Early Intervention and RTI Essay

Based on the testimony of Dr. Pasternack and others, a statute was added to the 2004 IDEIA requiring school districts to use some form of scientifically based research to guide intervention decisions. RtI was recognized as one option that school districts can use to identify students with learning disabilities. The federal law states:

The two options for identifying students with disabilities are RTI model and the IQ-Achievement discrepancy model. The RTI model is a multi-tiered approach to identifying students with disabilities. With this approach the amount of students who are identified as having a learning disability has decreased because of the support students receive at different tiers and it eliminates inadequate instruction as the reason for reading problems. Universal screening and high quality teaching is done for all students. Students who show that they need additional help receive tier 1 services where frequency and intensity increases. Students are monitored and receive research based instruction in the general education classroom. Some students may still struggle and have to receive more intensive and frequent service. Those students will receive supplemental support from an educational professional. Tier 3 services are provided to students who still struggle and need even more intensive service. Students may also qualify for special education services. The IQ-Achievement discrepancy model is used to determine if a disability is present. Standardized tests are used to eliminate low intellectual ablity as a determining cause for reading problems. With this model, a professional assess whether there is a discrepancy between a student’s scores on an iq test and scores obtained from areas

As in any research based program there are benefits and challenges. One of the biggest benefits of RTI is it has the ability to transform how we educate all students. When implementing Response to Intervention it helps to treat learning disabilities, identifies students with disabilities, classifies every student’s strengths and targets the specific disability. Perhaps the greatest benefit of an RTI approach is that it eliminates a “wait to fail” situation because students get help promptly within the general education setting. As soon as assessment data indicates a problem area for a student, interventions are put into place to address these concerns. One of the biggest challenges that are occurring is that RTI is still uneven; some districts use it and some do not and because of this it becomes a challenge. There is confusion as to what RTI is and whether schools are required to use. In addition, the evidence based and differentiated instruction is one of the issues in response to education. “Interventions that are research based but not feasible are not likely to be implemented with fidelity, which would undercut the validity of RTI decision making” (Kubiszyn & Borich, 2010,

This three-tier RTI system is wonderful at the early stages of education because it allows teachers to identify at-risk students and move them through the intervention process. However, in the later stages, it is often too late to evaluate students for learning disabilities as these should have been recognized early on in a child’s education. It should be noted that students at this stage do still need interventions, but in a different format.

Wilson, Faggella-Luby, & Wei (2013) present a cogent plan for Tier 3 Response to Intervention (RTI) for secondary students with reading disabilities, content, and pedagogy planning tools, content instruction, and instructional method implementation. Both research application lacks concerning Tier 3 RTI in high schools (Wilson et. al). RTI is curriculum that addresses the learning needs of all students that also includes screening and monitoring progress. Continuing, Wilson et. al define Tier 1 RTI, core curriculum for all students serving the needs of 80% of students, Tier 2 RTI, small group instructional intervention, serving the needs of 15% of students, and Tier 3 RTI, an intense one to one intervention for students who continue to struggle beyond Tiers 1 and 2, serving 5% of students. Wilson et al. provides information the reader needs to understand in the article without clutter, expressing their writing with economy (Zinsser, 2013). The article is unified in theme, gives enough information without giving too much, and follows a clear progression (Zinsser). “More simple, than complex” (Henson, 1999, p. 58), Wilson et. al’s article is an example of good writing.

Many children have physical, or pathological disabilities which cause them to have a below average performance in a usual classroom environment. The government of the United States of America, having recognized this, issued the Education of All Handicapped Children Act in 1975 in order to assist children afflicted with these disabilities (Berger, 2014). This lead to the creation of multiple special education programs for these children. Programs, such as LRE and RTI strategies have allowed many children to receive education they otherwise would not be able to receive.

