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EducationalLeadership:InterventionsThatWork:DoingRTIRight
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October2010|Volume68|Number2
InterventionsThatWork

DoingRTIRight
70thASCDAnnual
ConferenceandExhibit
Show
March2123,2015,Houston,
Tex.
Discovernewideasand
practicalstrategiesthatdeliver
realresultsforstudents.

MechelleBryson,AngelaMaden,LaurinMostyandSusanSchultz
AschooldistrictinTexasfiguresoutwhatittakestomakeRTIwork
districtwide.
Ineducationcircles,ResponsetoIntervention(RTI)iseverywhere,like
iPhones.Googleit,andyoucanexpectatleast520,000hits.Amazingly,it
getsevenmorehitsthandifferentiatedinstructiondoes.Youcan'tattendan
educationconferencewithoutatleastonespeakerdiscussingthestructure
andvirtuesoftheRTIpyramid.

BUYTHISISSUE

More
Tounderstandandacceptthateducatorsmustcloseachievementgapsfor
allstudentsistounderstandandaccepttheideologyofthepyramid.Sowhy
doesn'teverydistrictimplementRTI?

Tweets
ASCD
@ASCD

14m

We're Reading: Let's Make

2015 the Year of the
Whole Child by
@BeckyPringle via
@HuffPostEdu
ow.ly/HIFQT #WCS14
Retweeted by .

DuringthefirstfouryearsthatourdistrictimplementedacomprehensiveandambitiousRTIprocess,we
identifiedstrugglingstudentsanddevelopedinterventionplansdesignedtocloselearninggaps.We
createdprogressmonitoringtools,newcommittees,andstaffdevelopmentthattoutedthebenefitsofthe
pyramidoftieredinstruction.Weputinlonghoursduringthosefirstfouryearsbutwithouttheexpected
results.

WhatGotintheWay

Show Summary
ASCD
@ASCD

ReadAbstract
Itturnsoutthatsystemicchangeisanythingbutsimple,asweintheCoppell
IndependentSchoolDistrictinTexasfoundout.LocatedjustnorthofDallas
FortWorthInternationalAirport,Coppellisahighlyprogressivesuburban
schooldistrictserving10,000students.Thedistricthasnineelementaryschools,threemiddleschools,
andtwohighschools.SevenofourschoolsareTitleIcampuses.

1h

RT @MelanyStowe:
Educate the Whole Child

Compose new Tweet

Whydidn'twegetthoseresults?Becauseweplacedtoomuchemphasisontheoryandnotenoughon
practicalapplication.Wespenttoomuchtimefocusingonthepyramidoftieredinstructionandnotenough
timeworkingoutthedetailsofwhowasresponsible,whatinterventionswewoulduse,andwherewe
wouldfindthetimetoimplementthoseinterventions.ItappearedtotheteachersthatRTIwasmoreabout
paperworkthanaboutclosingachievementgaps.

Roadblock1:TheStudentDeficitModel
Thismodelwasthefirst,toughest,andmostcomplexobstaclewefaced.Whenastudentstruggleswith
learning,thismodelpointstodeficitswithinthestudentandfocusesattentiononfixingthestudent,instead
ofconsideringthequalityofinstruction.OurdistrictneededtoplacegreateremphasisonwhatDoug
Reeves(2006)callsthetwomajorvariablesinstudentachievement:teacherefficacyandcurriculum
alignment.Wehadtoshiftourfocustoeffectiveclassroominstruction.

2. Grading
Smarter,Not
Harder:
Assessment
StrategiesThat
MotivateKidsandHelp
ThemLearn

Roadblock2:TheBigHandoff

3. TheCoreSix:
Essential
Strategiesfor
Achieving

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1/21/2015

EducationalLeadership:InterventionsThatWork:DoingRTIRight
Inthepast,ifastudentneededhelp,thegeneraleducationteachertendedtohandoffthestudenttoa
specializedprogram,suchasremedialliteracyorspecialeducation,transferringtheprimaryteaching
responsibilityawayfromtheclassroomteacher.Thistransferofresponsibilitydeniedthestudentaccessto
gradelevelcurriculum,reducedopportunitiesforpeerassistedlearning,andremovedthestudentfrom
thegeneraleducationenvironmentwhereimportantsociallearningopportunitiesoccur.Thispracticeisn't
equitableandhasnoplacein21stcenturyeducation.RTIrequiresthatgeneraleducationteachers
maintaintheirprimaryresponsibilityofprovidingeffectiveeducationopportunitiestoalllearners
throughoutthetieredprocess.Weneededtoreplacethe"bighandoff"withthe"empathetichelpinghand."

