Article - Response to Intervention (RTI): What teachers of reading need to know

 In the article “Response to Intervention (RTI): What teachers of reading need to know,” the authors Mesmer and Mesmer provide understandable definitions and processes of RTI in the method of identifying and supporting struggling readers. RTI signifies a key change to the Individuals With Disabilities Act (IDEA) by changing the process of which students are identified as special education and providing early intervention to those students in need of special instruction.

The discrepancy model used for identifying students with learning disabilities waits for students to fail before providing instruction. Students are not supported for months until enough data and discussion has been evaluated. RTI is an alternative approach that increases the quality of instruction for struggling readers.

There are five steps in the process of RTI. The fist step is to establish universal literacy practices to identify at risk students. About three times a year, all students are tested on basic literacy skills and their performance is compared to minimal benchmark scores. Students scoring below the benchmark scores receive assistance.

The second step is to implement suitable interventions for students not meeting benchmark scores. The interventions are provided in small group instruction to facilitate skill development for improving reading skills.

The third step is to use progress-monitoring assessments targeting the skills that need improvement. The assessments should occur weekly or biweekly and should be brief, reliable and valid. It should also be sensitive to indications of minor changes in a student’s reading performance.

The fourth step of the RTI process is individualized interventions for students who still struggle after receiving the first few interventions. Additional assessments are required to determine the problem area and should be used by teachers, reading specialists, school psychologist, and with the assistance of parents to collaboratively develop more concentrated intervention strategies. Through out this process, student’s progress is continuously monitored.

If the student has not responded to the interventions implemented after a sufficient amount of time, the decision-making process for special education services is initiated. This is the last step of the RTI process. School professionals and the student’s parents review all assessment data to determine the student’s eligibility for special services. If there are suspicions that other factors, which cannot be explained by a learning disability, maybe the cause for the students unresponsiveness to earlier interventions then additional assessments of the students emotional, behavioral, social, intellectual, and adaptive functioning should be evaluated.

The article further demonstrates how the RTI process is used to help a struggling second grade student. The student is given initial intervention, assessed and monitored, then individualized instruction. The student finally responded to the individualized plan by meeting the benchmark, reading instructionally at grade level with comprehension, and reading 60 WCPM. If it were not for the RTI process, this student would have had to fail before receiving additional support. RTI eliminates that problem by providing instruction as soon as a student displays signs of difficulty.