Assignment 6

One of the key components of education is called Response To Intervention, or RTI. RTI is a method of academic intervention to provide assistance to those students with learning difficulties. The purpose of RTI is to prevent academic failure by way of process measurement (continuous monitoring of student progress), early intervention, and instructional interventions based on research. Educators then take these measurements/processes (data) to make educational decisions. For instance, educators might make determinations regarding which students are meeting expected reading benchmarks, release them from the intervention process, then continue to provide interventions for those students who are not reaching benchmarks.

There are three tiers of service delivery within the RTI model which provide increasingly intensive academic interventions, possibly leading to a placement in a special education classroom. Tier one includes most general education students learning the core curriculum. In this tier, it is assumed that 80% or more of the students will participate in all subject areas and be able to read at grade-level. Tier two includes those students (usually about 20%) who are not performing optimally in tier one and need supplementary services and small group instruction. Tier two provides a higher level of support to students who are struggling in the general education classroom and includes intervention methods such as behavioral contracts, extra classes to learn concepts (example: reading strategies), weekly report cards, and therapy sessions. Tier three is the most intense level and includes 5-10% of students. The interventions in tier three are more individualized (may include one-to-one instruction) and are delivered more frequently and for a longer duration of time. Students who are given tier three instruction are often two or more grade levels behind other students and may potentially have a learning disability (may have a referral to special education).

Students may move back and forth between the tiers depending on succession. Success is based on data collected from the research-based interventions and instructional methods used in the specific tiers. For example, rules/guidelines may be created to determine when a student might no longer require extra interventions, when the interventions need to be altered, or when a student might need special education services.