Response To Intervention (Rti) Manual PDF
Response To Intervention (Rti) Manual PDF
Response To Intervention (Rti) Manual PDF
(RTI)
MANUAL
JUNE 2012
CREATED BY:
DR. ADRIENNE GARVAR
MRS. ALLISON CURRAN
Introduction page 3
Screening Procedures page 4
Three Tier Model page 6
Progress Monitoring page 12
Instructional Support Team page 14
Appendix A page 16
Appendix B page 17
Appendix C page 18
Appendix D page 24
Appendix E page 26
Appendix F page 27
Appendix G page 28
Appendix H page 29
Appendix I page 30
Appendix J page 31
Appendix K page 32
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Introduction
Schools have continuously explored new approaches in order to best
support learners who struggle for one reason or another. The most recent focus
has been on a research-based process known as Response to Intervention (RtI).
Reading in the early grades is a primary focus of the RtI process, as this is
the area in which most students struggle and the curriculum area in which the
most students are identified with learning difficulties. Although the process of
data-based decision making and the principles of RtI can apply to other content
areas as well as to behavioral issues that impact learning, this manual will focus
on guidelines and practices for RtI implementation in the area of early literacy
skills.
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Lynbrook’s RtI PROCESS
SCREENING PROCEDURES
As part of universal screening measures, data is collected three times yearly (fall,
winter, and spring). The data is stored in a data management system that generates
charts, graphs, and other visual representations of student scores. Following data
collection, data meetings are held in each building to analyze the results.
Instructional decisions regarding the appropriate level of support for students who
may be at risk for not meeting grade level standards are made at these meetings.
Periodic review depending on students’ progress occurs throughout the year.
Service delivery recommendations may be changed and/or modified depending on
student progress.
The Lynbrook Union Free School District utilizes the Formative Assessment System
for Teachers (FAST) to measure the five core components of reading. Appendix A
shows the measures used for the screenings by grade level.
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The district uses National Norms and established benchmarks to see if students are
at, above/well above, or below/well below the established benchmark. This
information allows teachers to determine which students may need frequent progress
monitoring and more individualized interventions. Each grade level’s norms can be
accessed in the National Interpretation Guide via the following links:
Kindergarten: http://idealconsultingservices.com/Data%20Guides/Data%20Tables-
National/2016-2017/National_Grade_K_Interpretation_Guide%202016-2017.pdf
• amount and nature of data that will be used to monitor a student’s progress;
• strategies to increase the student’s rate of learning; and
• parents’ rights to refer the student for special education services.
A letter providing all the above information will be sent home to families after
universal screenings (See Appendix B).
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INSTRUCTION MATCHED TO STUDENT NEED
When students are identified through screening, progress monitoring or other on-
going assessment procedures as not making satisfactory progress, the district’s
multi-tier service delivery model will provide a range of supplemental instructional
interventions with increasing levels of intensity to address these needs. The
following will be considerations when providing tiered instruction for students;
Tier II focuses on supplemental instruction for students who are not responding
to the universal curriculum in Tier I. Tier II instruction should take place in small
homogeneous groups ranging from three to four students using curricula that
address the major components of reading instruction (phonemic awareness,
phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension). These interventions can take
place in and out of the classroom using a variety of individuals, including the
classroom teacher, teacher assistants, and specialists.
Tier III is intensive intervention specifically designed to meet the individual needs
of students who have not been responding to instruction in Tiers I and II. Tier III
is typically provided in smaller pull-out groups with students who have similar
learning needs. Tier III instruction provides more in depth modeling, practice,
and individualized feedback, to students. Teachers implementing Tier III
instruction can adjust the overall lesson pace so that it is slow and deliberate
(that is, more intensive). Teachers implementing Tier III instruction can focus the
pace of lessons by focusing on a single component of a lesson rather than a
variety of skills. Instructional pace is slowed and focused by implementing a
series of lessons concentrating only on a variety of review and practice activities
for a limited number of skills.
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This chart represents a multi-tiered approach in providing students with increasingly
more intensive academic services. If a student is not responding to general
classroom instruction and programs, he/she may then considered for more intensive
interventions provided either in the classroom or by support personnel.
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Tier I
For high quality early literacy instruction, Lynbrook Kindergarten students are
scheduled for an uninterrupted 65 minute block of daily, literacy instruction.
Students in grades 1 – 5 are scheduled for an uninterrupted 80 minute block of
daily, literacy instruction.
Within Tier I, teachers work to establish balance among whole group instruction,
teacher-led small group instruction, and independent/group work (i.e.
workstations, literacy centers, and/or worktables).
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Independent/group work consists of the following:
• Students are engaged in these activities for 15 minute rotations in grade
K.
• Students are engaged in these activities for 20 minute rotations in grades
1-5.
• Student groupings may be homogeneous or heterogeneous.
