Importance of Intensive Interventions:
Definitions and Illustrations
Sharon Vaughn
The University of Texas at Austin
Recognition Goes to…
• Jack Fletcher and David Francis, University of Houston
• Greg Roberts, Elizabeth Swanson, and Stephanie
Stillman, The University of Texas at Austin
• Jeanne Wanzek, Florida State University
• Jade Wexler, University of Maryland
• Carolyn Denton, The University of Texas Health Science
Center at Houston
NAEP Grade 4 National Results
NAEP Grade 8 National Results
Percentage of Students Ages 6–21 Served Under
Individuals With Disabilities Education Act
SOURCE: Office of Special Education Programs, Annual Report to Congress on the
Implementation of IDEA, 1990–2010; IDEA database, www.ideadata.org/PartBdata.asp
What Is So Disturbing?
• In 2011, 68% of fourth-grade students and 62% of
eighth-grade students with disabilities scored below
basic on NAEP Reading.
• In 2011, 29% of fourth-grade students and 20% of
eighth-grade students without disabilities scored
below basic on NAEP Reading.
• From 2009 to 2011, reading results for students with
disabilities declined.
Synthesis of Intensive Interventions:
Grades 4 Through 12
• More than 75 sessions
• No studies for grades 10–12
• 11 experimental or quasi-experimental studies for
secondary, 19 for elementary
Wanzek, J., & Vaughn, S. (2007). Research-based implications from extensive early
reading interventions. School Psychology Review, 36(4), 541–561.
Wanzek, J., Vaughn, S., Scammacca, N. K., Metz, K. L., Murray, C. S., Roberts, G., &
Danielson, L. (in press). Extensive reading intervention for struggling readers in grades
4 through 12: Implications from research. Review of Educational Research.
Mean Effect Sizes
Elementary (K–3)
Secondary (4–12)
• Comprehension
.46 (25 effects)
• Comprehension
.09 (37 effects)
• Reading Fluency
.34 (11 effects)
• Reading Fluency
.12 (8 effects)
• Word Reading
.56 (53 effects)
• Word Reading
.20 (22 effects)
• Spelling
.40 (24 effects)
• Spelling
.20 (5 effects)
Why Larger Effects in Elementary?
It may be that the interventions are not less
effective but that we have fewer false positives
than with secondary students.
OR…
It may be that older students have more
intractable reading problems.
OR…
Minimal Responders Over Time:
3 Years of Treatment Within
an RTI Framework
Grades 6–7 students (fall 2006)
Grades 6–7 on-track readers
Grades 6–7 struggling readers
Random assignment
Tier II intervention
Sufficient progress
Typical instruction
1:15
Grades 6–7
(Tier I only)
Grades 6–7
Insufficient progress
Tier III intervention
Grades 7–8
Typical instruction
Grades 7–8
Random assignment
Standardized
protocol 1:5
Individualize
d protocol 1:5
Insufficient progress
Sufficient
progress
Exit intervention
Tier IV
Individualized protocol 1:3
Grade 8
Follow-up assessment
Typical instruction
Sufficient
progress
Exit intervention
Grade 8
Figure 1. Participant movement across years per initial assignment.
IND = individualized; STD = standardized.
Years 1 and 2: A Summary
Tier I Intervention
All students in both treatment and comparison conditions
received enhanced Tier I treatment:
• Comprehension instruction within content areas
• Academic vocabulary within content areas
• Text as a source of evidence
Vaughn, S., Cirino, P. T., Wanzek, J., Wexler, J., Fletcher, J. M., Denton, C. A., . . . Francis,
D. J. (2010). Response to intervention for middle school students with reading difficulties:
Effects of a primary and secondary intervention. School Psychology Review, 39(1), 3–21.
Vaughn, S., Wanzek, J., Wexler, J., Barth, A., Cirino, P. T., Fletcher, J., . . . Francis, D. J.
