All About RtI

1. All About RtI J. Randall Davidson, Ed.D. Educational Consultant November 14, 2009

2. Table of Contents • Where did it all start? The beginnings of RtI • Building Daily Success In the Classroom • NCLB, RtI,Behavior RtI, IDEA ‘04, and§ 504:The one room school house! • Discipline or Academics?Discipline and Academics! • Co-Teaching Tips

3. Chapter 1 Where did it all start? The beginnings of RtI

4. Where did it all start? What was the concern? • HR 1350, Improving Education Results for Children with Disabilities Act of 2003 • (A) Certain of the categories of disability that allow students to qualify for benefits under the IDEA have not been scientifically established and, as a result, some children who do not have actual learning disabilities are classified as having disabilities under that Act. • (B.) Nearly one in eight students is now labeled as disabled. • (C) Over one-half of those students are classified as having learning and behavioral challenges.

5. Where did it all start? (cont.) • (D) Current definitions of disabilities in the Code of Federal Regulations, particularly the definition of `emotional disturbance', are vague and ambiguous. • (E) The absence of reliable methods for distinguishing children with a special learning disability from children who have lower than expected achievement leads to over-identification and misidentification of non-disabled students as students with disabilities.

7. Where did it all start? (cont.) • (F) The lack of consistently applied diagnostic criteria for specific learning disabilities makes it possible to diagnose almost any low or underachieving child as a student with a disability…..

8. Where did it all start? (cont.) • PL 108 446 IDEIA 2004 • Changed how to identify children with specific learning disabilities. IDEA 2004 says schools “shall not be required to take into consideration whether a child has a severe discrepancy between achievement and intellectual ability in oral expression, listening comprehension, written expression, basic reading skill, reading comprehension, mathematical calculation, or mathematical reasoning.” (Section 1414(b))

9. Where did it all start? (cont.) • In the, the explanation and commentary to the IDEA 2004 regulations the U. S. Department of Education describes reasons why discrepancy models should be abandoned:

10. Where did it all start? (cont.) • IQ-discrepancy criterion is potentially harmful to students as it results in delaying intervention until the student’s achievement is sufficiently low that the discrepancy is achieved. For most students, identification as having an SLD occurs at an age when the academic problems are difficult to remediate with the most intense remediation efforts (Torgesen, et. al., 2001)… the “wait to fail” model does not lead to “closing the achievement gap for most students placed in special education. Many students placed in special education as SLD show minimal gains in achievement and few actually leave special education. (Donovon & Cross, 2002).

11. Where did it all start? (cont.) • Adopt "Response to Intervention" or "Response to Instruction" (RTI) Models • IDEA 2004 states, “In determining whether a child has a specific learning disability, a local educational agency may use a process that determines if the child responds to scientific, research-based intervention…” (Section 1414(b)(6)(B)).

12. Where did it all start? (cont.) • In the explanation and commentary to the IDEA 2004 regulations, the U. S. Department of Education “strongly recommends” that schools use a response to intervention model that • …uses a process based on systematic assessment of the student’s response to high quality, research-based general education instruction…that incorporate response to a research-based intervention…Identification models that incorporate response to intervention represent a shift in special education toward the goals of better achievement and behavioral outcomes for students identified with SLD…”

13. Where did it all start? (cont.) • Diagnosing Learning Disabilities • Psychologists often diagnose learning disabilities by exclusion. If the child has a disability that adversely affects educational performance, and the child is not retarded, does not have a visual, hearing or motor disability, is not emotionally disturbed, and is not negatively affected by environmental, cultural or economic disadvantages, it is likely that the child has a learning disability.

14. Where did it all start? (cont.) • States “may prohibit the use of a severe discrepancy between intellectual ability and achievement,” and “must permit the use of a process that determines if the child responds to scientific, research-based intervention as part of the evaluation procedures,” and “may permit the use of other alternative research-based procedures for determining whether a child has a specific learning disability…”

15. Where did it all start? (cont.)the of the as the will of the to • Over identification • The state has in effect, consistent with the purpose of this title and with section 618(d), (see 1418(d)) policies and procedures [RtI] designed to prevent the inappropriate overidentification or disproportionate representation by race and ethnicity of children as children with disabilities including children with disabilities with a particular impairment described in section 602.

17. RtI • Key Characteristics of RtI • Universal Screening of academics and behavior • Multiple tiers of increasingly intense interventions • Differential curriculum-based interventions • Continuous monitoring of student performance • Benchmark/Outcome assessment

18. RtI • What are interventions? • Targeted assistance based on progress monitoring • Administered by teacher • Provide additional instruction (individual or small group) • Match materials to instructional level • Modify instruction time • Increase task structure

19. RtI • What are interventions? • Increase task relevant practice • Mini-lesson on skills deficits • Decrease group size • Increase amount and type of cues and prompts • Teach additional strategies • Change curriculum • Change types and method of corrective feedback

20. RtI • A Standard Protocol Intervention…. • Is scientifically research-based • Has high probability of producing change for large numbers of students • Is designed to be used in a standard manner across students…..

