What Is RtI?
Response to Intervention is a three-tier model of reading instruction.
RtI is a way to ensure that children are not incorrectly identified as Learning
Disabled and referred to special education services, if remedial instruction can address their reading difficulties and keep them in the mainstream classroom. Historically, many children have been placed in
special education due to reading problems that could have been overcome by intensive intervention in the early years. Rather than
setting children up to succeed, many educators feel that the
traditional model waited for children to fail, then referred them to
special education. With RtI, children who are not responding adequately
to the reading program in the general classroom are given increasing
levels of intensive reading instruction. Only students who do not
respond to this program are evaluated for special education
services.
The Three Tiers.
Tier I involves all children: research-based, high-quality instruction
is provided to all students in the general classroom. Tier II is for
children who are struggling with reading in the general classroom. These students receive additional reading instruction each
day in small group settings, normally within the regular classroom.
Instruction focuses on the five essential reading components: phonemic
awareness, vocabulary, phonics, comprehension, and fluency. Tier III
addresses those children who continue to have reading problems after
Tier II intervention. Instruction may take place in special education
settings, either full or part-time, in small group settings or
one-on-one. Tasks are broken down into smaller steps, and children get
lots of examples and practice, with scaffolded instruction to help them
progress.
A Team Approach.
One sometimes controversial element of RtI is its team approach, which
breaks down traditional distinctions between classroom teachers,
special education teachers, reading specialists, etc. At all levels,
teachers work in collaboration with specialists from within and outside
the school, together with school administrators, to develop a plan to
meet all students' needs. RtI also demands investment in professional
development, so teachers and other professionals can learn to take on
new roles and teaching techniques.
Funding and What's Next.
None of this can be done without cost. As Senator Edward Kennedy told
the National School Boards Association in early 2007, real school
reform can't happen on a "tin-cup budget." The Individuals with
Disabilities Act reauthorized in 2004 (IDEA 04) provides funds for RtI.
IDEA 04 allows districts to allocate 15% of their IDEA Part B funds for
RtI in general education classrooms. Currently, the National
Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDE) and the
Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE) are working on a
series of "Blueprints" to help guide state, district, and school
implementation of RtI. These blueprints are seen as guidelines rather
than mandates. Virtually all states are working at some level on RtI intiatives. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Education is providing
$21.1 million in grant money to "support research that contributes to
the improvement of instruction for students with disabilities and to
the prevention of inappropriate identification of specific learning
disabilities." With funding available and growing, and states and
districts getting on the RtI bandwagon, Response to Intervention looks
like it could produce real change in the classroom.
