Response to Intervention How to Write a District RTI Plan: Guidance for Administrators Jim Wright

Response to Intervention

www.interventioncentral.org

How to Write a District RTI Plan:

Guidance for Administrators

Jim Wrightwww.interventioncentral.org



Writing an RTI Plan: Introduction

Purpose: The introduction can connect the RTI plan to the school’s larger mission. Also, the introduction can lay out the current and future scope of the RTI plan, as envisioned by the district.

2


www.interventioncentral.org 3

RTI Plan: Introduction

p. 1



RTI Plan: Introduction

The introduction to the RTI Plan is an opportunity to:

• provide a brief description of RTI as a context for readers unfamiliar with the model.

• state how RTI supports district initiatives or goals.• describe the current scope of RTI implementation in

your district.• offer a district timeline for the expansion of RTI to cover

additional schools, grade-levels, and/or subject areas.

4



RTI Plan: Introduction: 10 mins• Read the brief

‘introduction’ section of the sample RTI plan.

• Decide what elements should go into this section of your district RTI plan.

5

The introduction to the RTI Plan is an opportunity to:

• provide a brief description of RTI as a context for readers unfamiliar with the model.

• state how RTI supports district initiatives or goals.

• describe the current scope of RTI implementation.

• offer a timeline for the expansion of RTI to cover additional schools, grade-levels, and/or subject areas.



Writing an RTI Plan: Tier 1 Core Instruction

Purpose: As core instruction is the most important element of RTI, this section allows the school to describe it and to define minimum expectations for success.

6



RTI Plan: Tier 1 Core

Instruction p. 1



RTI Plan: Tier 1 Core Instruction

A description of Tier 1 core instruction in the RTI Plan can:

• present the research-based core reading (and perhaps math and writing) programs currently in place.

• disclose the amount of instructional time devoted in every classroom to core instruction by subject area.

• provide a minimum threshold for judging the quality of core instruction (e.g., that at least 80% of students will attain benchmark on the relevant RTI school-wide screening tools).

8



RTI Plan: Tier 1 Core Instruction: 15 mins• Read the brief ‘Tier 1

Core Instruction’ section of the sample RTI plan.

• Discuss what elements should go into this section of your district RTI plan.

9

A description of Tier 1 core instruction in the RTI Plan can:

• present the research-based core reading (and perhaps math and writing) programs currently in place.

• disclose the amount of instructional time devoted in every classroom to core instruction by subject area.

• provide a minimum threshold for judging the quality of core instruction (e.g., that at least 80% of students will attain benchmark on the relevant RTI school-wide screening tools).



Writing an RTI Plan: Tier 1 General-Education Classroom Intervention

Purpose: The district spells out in the RTI plan the specific responsibilities of the classroom teacher as Tier 1 ‘first responder’. Most staff questions about RTI focus on classroom interventions, so careful attention to a clear description of Tier 1 is time well spent.

10



RTI Plan: Tier 1 General-Education Classroom

Interventionpp. 1-2



RTI ‘Pyramid of Interventions’

Tier 1

Tier 2

Tier 3

Tier 1: Universal interventions. Available to all students in a classroom or school. Can consist of whole-group or individual strategies or supports.

Tier 2 Individualized interventions. Subset of students receive interventions targeting specific needs.

Tier 3: Intensive interventions. Students who are ‘non-responders’ to Tiers 1 & 2 are referred to the RTI Team for more intensive interventions.



NYSED RTI Guidance Document: October

2010

Source: New York State Education Department. (October 2010). Response to Intervention: Guidance for New York State School Districts. Retrieved November 10, 2010, from http://www.p12.nysed.gov/specialed/RTI/guidance-oct10.pdf



Source: New York State Education Department. (October 2010). Response to Intervention: Guidance for New York State School Districts. Retrieved November 10, 2010, from http://www.p12.nysed.gov/specialed/RTI/guidance-oct10.pdf; p. 12



The Key Role of Classroom Teachers in RTI: 6 Steps

1. The teacher defines the student academic or behavioral problem clearly.

2. The teacher decides on the best explanation for why the problem is occurring.

3. The teacher selects ‘evidence-based’ interventions.4. The teacher documents the student’s Tier 1 intervention plan.5. The teacher monitors the student’s response (progress) to the

intervention plan.6. The teacher knows what the next steps are when a student fails

to make adequate progress with Tier 1 interventions alone.