Roadblock3:TheTeacherJustKnows
Therewasanentrenchedbeliefinourdistrictthatateacher'sintuitionwasasreliableasquantitative
studentdataindefiningstudentprogress.Intuition,whichisoftenbasedonqualitativedatasuchas
anecdotalnotesandclassroomobservations,shouldalwaysbeapartoftheequation.However,
qualitativedatashouldnotdriveinstructionaldecisions.Quantitativedata,collectedthroughweekly
progressreports,universalscreenings,andcurriculumbenchmarksprovideamoreaccuratepictureabout
whatandhowquicklyastudentislearning.Toovercomethisobstacle,weneededtotransformour
teachersintoconsumersofquantitativestudentdatathroughstaffdevelopmentandguidedpractice.

Excellencewith
theCommonCore
4. Engaging
Studentswith
Povertyin
Mind:Practical
5. The
Understanding
byDesign
Guideto
CreatingHigh
QualityUnits
Shop

Roadblock4:APathwaytoSpecialEducation
ThelastroadblockinourdistrictwastheerroneousbeliefthatRTIisthenewpathwaytospecialeducation.
Althoughafewstudentsmovethroughthetieredprocessandeventuallyneedareferralforspecial
educationservices,thegoalofRTIistofillinacademicgapsthroughdeliveryofeffectiveTier1instruction
nottoqualifystudentsforspecialeducation.

AddressingtheRoadblocks
Toaddresstheseroadblocks,wedevelopedaplanwiththreeessentialcomponents.

RealigningtheInitiative
Toachievesuccess,wehadtorealignourRTIprocesstothesixessentialcomponentsoftheNational
Blueprint,aguidelinecreatedbytheNationalAssociationofStateDirectorsofSpecialEducation(2008).
WecreatedanewRTImodelthatincludedthefollowing:
1. Highquality,researchbasedTier1instructionandinterventions,
2. Universalscreeningofacademicsandbehavior.
3. Progressmonitoring.
4. Datacollection.
5. Databaseddecisionmaking
6. Fidelityofimplementation.

WeaddedPerformanceSeries,acomputerbasedgrowthmodelassessmentprogram,asauniversal
screenertoidentifystudentsatriskofnotmeetingendofyeargradelevelexpectations.Weestablished
RTIcampusteamstooverseetheRTIprocesstoensurethatalldecisionsweredatadriven.Inaddition,we
expandedstaffdevelopmentopportunitiesoneffectiveTier1instructiontoincludesuchtopicsas
differentiatedinstruction,thinkingmaps,inquirybasedlearning,andproblembasedlearning.

DesigninganInfrastructureofSupport
WecreatedthreenewstaffpositionscalledRTIspecialistsandplacedthemonspecialassignment.The
specialists,teacherswithexpertiseinRTI,havebecomepartofthecampusstaffandspendonedaya
weekateachcampustheyserve.
InaccordancewithAndreaOgonosky's(2008)viewofRTI"asaseamlessproblemsolvingprocessthat
enhancesthelearningofallchildrenbyusingconsultationandsupportamongalleducators,"the
specialistsworkedcloselywithteamscomposedofprincipals,assistantprincipals,counselors,literacy
coaches,andteacherstoidentifyandreviewcurrentdistrictinterventionsandassignthemtothe
appropriatetier.Forexample,effectiveTier1strategiesinreadingincludedliteraturecircles,reader's
theater,andinclassfreechoicereading.Tier2and3strategiesincludedindependentreadingonthe
student'sreadinglevelandusingChipperChat,alaminatedlanguageandarticulationgame.TheRTI
specialistsalsohelpedteamsreviewuniversalscreeningdatatoidentifystudentswhoneededinstruction
ononeofthehighertiers.
Inaddition,thespecialistshelpedreviewandalignprogressmonitoringtools.Teachersusedendof
chaptertestsandotherteachercreatedprobestodeterminestudentgrowth,butthesehadoftennotbeen
linkedtotargetedendofyeargrowthprojections,suchasoralreadingfluencyandmathcomputation,so
thedatafailedtogiveanaccurateaccountofstudentprogress.Aftermuchresearch,theRTIspecialists,
alongwiththedistrictcurriculumdepartment,determinedthatthemosteffectiveprobeswerecurriculum
basedmeasurementsthatarenationallynormedandvalid,suchasMazereadingcomprehensionprobes
fromVanderbiltUniversityandmathconceptandapplicationprobesavailablethroughProEd.Toensure
fidelity,weprovidedprogressmonitoringtrainingsessionsdistrictwide.