First, Rather than focusing on the child's learning deficiencies, emphasize and reward the child’s strengths and encourage them to find new interest and hobbies. Second it is important to meet with the child's teachers, tutors, and school support personnel to understand performance levels, and attitude toward school. After the student has been evaluated they are now eligible for special education services. Special education services are provided to student to work with a team of professionals, including your child's teacher, to develop an Individualized Education Program. The individualized education program is created to provide a summary of child’s current education and future goals within education. Children with learning disabilities need to know that they are loved and that they are not dumb. They need to know that they are intelligent normal people who just have trouble learning because their mind process words and information differently. Students with learning disabilities are just like every other student they just need more focus on certain learning

Over the last decade, school administrators began implementing the RTI program at a rapid pace. This implementation was inspired by President Bush’s reauthorization of IDEA, which identified RTI as a viable way to qualify students for special education (Fuchs & Fuchs, 2007, p. 14). Fuchs and Fuchs (2007) defined RTI as a three tiered system of education. There has been research completed to show RTI was a reliable systems, but it is an open ended systems. The designers of the RTI program have left several of the specifics for individual administers to determine for their districts. While the open framework granted administrators leeway to alter the program, this also leads to questions about

In writing this paper the author will provide her research information about on three terms UDL RTI, and what is MTSS? And expand on answering these seven questions: What role do you think the special education teacher plays in these models? What role do you think the general education teacher plays in these models? What are some of the different ways a school can structure all three of these models? What are some of the best practices or methodologies that should be applied to an RTI model? What are some of the difficulties that schools might encounter when they begin an RTI model? ‘What is your vision for the future of UDL MTSS and RTI? Lastly, how is a referral for special education different for a student who was involved in the RTI model, versus a school without this model?

RtI is a great program for students mainly because of its timeliness. “Response to Intervention calls for intervention as soon as a problem is documented” (Friend 50). Prior to RtI, students with learning disabilities would not be identified until they fell far enough behind so they would show a large discrepancy between their achievement level and their potential.

Response to Intervention (RTI), is an early detection, prevention, and support system that attempts to identify and assist struggling students with appropriate levels of intervention. This strategy may determine if a student based on their time prior in Tier 3, would be qualified for special education with a qualification of learning disability. The RTI has three tiers which allows a teacher to monitor their student’s progress during instructions. The three levels of the RTI are explained through an article called, “Understanding Response to Intervention”, which states:

RtI works at its best when personal from across the school, including administrators, general education teachers, special education teachers, supplemental specialists, music and gym teachers, and counselors all collaborate to support the framework, because each staff member shares equal responsibility for the success and failure of all students (Shapiro 2011). RtI needs the full support of all staff members, because it does not show immediate results and could take between 3-5 years to see its positive impact. RtI gives schools the chance to correct literacy issues, and fix the problem early, before students’ progress forward where they pay for it long into their future.

Diagnostic/Prescriptive/Evaluative (DPE) process is a type of instruction according to Thomas (1996) that helps students with Intellectual Disabilities (ID) accomplish the best chance of success and independence, when accompanied with life goal planning, and goal instructional analysis (GIA), which is a fundamental part of the DPE teaching. The DPE process takes lesson planning, breaks down instruction into manageable segments specialized for the individual student, which provide the necessary educational flexibility to ensure successful outcomes. The first step of this process is to diagnose the student’s skill level along with his/her strengths and weaknesses, and then devise or prescribe a lesson path, where student progress can be

Response to Intervention, also known as RTI is a method made up of multiple tiers, to provide early recognition and aid of children with needs concerning to their behavior or learning. This process includes high quality teaching and general screening for all children in a mainstream classroom setting. The multiple tier systems of support, fits into the existing definitions for learning disabilities by classifying students into the tiers they require in order to achieve academic success based on their needs. Before a student enters their tiers, each student goes through a screening and progress monitoring to determine where they are in their educational setting. Once this has taken place and the data have been analyzed, students will be placed

RTI is an intervention system that is planned to increase student’s literacy. RTI is also considered a screener for students with learning difficulties (Wixson, 2012). RTI is considered to be a way to give students services before we label them with a