(2010). The relative effects of group size on reading progress of older students with reading
difficulties. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal 23(8), 931–956.
Year 1 Findings
Year 1 addressed two primary questions:
1. Overall, how effective was the treatment in
enhancing students’ outcomes in reading?
2. Do students who are assigned to small-group
instruction outperform students in large-group
instruction?
Question 1: Efficacy of Tier II
Tier II treatment in addition to the enhanced classroom
instruction (Tier I) was associated with gains in decoding,
reading fluency, and comprehension (d = 0.16) over
students with reading difficulties who received from the
research team only the enhanced classroom instruction
(Tier I)—although many of the Tier I-only students also
received interventions from their schools.
Question 2: Effects of Group Size
• Both treatment groups outperformed comparison.
• There were no between-group treatment differences.
What Happened to High vs. Low
Responders?
• Students who met threshold: No more treatment
• Students who did not meet threshold: Additional
intervention in Year 2
Year 2 Research Question
Do students with significant reading disabilities (low
response to previous year treatment) make significantly
better gains in standardized versus individualized
treatments?
Vaughn, S., Wexler, J., Roberts, G., Barth, A. E., Cirino, P. T., Romain, M., . . . Denton,
C. A. (2011). Effects of individualized and standardized interventions on middle school
students with reading disabilities. Exceptional Children, 77(4), 391–407.
Year 2: Tier III Intervention
Standardized
Intervention
Specified use of
time (3 phases of
intervention)
High control of
curriculum and
materials
Modifications made
at the group level
Motivation through
success only
Individualized
Intervention
Systematic
and explicit
Flexibility in
use of time
Fast-paced
instruction
Low control of
curriculum and
materials
Ongoing progress
monitoring
Instruction in same
components of reading
(word study,
comprehension,
vocabulary, fluency)
Modifications in
response to individual
student need
Motivation through
text selection,
conferences, goal setting,
positive calls home
Conceptual Framework:
Lesson Focus
• Group 1, 50-minute periods (weekly):
• Vocabulary/morphology: 35–45 minutes
• Comprehension/text reading: 170–180 minutes
• Attitude/motivation: 15–25 minutes
• Group 2, 50-minute periods (weekly):
• Word study/text reading: 100–110 minutes
• Vocabulary/morphology: 35–45 minutes
• Comprehension/text reading: 70–80 minutes
• Attitude/motivation: 15–25 minutes
To view sample lessons, visit: www.texasldcenter.org
Findings, Year 2 (Tier III):
Standardized/Individualized
Comprehension/Fluency Cluster
Posttest results: Median d = 0.23
86
Standard score
84
82
WJPC
80
78
GRADE
76
74
TOSRE
72
70
Tier I (C)
Tier III (Std)
Tier III (Ind)
Findings, Year 2 (Tier III):
Standardized/Individualized
Word Reading Cluster
Posttest results
96
Standard score
94
LWID
92
Word Attack
90
TOWRE
88
Spelling
86
84
82
80
Tier I (C)
Tier III (Std)
Tier III (Ind)
Findings, Year 3: How Did They Do?
Year 3 Aim
Determine long-term effects of intensive interventions on
outcomes for students with persistent reading disabilities
within a response to intervention (RTI) framework
Vaughn, S., Wexler, J., Leroux, A. J., Roberts, G., Denton, C. A., Barth, A. E., &
Fletcher, J. (2011). Effects of intensive reading intervention for eighth-grade students
with persistently inadequate response to intervention. Journal of Learning Disabilities,
45(3), 515–525.
Findings, Year 3: 3-Year Treatment
Comprehension Cluster
• Gates-MacGinitie Passage Comprehension subtest:
ES = 1.20
• Woodcock-Johnson Letter-Word Identification subtest:
ES = 0.49
When Is an ES of 1.20 on a
Standardized Comprehension
Test Inadequate?