http://www.ascd.org/publications/educationalleadership/oct10/vol68/num02/DoingRTIRight.aspx

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EducationalLeadership:InterventionsThatWork:DoingRTIRight

ChangingtheMindSet
Deeplyentrenchedbeliefsandpractices,rootedinastudentdeficitmodel,preventedthetruespiritofRTI
fromprevailing.SowemovedtheoversightandsupervisionofRTIfromthedepartmentofspecial
educationtothedepartmentofcurriculumandinstruction.ThispivotalswitchreinforcedtheideathatRTI
appliestoallstrugglingstudents.

LookingForward
We'renowbecomingadistrictofdatadrivendecisionmakers.TeachersplaneffectiveTier1instructionas
wellasTier2and3interventionsbasedontheanalysisofstudentdata.Studentsnowreceiveamore
individualizedprogramthroughdifferentiatedinstructiontargetedsmallgroupinstructionandcustomized,
intensiveinterventions.Asaresult,thedistrict'sperformanceonthestatestandardizedassessment
improved,thestateratingoftheschoolincreased,andmoreatriskstudentsnowperformatorabove
gradelevel.Whenspecialeducationtestingiswarranted,wefindthatourprogressmonitoringdataalign
withthedatacollectedbyourdistrictdiagnosticians.Lastandmostimportant,thenumberofspecial
educationreferralshasdeclinedby23percent.
WenowunderstandthatTier1instructionisthecornerstoneofasuccessfulRTIprogram.Asthequalityof
deliveryofresearchbasedbestpracticeinstructionincreases,theneedforTier2and3interventions
decreases.OurnextstepistocreatemeaningfulstaffdevelopmentforallteachersoneffectiveTier1
instruction.
Wehavealsobegunthedifficulttaskofensuringequityofinterventionsandtrainingacrossthedistrict.We
wanttoensurethatifRead180,Scholastic'sadolescentreadingsoftware,orNeufeldInterventionMath
Softwareisavailableatonecampus,it'savailableonallcampuses.
Thishasbeenadifficultjourneytonavigate,filledwithemotionalroadblocks,unnecessarydetours,and
peskypotholes.Butoneessentialthingwelearnedisthis:ForRTItosucceed,itmustbegininthe
classroom.

References
NationalAssociationofStateDirectorsofSpecialEducation.(2008).ResponsetoIntervention:
BlueprintsforimplementationDistrictlevel.Alexandria,VA:Author.
Ogonosky,A.(2008).TheResponsetoInterventionhandbook:Movingfromtheorytopractice.
Austin,TX:PlaceParkPublications.
Reeves,D.B.(2006).Thelearningleader:Howtofocusschoolimprovementforbetterresults.
Alexandria,VA:ASCD.

MechelleBrysonisthedirectorofschoolimprovementforCoppellIndependentSchoolDistrict(ISD)AngelaMaden
istheRTIspecialistforCoppellISDEastZoneLaurinMostyistheRTIspecialistforCoppellISDNorthZoneand
SusanSchultzistheRTIspecialistforCoppellISDWestZone.

KEYWORDS
Clickonkeywordstoseesimilarproducts:
achievementgap,assessment

Copyright2010byASCD

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