...Introduction As America’s educational system continues to strengthen and develop, a focus on individualized instruction and intervention within the regular education classroom has been brought forth in an attempt to keep struggling students from falling behind. This specific additional instruction and intervention, known as Response to Intervention in most states (RtI), is not only viewed as a push towards the improvement of education for all students, but is also being used as the means by which decisions regarding a student’s special education eligibility is based upon. However, for such a program to ultimately be beneficial, it will be up to the schools to ensure that the education professionals are putting forth significant effort in using the most appropriate type of intervention for that specific student. It will be the RtI team’s duty to define the student’s problem, plan an intervention, implement the intervention, and regularly evaluate the student’s progress (Martinez & Young, 2011, p. 44). Various interventions should be attempted if the scheduled improvement is not initially apparent. Statement of the Problem The groundbreaking passage of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act in 1975, the long overdue act which provided official protection of the rights and individual needs of those with disabilities within the educational system, sparked the remarkable increase of students being quickly diagnosed with a learning disability in whatever subject the...
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...strategies intended to help the students navigate non-fiction text in all classes. The 2007 and 2008 Maine Educational Assessment (MEA) results showed steady growth in the area of literacy. When the results were released in 2009 only 4% of eighth grade students did not meet literacy standards with 81% meeting and an unprecedented 18% exceeding the standards. The data from the 2009 NECAP showed only 42% of Mountain Valley Middle School students were achieving at the proficient benchmark in math. The NECAP data also indicated students were not adequately responding to constructed response questions. It was decided for the 2010-11 school year that dedicated research and implementation of strategies and instructional methods would be put into place to drive toward better instruction in mathematics. Students would also be taught tools to better navigate short answer and constructed response questions. The RTI initiative was viewed as a good place to start making pedagogical changes to the school environment to make the necessary changes that would allow students to be more successful in their learning endeavors. School Profile Mountain Valley Middle School (MVMS) is located in the town of Mexico, Maine. It is part of the Region School Unit #10 (RSU10) based in Dixfield, Maine. It services students in sixth through eighth grade from the River Valley region of Oxford County, including the towns of Mexico, Rumford, Roxbury, Hanover and Byron. The River Valley region is rural and...
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...Response to Intervention (RTI): The Saving Grace of Special Education Regent University December 1, 2015 Abstract For years, special education has been bombarded with increased referrals of students for services, consistent behavior issues with identified students, and the lack of academic progress made by students with disabilities. The implementation of a multi-tiered intervention strategy, such as Response to Intervention (RTI), improves the quality of the referral process, decreases instances of behavior issues, and improves academic outcomes for students receiving special education services. In an effort to organize and implement delivery of social, behavioral, and academic supports, many schools have adopted a tiered Response to Intervention (RTI) framework. Special educators indicated some barriers to effective implementation of a multi-tiered intervention strategy such as RTI. Teachers listed multiple barriers, however, they also indicated several perceived benefits to themselves and to students from the RTI procedures. If you have ever been at the pool or lake and witnessed someone drowning, your first instinct is to get that person some help! That help may consist of you calling for a lifeguard, throwing that person a lifesaver, or going in yourself to save the individual that is drowning. The introduction of multi-tiered instructional systems and the impact it has had on special education is just like that lifesaver. For years, special education has been...
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...Response to Intervention (RTI) is a multi-tier approach to the early identification and support of students with learning and behavior needs. The RTI process begins with high-quality instruction and universal screening of all children in the general education classroom. Struggling learners are provided with interventions at increasing levels of intensity to accelerate their rate of learning. These services may be provided by a variety of personnel, including general education teachers, special educators, and specialists. Progress is closely monitored to assess both the learning rate and level of performance of individual students. Educational decisions about the intensity and duration of interventions are based on individual student response to instruction. RTI is designed for use when making decisions in both general education and special education, creating a well-integrated system of instruction and intervention guided by child outcome data. For RTI implementation to work well, the following essential components must be implemented with fidelity and in a rigorous manner: High-quality, scientifically based classroom instruction. All students receive high-quality, research-based instruction in the general education classroom. Ongoing student assessment. Universal screening and progress monitoring provide information about a student’s learning rate and level of achievement, both individually and in comparison with the peer group. These data are then used when determining...
