral Reading Fluency (DIBELS) “Comprehension: The complex cognitive process involving the intentional interaction between reader and text to convey meaning.” Maze Passages (AimsWeb) SOURCE: University of Oregon:

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.

Sample Peer Tutoring Chart

X X Tier 3 Intervention: Jared: Intervention Phase 1: Weeks 1-6 F 3/7
1 13 1 17 1 20 1 24 1 27 1 31 2 3 2 7 2 10 2 14 2 24 2 28 3 3 3 7 3 10 3 14 3 17 3 21 3 24 3 28 3 31 4 4 4 7 4 11 4 14 4 18 Tier 3 Intervention: Jared: Intervention Phase 1: Weeks 1-6 X X F 3/7 82 CRW W 1/29 77 CRW Th 2/27 79 CRW M 2/3 75 CRW Th 2/13 75 CRW W 1/22 71 CRW

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 ).

Example: Using Local Reading Norms in Coordination with Research Norms

In their current number form, these data are not easy to interpret.
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 4th-grade students were administered oral reading fluency Curriculum-Based Measurement passages at the 4th-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.

Baylor Elementary School : Grade Norms: Correctly Read Words Per Min : Sample Size: 23 Students January Benchmarking Group Norms: Correctly Read Words Per Min: Book 4-1: Raw Data 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 Correctly Read Words-Book 4-1 Group Norms: Converted to Box-Plot Median (2nd Quartile)=71 1st Quartile=43 3rd Quartile=108 Billy=19 Low Value=31 Hi Value=131

Identifying ‘Evidence-Based’ Reading Interventions

Tier 1: What Are the Recommended Elements of ‘Core Curriculum’
Tier 1: What Are the Recommended Elements of ‘Core Curriculum’?: More Research Needed “In essence, we now have a good beginning on the evaluation of Tier 2 and 3 interventions, but no idea about what it will take to get the core curriculum to work at Tier 1. A complicating issue with this potential line of research is that many schools use multiple materials as their core program.” p. 640 Source: Kovelski, J. F. (2007). Response to intervention: Considerations for research and systems change. School Psychology Review, 36,

Schools Need to Review Tier 1 (Classroom) Interventions to Ensure That They Are Supported By Research There is a lack of agreement about what is meant by ‘scientifically validated’ classroom (Tier I) interventions. Districts should establish a ‘vetting’ process—criteria for judging whether a particular instructional or intervention approach should be considered empirically based. 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.

Limitations of Intervention Research…
“…the list of evidence-based interventions is quite small relative to the need [of RTI]…. Thus, limited dissemination of interventions is likely to be a practical problem as individuals move forward in the application of RTI models in applied settings.” p. 33 Source: Kratochwill, T. R., Clements, M. A., & Kalymon, K. M. (2007). Response to intervention: Conceptual and methodological issues in implementation. In Jimerson, S. R., Burns, M. K., & VanDerHeyden, A. M. (Eds.), Handbook of response to intervention: The science and practice of assessment and intervention. New York: Springer.

RTI Interventions: What If There is No Commercial Intervention Package or Program Available?
“Although commercially prepared programs and the subsequent manuals and materials are inviting, they are not necessary. … A recent review of research suggests that interventions are research based and likely to be successful, if they are correctly targeted and provide explicit instruction in the skill, an appropriate level of challenge, sufficient opportunities to respond to and practice the skill, and immediate feedback on performance…Thus, these [elements] could be used as criteria with which to judge potential tier 2 interventions.” p. 88 Source: Burns, M. K., & Gibbons, K. A. (2008). Implementing response-to-intervention in elementary and secondary schools. Routledge: New York.

Research-Based Elements of Effective Academic Interventions
‘Correctly targeted’: The intervention is appropriately matched to the student’s academic or behavioral needs. ‘Explicit instruction’: Student skills have been broken down “into manageable and deliberately sequenced steps and providing overt strategies for students to learn and practice new skills” p.1153 ‘Appropriate level of challenge’: The student experiences adequate success with the instructional task. ‘High opportunity to respond’: The student actively responds at a rate frequent enough to promote effective learning. ‘Feedback’: The student receives prompt performance feedback about the work completed. Source: Burns, M. K., VanDerHeyden, A. M., & Boice, C. H. (2008). Best practices in intensive academic interventions. In A. Thomas & J. Grimes (Eds.), Best practices in school psychology V (pp ). Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.

Staying Current on Intervention Research: Recommendations
Bookmark intervention evaluation sites such as the What Works Clearinghouse ( and check them periodically for updated information Appoint a ‘knowledge broker’ in your school for every major intervention target (e.g., reading fluency, reading comprehension, applied math concepts, acting-out behaviors). Allow that knowledge broker opportunities to stay current on intervention (and assessment) developments in their chosen intervention topic area. Put on the agenda for the RTI Steering Group to meet periodically to discuss intervention developments in those areas of high interest to your school. Discuss for example directions being pursued by your state education department (state standards, etc.), publication of national consensus documents (e.g., National Mathematics Advisory Panel Report of March 2008), etc.

Web Resources to Support RTI Literacy

RTI Literacy: ‘Top 5’ Recommended Resources
What Works Clearinghouse: National Center on Student Progress Monitoring: Curriculum Maps: Big Ideas in Beginning Reading: Differentiated reading instruction: Small group alternative lesson structures for all students. Florida Center for Reading Research: smallGroupAlternativeLessonStructures.pdf Focus on Response to Intervention: RTI Resource Library. International Reading Association:

Developing an Effective RTI Model to Help Struggling Readers: Guidelines for Educators Jim Wright www.interventioncentral.org.

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Presentation on theme: "Developing an Effective RTI Model to Help Struggling Readers: Guidelines for Educators Jim Wright www.interventioncentral.org."— Presentation transcript:

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Developing an Effective RTI Model to Help Struggling Readers: Guidelines for Educators Jim Wright www.interventioncentral.org.

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Presentation on theme: "Developing an Effective RTI Model to Help Struggling Readers: Guidelines for Educators Jim Wright www.interventioncentral.org."— Presentation transcript:

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About project

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