15





Tier 1: Classroom Teacher Problem-Solving Meetings.

Schools have two options in setting up forums for teachers to discuss students who need Tier 1 (classroom) interventions and to schedule follow-up meetings to evaluate progress:

• Consultant. The school compiles a list of consultants in the school who can meet with individual teachers or grade-level teams to discuss specific students and to help the teacher to create and to document an intervention plan.

• Grade-Level Team. The school trains grade-level teams to conduct problem-solving meetings. Teachers are expected to bring students to regularly scheduled team meetings to discuss them and to create and document an intervention plan.

17



Tier 1 General-Education Classroom Intervention

The elements of Tier 1 intervention to be presented in the RTI plan include:

• Tier 1: Process for Planning Interventions• Tier 1: Cut-Points/Entrance Criteria• Tier 1: Scheduling.• Tier 1: Intervention Programs/Strategies.• Tier 1: Group Size• Tier 1: Length of the Intervention• Tier 1: Progress-Monitoring: Tools• Tier 1: Progress-Monitoring: Frequency• Tier 1: Progress-Monitoring: Adequate Progress.• Tier 1: Procedures for Changing the Intervention

18



RTI Plan: Tier 1 Intervention: 30 mins• Read the brief ‘Tier 1

Intervention’ section of the sample RTI plan.


19


• Tier 1: Process for Planning Interventions• Tier 1: Cut-Points/Entrance Criteria• Tier 1: Scheduling.• Tier 1: Intervention Programs/Strategies.• Tier 1: Group Size• Tier 1: Length of the Intervention• Tier 1: Progress-Monitoring: Tools• Tier 1: Progress-Monitoring: Frequency• Tier 1: Progress-Monitoring: Adequate

Progress.• Tier 1: Procedures for Changing the

Intervention



Tiers 1-3: Internet Sources for Research-Based

Interventionsp. 12



Estimating Risk and Assigning Students to Levels of Intervention



Five Levels of Instruction/Intervention(Handout Available on Conference Web Page)

Tier 1: Core Instruction Tier 1: Classroom Intervention Tier 2: 'Early Response' Supplemental Intervention Tier 2: 'Advanced' Supplemental Intervention Tier 3: Intensive Intervention

22



Matching Students to Appropriate Levels of RTI Instruction/Intervention

23




24




25




26




27



Five Levels of Instruction/Intervention

Tier 1: Core Instruction Tier 1: Classroom Intervention Tier 2: 'Early Response' Supplemental Intervention Tier 2: 'Advanced' Supplemental Intervention Tier 3: Intensive Intervention

28



Sample Grade-Level Cutpoints for Tier 2/3

Servicesp. 18



Writing an RTI Plan: Tier 2 Supplemental Intervention

Purpose: This section of the RTI plan defines ‘supplemental’ interventions: e.g., Who carries them out? When are they scheduled? What intervention programs are used?, etc.

30



RTI Plan: Tier 2 Supplemental Intervention

pp. 2-4



RTI ‘Pyramid of Interventions’

Tier 1

Tier 2

Tier 3

Tier 1: Universal interventions. Available to all students in a classroom or school. Can consist of whole-group or individual strategies or supports.

Tier 2 Individualized interventions. Subset of students receive interventions targeting specific needs.

Tier 3: Intensive interventions. Students who are ‘non-responders’ to Tiers 1 & 2 are referred to the RTI Team for more intensive interventions.



