2008-09 Timeline
2008-09 Training Available
Frequently Asking Questions about Response to Intervention (RtI)
Response to Intervention (RtI) provides early intervention to struggling students so that they can be successful in school. We all know that waiting until students fail does not work for the student or the educator. RtI seeks to shift our thinking and our practice from crisis intervention to preventive action.
State regulations were initially approved that would have required RtI to be implemented at all levels (elementary, middle and high school) in both reading and mathematics in September 2008. After much input from DSEA members and others, those regulations were changed so that RtI will be phased in over time, and we can all learn from the early phase (in 08-09) how to best prepare for this work. Sec. of Education Valerie Woodruff, in a letter to principals in mid-July 2008, said that "...this will be a year of 'figuring it all out.'"
DoE hosts information session
On August 5 eight districts attended an RtI information session at the Dept. of Education: Appo, Brandywine, Cape Henlopen, Christina, Laurel, Red Clay, Smyrna and Woodbridge. Newark Charter School was also there.
The over-riding concern was about training and information before staff can be expected to screen, differentiate instruction and provide interventions effectively.
The Department reiterated that this is a start-up year; there will be NO monitoring from the department during 08-09.
District teams have been trained and have received planning documents so that discussions could be held with building level leaders about the implementation. Based on information we are receiving, teachers have heard about RtI but many are not sure what it means for them. We expect that for some of you, the first few professional development days of the 08-09 school year will provide an opportunity to continue working on your school's implementation plan.
See below for already-scheduled trainings.
So - the first phase of RtI implementation in Delaware will ONLY be in reading at the elementary level.
During this phase, the Dept. of Education has told principals that it knows that each school will manage RtI a little differently. It will take some time to hone all the skills necessary to make it work smoothly. DoE is interested in learning how it is working, what supports are needed for everyone involved. Everyone. And, they have told principals (in a letter from Sec. of Education Woodruff), they are interested in learning what is working well for you so that they can share your successes with others.
The Dept. and DSEA are partnering to meet regularly and find ways to enhance the communication, training and implementation of RtI. In addition to DSEA President-Elect Diane Donohue and several DSEA staff, members on this working group include Donna Dippel, a third grade TAM teacher at Albert Jones E.S. in Christina, and Mary Jane Short, a reading and mathematics resource teacher at Long Neck E.S. in Indian River.
The following outlines the who, what and when of RtI.
Read about RtI on the Dept. web site here.
Response to Intervention Implementation 2008-2009 School Year
Who, What, and When
Tier I (All Students)
- Provide core reading program for all students.
- Assess all students using a Universal Screening tool at three regularly spaced intervals throughout the school year.
- Students who teachers feel are borderline for possible academic failure should be the priority for screening. Screening should occur during the first 2-3 weeks of school to determine if intervention should begin immediately.
- Students identified at risk at the end of the previous school year will begin intervention at the start of the new school year.
- Differentiate instruction to address student needs.
- Provide flexible needs-based grouping for instruction in Tier 1.
- Establish grade level or content level teams to analyze data, collaborate on teaching strategies and adjust instruction based on student performance data.
- Monitor progress for students in Tier 1 scoring between the 25%ile (or your district/school designated cut score) and benchmark.
Tier II (Students needing stronger interventions)
- Provide reading interventions for students not meeting benchmark, at least 90 minutes in no less than two sessions per week.
- Monitor progress weekly
Tier III (Students needing most sustained interventions)
- Provide reading interventions for students not meeting benchmark, at least 150 minutes in no less than four sessions per week.
- Monitor progress weekly.
Tier II and III
- Establish problem-solving team to determine interventions and monitor progress of Tier 2 and Tier 3 students.
- Maintain a data management system for tracking assessments and interventions.
In order for students to continually improve reading skills, it will be critical that schools and districts provide professional development for core reading program, reading interventions, universal screening and progress monitoring assessments and interpretation of data, and the problem-solving process.
Communicate the RTI process with parents.
Interested in specific training?
