Reader Response

Response to intervention: What Teachers Need to Know


Response to Intervention (RTI) is a hot button topic in schools today. It is a new way to respond to students needs, before they can get support and also diagnose learning disabilities. RTI was created because of the problems in the model used for identifying students with learning issues. Usually by the time the school has diagnosed a student who needs help, the student has fallen even further behind in their curriculum. This is a way general classroom teachers can intervene and help the students before and during the whole process.

There are five steps in the RTI process:

1. Universal literacies are established. Screenings help identify students who may be at risk.

2. research based interventions are used when the student does not reach the benchmark. With most models the intervention is first administered to small groups.

3. The progress of the student must be monitored and observed. RTI demands that progress monitoring be the continuously collected through assessment. The assessment should be administered repeatedly and should be sensitive to small changes in the student.

4. The intervention needs to me individualized for the student. Some students may still struggle after an intervention is put in lace, this student will require more intense and targeted interventions.

5. The teacher should be a decision make and so should the school. They must determine if the student needs support/special education help.

RTI in real life practice can be confusing, and the authors use case study student "Mark" to demonstrate the intervention. The walk through the five steps above to show how Mark reacts and how the teachers and school react through each of the five steps. After going through the five steps, after one year Mark's development improved. If it had not the final step (5) would be to have diagnosed Mark with a LD and recommend him to special education support.

One of the major questions the authors attempt to answer, and one which is so valid to new teachers such as myself is, why RTI? The short answer is through assessment and intervention strategies a general classroom teacher can deliver strategies that immediately affect and benefit a struggling student.