• Workstations, Literacy Centers, and/or Worktable must include meaningful
literacy-based activities (See Appendix E for examples of a Tier I Student
schedule during the Reading Block).
• If an extra adult is in the room, and all deserving students have received
their two doses of quality, Adult-Led Small Group Instruction, that adult
may be used to facilitate Workstations, Literacy Centers, and/or Worktable
activities.
Tier II
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Tier III
Tier III interventions are intensive and targeted to specific deficiency areas for
the individual student’s needs. The main differences between Tier II and Tier
III are not necessarily the interventions but the frequency, duration, and
intensity of instruction. (See Appendix H for a list of Tier III resources).
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Decision Rules for Entrance and Movement between Tiers
Decisions to provide Tier II or Tier III instruction are based upon objective
data provided through universal screenings and progress monitoring to
determine if a student is meeting grade level expectations. This would
include:
• Reviewing class data and sorting the information on the Four Square
Instructional Grouping Table (Appendix I) by referring to the National
Norms Charts available through the links on page 5
• Reviewing students’ progress monitoring data to see if they are
making ambitious, typical, or less than typical gains by referring to the
Expected Weekly Growth Rates Chart in the National Interpretation
Guide available through the links on page 5 and using the Gain
Scores Sort Table in Appendix J
• Examining proficiency on state and local assessments
Students are expected to move in and out of Tiers fluidly based upon current
data sets. Tiers are not to remain stagnant throughout the year, allowing groups,
interventionists, and programs to change. Moving between Tiers allows for
instruction to increase or decrease in duration, frequency, and intensity.
Specifically, these terms may be defined as:
• Duration: providing the student with more time to master the skills being
taught (i.e. moving from 20 minutes to 40 minutes).
• Frequency: increasing the amount of days a student is seen across a six
day cycle
• Intensity: (generally reserved for Tier III instruction) including the following
methodologies/strategies:
1. Modeling of appropriate instructional strategies
2. Extending practice and application sufficiently to ensure mastery
3. Pacing lessons slowly and deliberately (i.e. intensive) to allow for
learning to mastery
4. Limiting instruction by narrowing it to a single component of a
lesson (i.e. phonics or vocabulary)
5. Teaching one skill over an extended period of time rather than
several skills in a shorter period of time
6. Providing continuous and immediate feedback regarding error
correction
7. Considering program change if the program cannot deliver the
intensity of instruction required
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PROGRESS MONITORING
Progress monitoring is the practice of assessing student
performance using assessments on a repeated basis to
determine how well a student is responding to instruction. Data
obtained from progress monitoring helps teachers to determine
the extent to which students are benefiting from classroom
instruction and informs decisions about appropriate levels of
intervention.
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Data from progress monitoring will be used to inform student
movement through tiers. For example, progress monitoring data
obtained during the course of Tier 2 intervention should be
analyzed for level of performance and growth status. If student
data reflect performance at or above benchmark, the student may
return to Tier 1. If the student is performing below benchmark,
but making sufficient growth progress, the decision to continue
Tier 2 intervention can be made. If the student is performing
below benchmark and demonstrates poor growth (i.e. under-
responding), a change in the Tier 2 intervention or movement to a
Tier 3 intervention may be considered.
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Instructional Support Team
The IST….
• Is multi-disciplinary, and has members who are experts in their field
• Follows a problem-solving model
• Creates a safe atmosphere where members and referring teachers share
their ideas
• Incorporates student data
• Recommends research-based programs and strategies to meet the
students’ needs
• Sets clear, objective, measurable goals for student progress
• Follows up on the teachers implementation of the plan and the student
progress monitoring
• Schedules follow-up meetings to review the effectiveness of the
instructional plan
The IST will identify the problem that the student is experiencing in the
classroom, develop goals and objectives to remediate these difficulties, design a
support plan for appropriate staff to follow, and regularly monitor student
progress to determine if the interventions are successful.
Prior to the initial IST meeting the teacher has been expected to make multiple
attempts to informally assess the student’s difficulty and address the problem on
his or her own. The teacher has also contacted the student’s parents to discuss
his or her concerns. Other support staff may also be contacted at this stage to
informally discuss concerns.
If the teacher continues to have concerns about a student’s progress the student
may be referred to the IST using the appropriate forms. (See Appendix K).
The IST will use specific questions during the IST meeting about the student’s
current functioning. Decisions regarding services, programs, strategies, goals,
progress monitoring schedule, and follow-up will all be reviewed at this meeting.
Decisions regarding tiered instruction will be determined based on the students’
needs. The IST will reconvene at a designated date to review all data collected,
the interventions provided, and the need for further assistance.