Source: New York State Education Department. (October 2010). Response to Intervention: Guidance for New York State School Districts. Retrieved November 10, 2010, from http://www.p12.nysed.gov/specialed/RTI/guidance-oct10.pdf; p. 13



Scheduling Elementary Tier 2 Interventions

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.

Classroom 1 Classroom 2 Classroom 3Grade K

Classroom 1 Classroom 2 Classroom 3Grade 1





Anyplace Elementary School: RTI Daily Schedule

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.

9:00-9:30

9:45-10:15

10:30-11:00

12:30-1:00

1:15-1:45

2:00-2:30



Supplemental Interventions in Secondary Schools: The Challenge

• Research indicates that students do well in targeted small-group interventions (4-7 students) when the intervention ‘treatment’ is closely matched to those students’ academic needs (Burns & Gibbons, 2008).

• However, in schools:1. 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.

2. 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 Tier 2 Supplemental Interventions: Avoid the ‘Homework Help’ Trap

• Group-based 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 Tier 2 intervention support should not take the form of unfocused ‘homework help’, test preparation, or reteaching of classroom content.



What Works Clearinghousehttp://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/

This website reviews core instruction and intervention programs in reading/writing, as well as other academic areas.

The site reviews existing studies and draws conclusions about whether specific intervention programs show evidence of effectiveness.



Best Evidence Encyclopediahttp://www.bestevidence.org/

This site provides reviews of evidence-based reading and math programs.

The website is sponsored by the Johns Hopkins University School of Education's Center for Data-Driven Reform in Education (CDDRE) .



National Center on RTI Instructional Intervention Tools Charthttp://www.rti4success.org/instructionTools

Sponsored by the National Center on RTI, this page provides ratings to intervention programs in reading, math, and writing.

Users can streamline their search by subject and grade level.



Tier 2/3 Intervention Programs at a Glance

p. 15



RTI: Creating a Data Analysis Team to

Manage Tier 2 Services



Data Analysis Team: Definition

The Data Analysis Team (DAT) is the gatekeeper for Tier 2 services.

The DAT meets at least 3 times per year, after fall, winter, and spring schoolwide academic screenings, to review screening results and to select students for Tier 2 intervention services.

Optionally, the DAT also meets periodically between screenings (e.g., once per month) to review the progress of students on Tier 2 intervention. If appropriate, students can be moved into, across, and out of Tier 2 groups between screenings if the data support such moves.



Data Analysis Team: Objectives

The DAT’s objectives during fall/winter/spring reviews of screening data are to:

1. Review with classroom teachers whether at least 80% of students reached benchmark/proficiency

2. Brainstorm core instructional strategies that can help to address patterns of weakness found at the Tier 1 group level.

3. Sort students found to be at risk into two groups:– Mild risk: Classroom teacher can provide interventions and

progress-monitor at Tier 1– More severe risk: Student is placed in supplemental (Tier 2)

intervention.



Data Analysis Team: Skillset

Core members serving on the DAT should be knowledgeable about:

• The interpretation of RTI screening and progress-monitoring data.

• The range of Tier 2 programs/groups in the school (and any available slots within those programs/groups).

• The setting of academic performance goals for individual students.

• Strong instructional practices that support groups (core instruction) and individual students (classroom or supplemental intervention).



Tier 2 Data Analysis Team: Structuring Screening-Data

Meetings



Data Analysis Team: Structure of Screening Data Meetings

During screening data meetings, the DAT meets with teams of grade-level teachers to:– systematically look at the impact of core instruction (goal: at least 80 percent

of students reaching the screening benchmark)– offer recommendations for classroom instructional practice to boost student

performance at Tier 1– identify those students who need supplemental (Tier 2) intervention services.

Source: Kovaleski, J. F., Roble, M., & Agne, M. (n.d.). The RTI Data Analysis Teaming process. Retrieved on May 3, 2011, from http://www.rtinetwork.org/essential/assessment/data-based/teamprocess



Data Analysis Team: Meeting Structure/Script

A copy of a script for Data Analysis Team meetings (Kovaleski et al., n.d.) is available on the conference web page: Data Analysis for Instructional Decision Making: Team Process. The script is in MS Word format, allowing districts to edit the document.



