Help for
Struggling Students
“RTI” stands for
“Responsiveness to Instruction”
Tier 1: Core instruction,
sufficient for 80-90%
of students
“RTI” stands for
“Responsiveness to Instruction”
Tier 2: Focused, research-based
intervention, needed for
5-10% of students
“RTI” stands for
“Responsiveness to Instruction”
Tier 3: intensive, individualized
research-based intervention,
needed for 1-5% of students
What happens
in Tier 2?
• The classroom teacher schedules a “Kid Talk”
meeting with the grade-level team
• The team develops a plan for intervention
and progress monitoring
• Parents receive a PEP document, which
outlines the plan
More about “Kid Talk…”
• Kid Talk involves the grade-level
team and support staff
• Support staff may include
intervention teachers, special
education teachers, a school
counselor or psychologist, etc.
• Meetings take place each week
More about interventions…
• Interventions involve direct instruction,
provided in addition to the common core
• They are based on practices that have been
supported by research
• They specify who will
deliver the instruction,
how often, and for
what period of time
More about
progress monitoring…
• First, the student’s baseline is established. For example,
“Suzy is currently able to identify 5 letters of the alphabet.”
• Next, short and long term goal s are created. For example, “A
long term goal would that Suzy will be able to identify all 26
alphabet letters.” A short term goal is typically set for 4-6
weeks from the beginning of the intervention. Calculations
are done to determine the number of weeks of instruction and
then based on this, how many letters would be expected to be
learned by the review date.
• During follow-up meetings, the classroom teacher brings data
that reflects student progress.
What happens
in Tier 3?
• The team reviews the data to discuss where a
child started, what interventions have been
tried, and how much progress has been made
• The team determines whether the intervention
needs to be adjusted/intensified/replaced
• If the data shows that the student hasn’t
responded to instruction (or has responded
only inconsistently), the team may consider
referral to the special education team
The Special Education
Referral Process
• An IEP meeting is scheduled (“IEP” =
“Individualized Education Program”)
• The IEP team reviews the child’s strengths
and the ongoing concerns
• The parent may be asked to give written
permission for an evaluation to take place
The Special Education
Referral Process
• The evaluation process is completed within a
90-day timeline
• A follow-up IEP meeting is held to discuss
whether the child is eligible for special
education services based on the evaluation
• If not, regular education interventions will
resume, with the evaluation results in mind
Questions?