21. RtI • Tier 1: Benchmark/School-wide • Definition: Students who are making expected progress in the general education curriculum and who demonstrate social competence: • Describes school-wide interventions that are available to all students: • Effective instruction • Clear expectations • Periodic benchmark assessments

22. RtI • Tier 2: Strategic/Targeted • Definition: Academic and behavioral strategies, methodologies and practices designed for students not making expected progress in the general education curriculum and/or have mild to moderate difficulties demonstrating social competence. These students are at risk of failure.

23. RtI • Tier 2: Strategic/Targeted • Use of standard protocol interventions • Scientifically research-based interventions • Academic-reading and mathematics • Behavior • Core instruction with supplemental materials • Differentiated instruction in general education • Specialists assist with strategic instruction in general education classroom

24. RtI • Tier 3: Intensive Interventions • Definition: Academic and behavioral strategies, methodologies and practices designed for students significantly lagging behind established grade-level benchmarks in the general education curriculum or who demonstrate significant difficulties with behavior and social competences.

25. RtI • Tier 3: Intensive Interventions • Use standard protocols • Supplemental instructional materials • Small intensive groups • Can be outside the general education classroom • Tutoring by remedial educators • 10-20 week intervention

26. Building Daily Success In the Classroom Objectives for this session (Ch.1) • Building Daily Success In the Classroom • by using the fundamental components of RtI • by using the RtI problem solving model • by using curriculum based measures (CBM)

27. Chapter 2 Building Daily Success In the Classroom

28. Response to Intervention orResponse to Instruction • What is RtI? • A comprehensive, multi-tiered intervention strategy to enable early identification of and intervention for students at academic or behavioral risk. • An alternative to discrepancy model for the identification of students with learning disabilities.

29. The fundamental components of RtI (Objective 1) • Primary Characteristics of RtI • Systematic • Data-based

30. The fundamental components of RtI • Basic Characteristics of RtI • Universal Screening of academics and behavior • Multiple tiers of increasingly intense interventions • Differential curriculum-based interventions • Continuous monitoring of student performance • Benchmark/Outcome assessment

33. Optimum RtI Configuration Intensive Tier 3 5% Strategic Tier 2 15% Proficient/Advanced Tier 1 80%

34. How It Really Turned Out:Embrace Your Configuration Intensive Strategic Proficient/Advanced

36. The RtI problem solving model (Objective 2)

37. The RtI problem solving model

38. The RtI problem solving model

39. The RtI problem solving model

40. The RtI problem solving model

41. The RtI problem solving model

42. The RtI problem solving model

43. Student Progress Monitoring: Is the student making progress from the intervention?

44. Aimline= 1.50 words/week Trendline = 0.55 words/week Poor RtI

45. RtI • A Standard Protocol Intervention…. • Is scientifically research-based • Has high probability of producing change for large numbers of students • Is designed to be used in a standard manner across students…..

46. Universal Design for Learning calls for ... Multiple means of representation, to give learners various ways of acquiring information and knowledge, Multiple means of action and expression, to provide learners alternatives for demonstrating what they know, Multiple means of engagement, to tap into learners' interests, offer appropriate challenges, and increase motivation. Differentiated Instruction calls for… Tailoring instruction to meet the various needs of students Based on a students Readiness to learn a concept Interest in the concept Use their interest to motivate them to learn Style of learning Use strategies that adjust the content, process and products requested to determine student achievement Universal Design for Learning /Differentiated Instruction

47. Using curriculum based measures (CBM) are at the heart of the RtI model (Objective 3) • CBM is a method of monitoring student educational progress through direct assessment of academic skills. • When using CBM, the instructor gives the student brief, timed samples, or "probes," made up of academic material taken from the child's school curriculum.

48. Using curriculum based measures (CBM) as the heart of the RtI model • These CBM probes are given under standardized conditions. • The child's performance on the CBM probe is scored for speed, or fluency, and for accuracy of performance.

49. Using curriculum based measures (CBM) as the heart of the RtI model • Since CBM probes are quick to administer and simple to score, they can be repeated (for example, twice per week). • The results are then charted to offer the instructor and child a visual record of a targeted rate of academic progress.

50. Using curriculum based measures (CBM) as the heart of the RtI model • “Test what you teach and teach what you test.” • The CBM is an alignment with the curriculum. • CBM will look very much like a teaching activity.