Gates-MacGinitie Passage
Comprehension
95
Mean
90
85
85.98
83.37
82.63
80
Tier I
Tier IV
75
74.48
70
Pretest
Posttest
Efficacy of RTI for T vs. C Students
• What is the efficacy of a 3-year, response-based, tiered
model for allocating reading interventions across sixth
through eighth grades?
• Does the 3-year, response-based, tiered model for
struggling readers close the gap with typically achieving
peers?
Roberts, G., Vaughn, S., Fletcher, J. M., Stuebing, K. K., & Barth, A. E. (in press).
Effects of a response-based, tiered framework for intervening with struggling readers
in middle school. Reading Research Quarterly.
Results
• Data multivariate normal
• 3-year trajectories fit for the originally sampled group
(T and C)
Treatment outperformed comparison (ES = 0.26).
• Based on a multi-indicator, multilevel model
• Based on a rather robust comparison condition
Results
• Considering slope over time
• Treated students outperformed typical readers
Reading ability factor scores
22
18
18.8
16.25
14
11.84
13.21
10
8.14
9.67
6
3.82
2
-2
9.91
6.6
3.3
0
-1.11
Fall 6th
Spring 6th
Spring 7th
Spring 8th
Note. Solid line represents comparison group; dashed line represents
treatment group; dotted line represents typical readers. Reading ability
reflects the metric derived from the multiple-indicator, multilevel model.
Impact of Treatment on Attention
Using the same 3-year sample of students, we examined
effects for teacher ratings of attention:
1. Does reading intervention affect behavioral
attention?
2. What is the causal sequence of the effect of
intervention?
Roberts, G., Rane, S., Fall, A.-M., Fletcher, J. M., & Vaughn, S. (in review). The impact
of a longitudinal intervention for reading on level of attention in middle school
students. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.
Reading Intervention Associated With
Behavioral Attention Improvement
Growth Trajectory of Reading for Tier I and Tier II Groups
Intervention
Comparison
Note. Values are latent estimates of average reading. Time 1 in Tier I reading fixed at 0. All other
estimates (across time within Tier I and for all time points in Tier II) are relative to that baseline.
Test for Mediation
• Reading treatment had a direct effect on reading ability,
and reading ability over time predicted behavioral attention.
• Finding: Improved reading (causal order) to improved attention
Growth Trajectory of Attention for Tier I and Tier II Groups
Note. Values are latent estimates of average reading. Time 1 in Tier I attention fixed at 0. All other
estimates (across time within Tier I and for all time points in Tier II) are relative to that baseline.
What Is Special About
Special Education Instruction?
Effects are stronger if interventions do the following:
• Use explicit instruction
• Increase time on task
• Provide opportunities to respond with feedback
• Reduce size of instructional groups
• Are comprehensive (multicomponent) and include a
self-regulation component
• Differentiate according to instructional needs
• Teach in the context of academic content
Sample Inference Instruction
Follow along as the teacher reads this paragraph. Try to picture the
scene in your head. Where does it take place? Who is talking?
"Immigrant families were crowded everywhere, along with boxes and barrels of supplies.
Everything smelled badly. Everywhere you turned, you bumped into someone or fell over a bundle.
It was pure havoc. One or another of the boys was bawling most of the time, especially George. It
took a lot of impatience for me to hit a child, but one night I had had it. In anger, I got up, struck a
match, and lit the kerosene lamp on the wall. My eyes focused on the ceiling quite accidentally and
I saw a mass of crawlers squirming and creeping into crevices. I examined George's body and found
bedbugs crawling about, his body covered with red blotches, and then I knew why he was crying…"
(Hoobbler, p. 101)
1. What do you think this paragraph is about?
2. Does this take place in the past or in the present?
3. How do you know?
4. What is an "immigrant"?
5. What does "havoc" mean?
• Essential Words
• Word Study and
Fluency
• Daily instruction of
overarching concepts.
• Build reading speed, accuracy
and expression.
• Simplified definitions, visuals,
sentence use, think-pair-share
question.