If your school would like training in RtI in general or about reading intervention in particular, you may want to take advantage of the professional development offerings from the Dept. of Education listed here:
Classroom-Based Tiers I & II Reading Instruction Sep 8, 9 & 11, Oct 6, 7 & 9, 2008
For School-Based Literacy Teams Nov 17, 18 & 20, 2008
Feb 9, 10 & 12, Mar 9, 10 & 12, 2009
Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early DIBELS October 8, 9, & November 12, 2008
Literacy (DIBELS) Training
Contact DoE's Marietta Laporte or Lori Duerr by e-mail or call them at 302-735-4210.
Frequently Asked Questions about RTI – Response to Intervention
This information comes directly from the Dept of Education web site. You can read the full list of questions and answers on the Dept of Education web site. Click on “RTI is in Revised Regulation 925."
1. What Is Response to Intervention (“RtI”)?
"RtI is the practice of providing high-quality instruction and interventions matched to student need, monitoring progress frequently to make decisions about changes in instruction or goals, and applying child response data to important educational decisions. RtI should be used for making decisions about general, compensatory, and special education, creating a well-integrated system of instruction/intervention guided by child outcome data.”
(Source: National Association of State Directors of Special Education and the Council of Administrators of Special Education, White Paper on RtI, May 2006.)
2. Is RtI provided to all students?
Generally, yes. Each district must establish and implement procedures to determine whether a child responds to RtI procedures for reading and mathematics. However, students who participate in Alternate Assessment based on Alternate Achievement standards are not required to participate in the RtI procedures.
In Delaware, for the 2008-2009 school year, RtI will be initiated for reading only, and only in elementary schools.
3. What are the benefits of RtI?
RtI -
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seeks to increase the likelihood that all students will be successful in school.
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emphasizes quality instruction. The core curriculum and interventions must be based on scientific research, aligned with the State Standards, and implemented with fidelity.
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helps ensure a student’s poor academic performance is not due to inappropriate instruction or curriculum.
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emphasizes the importance of differentiating the curriculum so student needs are addressed during the core curriculum. The instruction and intervention must be matched to student need.
The required universal screening and progress monitoring informs the teachers planning and instruction to improve their instructional practices and identify the interventions students need.
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matches the level of support to each student need.
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provides instructional assistance in a timely fashion and serves students who require little intervention, as well as students who require long-term intervention. The RtI process will provide the necessary data for districts to make an informed evaluation concerning a child’s need for special education services. If a child is identified in need of special education services, the data collected from the RtI process will assist districts in identifying the instructional needs of the child and the appropriate special education services.
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allows for exit from special education when appropriate based on ongoing measurement of progress and response to intervention.
4. What sources of funding are available to implement RtI?
Districts are permitted to use up to 15% of Part B funds to develop and implement coordinated, early intervening services for students in kindergarten through grade twelve (with a particular emphasis on students in kindergarten through grade three) who are not currently identified as needing special education or related services, but who need additional academic and behavioral support to succeed in a general education environment.
The Department has also compiled a list of other potential funding sources available to districts for implementation of RTI. The full list is available at the Dept. of Education web site.
5. What Professional Development will support RtI implementation?
Each district must ensure that all personnel necessary to carry out instruction are appropriately and adequately prepared, subject to the requirements of 14 DE Admin Code § 923.56.0 and § 2122 of the No Child Left Behind Act.
When pursuing any professional development, the Department encourages districts, school administrators, and instructional staff to consider the individual strengths and needs of staff and programs.
With respect to professional development and RtI, the implementation of a strong response to intervention process requires that instructional staff are provided quality professional development on any core curriculum being implemented in the district. Professional development may also include administrative monitoring of the fidelity of curriculum delivery, such as administrative walk-throughs.
Administrative teams may benefit from professional development around creative scheduling. In addition, staff who select curricular materials may need professional development as it relates to the selection criteria for scientifically research based curriculum and interventions, and the development of knowledge around validity and reliability of instructional materials.
Additional professional development considerations may include those relating to the area of universal and diagnostic assessment, the collection and interpretation of data for ongoing progress monitoring at the classroom, school and district levels, the development of collaborative team problem solving (such as the Instructional Support Team model) and the development of skills in identifying instructional needs, as well as linking appropriate interventions to individual instructional needs, and specific professional development as it may relate to the implementation of district selected scientifically research based instructional interventions to support students in need of Tier 2 or Tier 3 supports.