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...Pre-Referral Process: Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) /Response to Intervention (RTI) Anika M. Taylor Special Education Foundations and Framework February 20, 2013 Schools and entire districts have embarked on multiple strategies to address challenging areas for students with disabilities and those at risk for behavioral and academic failures. Over the years, educators and policymakers have recognized the need to create, implement, and document practices that have proven to make an impact on student learning and behaviors. Many of the strategies used have focused on the collection of data and the collaboration between and amongst professionals. Today, educators agree that the key to effective interventions for students at risk for failure and those with disabilities lies in a comprehensive approach that fosters growth in student overall learning and behaviors. Several approaches were designed to meet the challenges that students experience as they engage in their learning. These approaches include two processes outlined in this discussion: Response to Intervention (RTI) and Positive Behavioral Intervention Support (PBIS). Response to Intervention (RTI) integrates assessments and intervention within a school wide, multi-level prevention system to maximize student achievement and reduce behavior problems. The RTI process helps to identify students for poor learning outcomes, provide evidence based interventions and monitors student progress. (NICHCY...
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...Systems to Help Implement Response to Intervention for Emotional and Behavioral Disorders. In Partial Fulfillment for the Requirements of SPE 650 Characteristics: Children with Emotional Disorders To Dr. D. Walker E. Hayles From: Melissa Meyer July 8, 2013 Author’s Note: This is a “teaching paper.” Since I am employed by a small private school, that does not use PBS or RTI, I feel it is necessary to inform the reader that I am writing as if I were a veteran teacher at a school that uses both. I took on the persona of a teacher who is introducing the school’s policies on RTI and PBS for children with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders. Using Positive Behavior Support Systems to Help Implement Response to Intervention for Emotional and Behavioral Disorders. Welcome to Paradise School District, and more specifically Utopia School. We are believers in teaching strategies that are supported by evidence. As a new teacher in our school, the veteran teachers, as well as the administration, will do all that is possible to not only help you understand how to implement evidence based practices in your classroom, but to aid you in becoming a confident and effective teacher. In keeping with that goal, I would like to introduce you to our school’s method of utilizing Response to Intervention (RTI) for behavioral issues as well as Utopia’s School Wide Positive Behavior System (PBS). According to the website RTI 4 Success, the debate about RTI first began around 2001 because...
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...implementing different frameworks, it is imperative to understand the role of each concept and how it can be used successfully to support students with learning disabilities. Differentiated Instruction can be provided through Response to Intervention (RTI), the Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and Technology in the Classroom, which are all well-known frameworks or strategies when discussing the teaching of students with disabilities. This paper will discuss each framework and its use within the classroom. Terminology Research Project Teaching students with learning disabilities presents difficulties for teachers utilizing traditional teaching strategies. “As every veteran teacher realizes, students with learning disabilities and other learning disorders may be less engaged in the learning task, unable to cope with multiple instructions, and poorly organized in their thinking and work habits when compared with students without disabilities.” (Bender, 2012, p.1) With this in mind, experts in the field have, over the course of time, developed several frameworks to support students with learning disabilities in the classroom. These frameworks of differentiated instruction, The Universal Design for Learning (UDL), Response to Intervention (RTI), and the use of technology in the classroom, uphold the notion that students with learning disabilities are in fact capable of learning through alternative methods of instruction. Differentiated Instruction Through differentiated...
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...The response to intervention (RTI) process is a 5 week process to evaluate students. If a student is underperforming in the classroom, that student may need additional support, including a student with a learning disability. The RTI evaluation process is objective and therefore beneficial to identify the academic, social, and behavioral challenges of underperforming students. First of all, the students that benefit are the ones that do not have a disability but may need additional support to perform to standards in the general education classroom. Secondly, the approach is different than the original IQ-achievement, because it identifies students with learning disabilities who may be able to perform to standards with proper support. The RTI process has been successful and, because of its success, its use has been expanding since 2004. The RTI process is so successful because of the simplicity, its inherent coordinated organizational structure and the common sense that it allows in addressing underperformance. There are 5 elements of an RTI framework. First there is the prevention and intervention tier. Every student is different and therefore there are three tiers available for those with and without disabilities. The first tier is a high-quality, universal general education program that uses good teachers to teach in general classrooms. Interventions take place when students do not meet the requirements and/or expected growth. These underperforming students receive supplemental...
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...Response to Intervention (RtI) was recently introduced by the Office of Special Education Programs, U.S. Department of Education. It is a system that is intended to advance the capability of recognizing , modifying and supporting effective instructional practices in school systems. Response to Intervention concentrates on the prevention of learning disabilities. RTI is a multi-level program intended to; recognize students at risk for inadequate learning outcomes, oversee their growth, deliver evidence-based interventions modified to student’s receptivity, and identify students with learning disabilities. In the past, general education has put classroom practices with a scientific footing on the backburner. Instead, effective practices have...