• Begins with word reading and
moves to sentence, paragraph,
and whole passages.
• Individualized materials and
instruction based on student
need.
Vocabulary Close Reading
In 1867, a boy found a large, glassy stone near
Kimberley. When it proved to be a
_______________________, fortune hunters
came from all around the world. From that
unexpected beginning, both gold and diamonds
became a major source of revenue for South
Africa.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
Text-based Reading
Text: Close Reading Vocabulary
All around the world, fall is a time to
harvest. It is the result of many months of
work. In spring before anything is planted,
the fields are bare. Farmers plant their
seeds. As the little plants grow, the farmers
care for them. They water them during the
sweltering heat of summer. They pull
weeds and protect the plants from bugs.
Close Text Reading: Teaching
Vocabulary
1. Select text at sentence level for younger
students or less proficient readers and
paragraph level for more proficient readers.
(See Slide 3)
2. Underline key vocabulary words.
3. Make text available to students.
4. Read text aloud together (teachers and
students)
Cont.
•5. Ask students to work in pairs or small groups
and to read the text multiple times using the text as
a source for determining the meaning of the
underline word.
•6. Students then report out their understanding of
work meaning to class as a whole.
Vocabulary Maps
Components
1. Word Recognition
2. Definitions
3. Illustrations
4. Context
5. Vocabulary Associations
6. Vocabulary Building
7. Application
Vocabulary Map for the Indian
Wars
2. Definition: Underline the key
words.
3. Illustration
4. Context: Circle the correct sentence.
The conflict
between the two tribes
started when both
tribes wanted to settle
In the same area by
the lake.
A disagreement.
Conflict
5. Word Associations: Choose two
related words.
The conflict broke
out of prison last night
after the guards went
to sleep.
6. Word Building: Choose a real word
and then write another word.
7. Provide: an example phrase, sentence,
or definition.
A.
B.
C.
D.
Disagreement
Thump
Skip
Argument
A. Conflicting
B. Conflictment
_______________
Text-based Reading
Text-based Reading
Student Material
Jamestown: The First English
Colony in America
Explorers had been landing in
America for some time before
English settlers arrived in what is
now Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607.
But it was in that spot on the James
River that English colonization
began and with it, the history of
America. James the First was king
of England at that time, and he had
granted approval for a group of
businesspeople to settle in this new
land. They were part of the Virginia
Company, and they got the goahead in 1606. By December of
that year, the expedition was ready.
Stretch Text – teacher
procedure
1. Explorers had been landing in America for some time
before English settlers arrived in what is now
Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607. But it was in that spot on
the James River that English colonization began and
with it, the history of America. James the First was king
of England at that time, and he had granted approval for
a group of businesspeople to settle in this new land. They
were part of the Virginia Company, and they got the goahead in 1606. By December of that year, the expedition
was ready.
Question: Tell me what this part of the story is about.
Possible answer: example: This was about some of the
first settlers who came from England and started to
colonize America in the early 1600’s.
Text-based Instructional Routine
Instructor provides appropriate scaffolds to restrict the
amount of text the student has to address in order to
find the answer. Instructors start with a section of text.
Example
How did the Native Americans help the Pilgrims?
No answer.
Look at the second paragraph to find out how the Native Americans helped the Pilgrims.
No Answer.
Look at the last sentence of the second paragraph to find out how the Native Americans helped
the Pilgrims.
No Answer.
In the last sentence, there is a key word: showed. It tells me the Native Americans showed the
Pilgrims something. What did the Native Americans show the Pilgrims?
They showed them how to grow enough food to last the whole year.
Correct.
The Native Americans helped the Pilgrims by showing them how to grow enough food to feed
themselves all year.
Word Work
Word Work
• Model and teach (I do it.)
Show students the correct way.
• Guided practice (We do it.)
Students do it with teacher support.
• Independent practice (You do it.)
Students practice alone.
• Cumulative practice (built into lessons)
Students practice new items along with items
already learned.
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