RTI Plan: Tier 2 Intervention: 30 mins• Read the ‘Tier 2



48




Intervention



Writing an RTI Plan: Tier 3 Intensive Intervention

Purpose: General-education students who receive Tier 3 services take up the greatest amount of RTI resources and are at risk for referral to special education if they fail to improve. So these high-stakes casesrequire a customized, team-based ‘problem-solving’ approach.

49



RTI Plan: Tier 3 Intensive

Interventionpp. 4-6



Tier 3: RTI Problem-Solving Team

The school has established an 'RTI Problem-Solving Team' to create customized intervention plans for individual students who require Tier 3 (intensive) interventions. The RTI Problem-Solving Team:

• follows a consistent, structured problem-solving model during its meetings.

• schedules initial meetings to discuss student concerns and follow-up meetings to review student progress and judge whether the intervention plan is effective.

• develops written intervention plans with sufficient detail to ensure that the intervention is implemented with fidelity across settings and people.

• builds an ‘intervention bank’ of research-based intervention ideas for common student academic and behavioral concerns.

51



RTI Request for Assistance

pp. 13-14



RTI Challenge: Establishing a Strong RTI Team at Tier 3 for Students Who Need a Problem-Solving Approach



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 EvaluationOriginally 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), 111-123.



Step 1: Assess Teacher Concerns

Step 2: Inventory Student Strengths/Talents

Step 3: Review Background/Baseline Data

Step 4: Select Target Teacher Concerns

Step 5: Set Academic and/or Behavioral Outcome Goals and Methods for Progress-Monitoring

Step 6: Design an Intervention Plan

Step 7: Plan How to Share Meeting Information with the Student’s Parent(s)

Step 8: Review Intervention & Monitoring Plans

RTI Team Consultative Process



RTI Team Roles

• Coordinator• Facilitator• Recorder• Time Keeper• Case Manager



RTI Plan: Tier 3 Intervention: 30 mins• Read the ‘Tier 3



57




Intervention



Writing an RTI Plan: School-Wide Screening Tools

Purpose: Academic screening tools are essential to RTI, as they help the school to estimate student risk for academic failure and to assign intervention services to match that risk.

58



RTI Plan: School-Wide

Screening Toolsp. 6



Educational Decisions and Corresponding Types of Assessment

• SCREENING/BENCHMARKING DECISIONS: Tier 1: Brief screenings to quickly indicate whether students in the general-education population are academically proficient or at risk.

• PROGRESS-MONITORING DECISIONS: At Tiers 1, 2, and 3, ongoing ‘formative’ assessments to judge whether students on intervention are making adequate progress.

• INSTRUCTIONAL/DIAGNOSTIC DECISIONS: At any Tier, detailed assessment to map out specific academic deficits , discover the root cause(s) of a student’s academic problem.

• OUTCOME DECISIONS: Summative assessment (e.g., state tests) to evaluate the effectiveness of a program.

Source: Hosp, M. K., Hosp, J. L., & Howell, K. W. (2007). The ABCs of CBM: A practical guide to curriculum-based measurement. New York: Guilford Press.



National Center on RTI Instructional Intervention Tools Charthttp://www.rti4success.org/screeningTools

The National Center on RTI created this page allowing schools to compare and contrast different school-wide academic screening tools. The site also maintains a similar page rating various progress-monitoring tools.



National Center on RTI Instructional Intervention Tools Charthttp://usny.nysed.gov/rttt/teachers-leaders/assessments/#assess

The New York State Education Department maintains a page listing those student assessments approved for teacher and principal evaluation.



School-Wide Screening Tools by Grade Level

p. 16

Documents

Response to Intervention How to Write a District RTI Plan: Guidance for Administrators Jim Wright