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It is critical that RTI data is thoroughly collected and maintained in the proper
format using the appropriate forms and the district’s data base for RTI
implementation. If a student is not responding after Tier II and Tier III instruction
for the designated period of time, the IST may consider a referral to Special
Education necessary. In this particular case, RTI data is essential if a student
will be deemed as having a learning disability by the committee of special
education. Effective July 1, 2012, a school district may not use the severe
discrepancy criteria to determine that a student in Kindergarten through grade 4
has a learning disability in the area of reading; therefore, the use of RTI data will
be necessary to provide evidence of the students’ responsiveness throughout the
increasing levels of tiered instruction.
Conclusion
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Appendix A
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Appendix B
Response to Intervention (RtI) – Universal Screening Report
Grade-level students were assessed with a set of universal screening tools called General
Outcome Indicators (GOIs). The GOIs were designed to determine growth and development
across pre-reading and/or reading skills that are important to long-term literacy success. Results
from the GOIs are also used by school staff to help them identify the skills that have been learned
as opposed to the skills that require further instruction. To help determine a student’s current
performance level on a target skill measured by a GOI, a student’s raw score is marked with a
solid, blue circle on a chart called a “box plot.” The green box plot represents the average range
of scores obtained from a sample of same-grade students across the country. If a student’s
score is marked within the box plot, the student is believed to have average pre-reading and/or
reading skills. If a student’s score is marked above the box plot, the student is believed to have
above average pre-reading and/or reading skills. If a student’s score is marked below the box
plot, the student is believed to have below average pre-reading and/or reading skills.
2012-2013
If your child performed in the low average, below average, or well below average range on
one or more of the GOIs, he or she is a candidate for additional literacy support. Please note that
when the GOI results suggest a skill deficit, additional academic data are reviewed to confirm the
findings. Lastly, students receiving literacy support will have their pre-reading and/or reading skills
monitored on a biweekly to monthly basis.
At this time, it is believed your child does not need literacy support.
The following is a description of your child’s literacy support (i.e., services and strategies for
increasing rate of learning):
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
If you believe your child has pre-reading and/or reading skill deficits that require intensive
interventions beyond that provided via general education support services, you still reserve the
right to request an evaluation for special education programs and/or services.
Please contact your child’s classroom teacher if you have any questions or concerns about this
notification.
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Appendix C- 1
Response to Intervention
Tier 1
85-90% Students
Minimum 6 – 8 weeks
Provider: Classroom Teacher
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Appendix C- 2
19
Appendix C- 3
20
Appendix C- 4
21
Appendix C- 5
22
Appendix C- 6
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Appendix D- 1
Time Minilesson
Small Group
Instruction 3,
20 Small Group
Minilesson, Instruction 1
20
Small Group
Instruction 2
Small Group
Small Group Instruction 3
Instruction 1,
20
Small Group
Instruction 2,
20
Minilesson: Units of Study for Teaching Reading, ELA Domains, First 20 Days,
Interactive Read-Aloud, Comprehension Toolkit, Text Talk, shared reading,
fcrr.org, or other activities that address the five big areas of reading
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Appendix D- 2
Time Minilesson
Small Group
Instruction 3,
20 Small Group
Minilesson, Instruction 1
20
Small Group
Instruction 2
Small Group
Small Group Instruction 3
Instruction 1,
20
Small Group
Instruction 2,
20
Minilesson: Units of Study for Teaching Reading, ELA Modules, First 20 Days,
Comprehension Toolkit, Interactive Read-Aloud, fcrr.org, or other activities that
address the five big areas of reading
Small Group Instruction: Guided Reading, activities from the Interactive Read-
Aloud, Units of Study, Comprehension Toolkit, fcrr.org, or other activities that
address one of the five big areas of reading
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Appendix E
Time Minilesson
Center
Center, 20
Minilesson,
20
Teacher
Table
Center
Center, 20
Teacher
Table, 20
26
Appendix F
Time Minilesson
Teacher
Table, 20 Teacher
Table
Minilesson, 20
Center
Teacher
Teacher Table
Table, 20
Center, 20
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Appendix G
Response to Intervention
Tier 2
10-15% Students
Minimum 8 – 10 weeks
Provider: Classroom teacher or other certified teacher
**Programs don’t identify tiers. Duration, Frequency, Intensity, & Fidelity do.
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Appendix H
Response to Intervention
Tier 3
5% Students
Minimum 8 – 10 weeks
Provider: Reading or Special Education Teacher
**Programs don’t identify tiers. Duration, Frequency, Intensity, & Fidelity do.
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Appendix I
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Appendix J
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Lynbrook Public Schools IST Referral Form Appendix K
Name: ___________________________ Teacher: _________________________
What are your areas of concern academically, behaviorally, and socially / emotionally:
When have you contacted the parents about your concerns (please list dates):
o Written communication: _____________________________________________________________________
o Verbal communication: _____________________________________________________________________
o Conferences: _____________________________________________________________________________
Medical History:
Hearing: ______________________ Diagnosis: _________________________________
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Tier III academic, behavioral, and social / emotional interventions, accommodations, and
modifications:
Recommendations:
Intervention Start Date Provider Reconvene
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