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...Response to Intervention (RTI) is a multi-level system that helps identify students that have learning or behavior problems. This system helps support teachers and students for better quality instruction. By screening students we can find their level of learning. Once the results are established students can receive the proper interventions and accommodations in the classroom. The teacher can have support from other professionals to benefit the students. Teachers can work with tiered groups in the classrooms and using the differentiation strategy. Some positive aspects of using differentiation with RTI are: students can learn with hands on lessons, individualized learning plans, teacher creativity when creating lessons and flexibility. There...
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...supports general education teachers when they have students who exhibit academic or behavioral problems. During the pre-referral process, teachers document and explain the various difficulties and challenges that the student has and finds various instructional interventions to see if progress can be made. The pre-referral process helps students to not to be misidentified and placed in a special education program. If modifications/accommodations can be successfully made within the general education classroom and students’ progress, then the misidentification of students’ would be less. However, if the interventions that are put in place and do not improve the performance of the student, the next step would involve referring the student for an assessment to determine possible eligibility for special education services. Using the pre-referral process helps maintain children within the least restrictive environment and relies on special education as the last resort (Brownell, Sindelar, Kiely, & Danielson, 2013). There are two programs used in the pre-referral stage, one is Response to Intervention (RTI) and the other is Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PIBS). There are three tiers of intervention associated with RTI, the first involves all of the children on the campus and a benchmark test is given at the beginning, middle and end of the year. The students are given research based teachings and about 65-75% of the students respond well to this initial tier and no further...
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...Therefore, in comparing RTI and special education programs several key differences appear. Special education is based more on individual needs and goals, and in the majority of cases last the duration of a student’s academic career due to disabilities or behavioral problems. In contrast, RTI’s are not solely based on special needs, therefore, RTI’s are able to identify students that may have a lack of understanding of the curriculum. Without the rigid constraints of special education, RTI is more flexible and able to meet the needs of students in the moment. Nondiscriminatory, Multi-disciplinary Evaluation Once written parental consent is obtained, the school psychologist will conduct an initial evaluation of the student within 60 calendar days. The evaluation is based on the individual’s specific concerns and may also include to collection of data from parents and school personnel. Once the evaluation is complete, the team meets to allow the school psychologist to inform the committee, including...
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...The hearing is completed as part of an Admission, Review, Dismissal or ARD meeting which reviews all of the information related to the disciplinary actions taken by the school district. The hearing must decide if the student’s conduct was a direct result of the school district’s failure to follow with the child’s Individualized Education Plan or IEP. If the committee decides that it was in response to a student’s disability then the student cannot be expelled or placed in an alternative program unless the committee modifies or changes the student’s placement as part of his/her Behavioral Intervention Plan or...
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...Examples • School Examples, page 5.3 – School-Wide Screening, page 5.4 – Progress Monitoring, page 5.5 – Tiered Service Delivery, page 5.9 – Data-Based Decision Making, page 5.13 – Parent Involvement, page 5.16 – Resources, page 5.22 August 2006 Overview In November 2002, the United States Department of Education requested that the National Research Center on Learning Disabilities (NRCLD) identify, describe, and evaluate the implementation of responsiveness to intervention (RTI) in elementary schools throughout the United States. The NRCLD staff worked with the six Regional Resource Centers (RRCs) to identify potential sites and solicit school participation. More than 60 schools across the country initially were considered, and information from 41 of those schools was submitted. The NRCLD research staff reviewed the extensive amount of information submitted and judged that 19 of those schools were engaging in one or more commendable RTI practices based on a review of the following six components of an RTI service-delivery model: • School-wide screening. Screening is a type of assessment characterized by quick, low cost, repeatable testing of critical academic skills or behaviors and can be administered by individuals with minimal amounts of training. A screening measures whether a student should be judged at risk. If a student meets the criteria for at-risk status, he or she is considered for more in-depth assessment. Screenings can use either a criterion referenced or...
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...teacher will have to design the instruction in order to meet the students’ needs in the same classroom. Often, the assignment is the same for all students but less is expected of the child who is struggling. Normally, when the teacher differentiates she assesses the students first to know what they need. They are also flexible and also they are aware of the students’ differences, their interests, and their levels of achievement. Intervention programs are part of differentiated instruction. Early intervention refers to a program that encourage literacy instruction that is developmentally appropriate for the student. The purpose is to enhance the student’s literacy. Teachers are still questioning if this kind of intervention must be done at the classroom or if it is more appropriate to address the student to a Pull-out program, in which special-education teachers get to pull-out the student out of the classroom for a certain amount of time to intervene in their early literacy. Response to intervention is an approach that integrates assessments and intervention within a multilevel prevention system to maximize student achievement and to reduce behavior problems. The...
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