Depending upon staff and program needs, other considerations may include classroom management, school wide behavior management system (such as Positive Behavior Support), differentiated instruction, and co-teaching.
6. What is the difference between evaluation and assessment?
John L. Hosp, NCSP of The National Association of School Psychologists, has answered this question as it relates to Response to Intervention in NASP Communiqué, Vol. 34, #7 May 2006, as follows:
Often these terms are used interchangeably, but it can be helpful in navigating the implementation of RTI to think of how these terms are differentiated. If you think of assessment as the process of collecting information, it becomes easier to convey to teachers the need for standardization, reliability, validity, and using different assessments for different purposes. This leads to thinking about evaluation as the process of using information to make decisions (i.e., information collected through assessment). We often get caught up in the process of conducting an assessment because we had to or someone told us to do so. If we think about evaluation, it starts a dialogue about why we are conducting assessments. Teachers have a lot of different things to do every day. Having a reason to do something (or to not do it) can be very reinforcing as their time is valuable and at a premium. This can just be the starting point—other team members might begin to consider the purpose of their activities and find time for new by eliminating some of the old.
7. What types of assessments will a district need to implement RTI?
In order to meet the instructional needs of all students, the United States Department of Education has charged schools with assessing all students including the economically disadvantaged, those who are English language learners and others who are struggling to learn.
In order to effectively evaluate all students under the RTI model, the district must consider the data from assessments related to universal screening and progress monitoring. The district may also consider data from diagnostic assessments on a case by case basis to assess additional instructional needs. The National Research Center on Learning Disabilities (NRCLD) outlines these assessments by table including the purposes of each type of assessment within the RTI process.
|
Screening |
Progress Monitoring |
Diagnostic Tests |
Population |
School Wide/ all students |
Class/Small group/ Student |
Individual student |
Uses |
Broad Index |
Specific academic skill or behavioral target |
Specific academic, domains of knowledge, skills, abilities |
Frequency |
Yearly/three times/monthly |
< 3 weeks /weekly /daily |
Yearly |
Purpose |
Identify students who are at risk. |
Regroup students |
Identify specific student deficits |
Focus |
School Focus |
Student/class focus |
Student focus |
Instruction |
Class/ school instruction and curriculum decisions |
Within intervention (curriculum/instruction) |
Selecting specific curricular and instructional methods |
Implications |
As first step for intervention planning |
Continue or revise placement |
Planning or specifying intervention |
8. Do screenings have to be done at the same time for all students, i.e. Can the teacher screen several children per day?
Universal Tier 1 instructional screenings for reading shall be conducted at least three times each regular school year at routine and fairly spaced intervals. The first screening shall be conducted within two weeks of the beginning of the regular school year for the most at-risk students, or within two weeks of the child’s entry into school if that is possible. Again, the staff involved should work together to develop a process and plan that works best for them. .
9. Is RtI going to result in more testing for students, with less time for teaching? How time consuming is RtI?
When compared with the 10 or more hours often estimated to go into each individualized evaluation conducted for special education eligibility, RTI procedures are really not time-consuming at all. While the research steps necessary to review potential Tier I and Tier II interventions may take several hours, the benchmark testing is very brief, taking about 10 minutes per student at the longest.
If CBM is used as the benchmark data collection tool, the only measures requiring individualized testing are DIBELS and oral reading fluency. In the areas of math, spelling, and writing, the assessment items can be administered to entire classes at a time. Similarly, CBM progress-monitoring procedures are very fast, involving weekly testing of two minutes or less per student.”
Source: Brown-Chidsey, Rachel and Steege, Mark W. Response to Intervention: Principles and Strategies for Effective Practice, 2005, Guilford Press.
Questions about RTI? Contact Michael Stetter, director, Curriculum Development, Department of Education, at (302) 735-4180 or Martha Toomey, director, Exceptional Children and Early Childhood Education Group, Department of Education, at (302) 735-4210.
Please also feel free to contact
Vicky Cairns, DSEA's director of instructional advocacy, by e-mail or by phone toll-free at 1-866-734-5834.