What is RTI?

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Response to intervention integrates assessment and intervention within a multi-level prevention system to maximize student achievement and to reduce behavior problems. With RTI, schools identify students at risk for poor learning outcomes, monitor student progress, provide evidence-based interventions, adjust the intensity and nature of those interventions depending on a student’s responsiveness, and identify students with learning disabilities.
—Source: National Center on Response to Intervention

CORE RTI CONCEPTS

• high-quality, research-based classroom instruction
• universal screenings of academics and behavior
• continuous progress monitoring
• research-based interventions
• continuous progress monitoring during interventions
• integrity of instruction and interventions

CORE RTI ATTRIBUTES

• tiered interventions
• implementation of differentiated curriculum
• instruction delivered by staff other than classroom teachers at higher tiers
• varied duration and frequency of interventions
• placement decisions that serve students with varied abilities
• standardized treatment protocol
—Source: National Research Center on Learning Disabilities

THREE-TIERED RTI MODEL

The three-tiered model is the most common RTI design. A tiered model is designed to offer instructional support at increasing levels of intensity according to student need, and with specific features:

Tier 1: Universal or General Education
• all students
• flexible grouping and differentiated instruction

Tier 2: Targeted or Supplemental
• 10 to 15 percent of students
• small group not to exceed five
• one 30-minute daily session

Tier 3: Strategic or Intensive
• five to 10 percent of students
• individual or very small group not to exceed three
• two 30-minute daily sessions
—Source: RTI From All Sides: What Every Teacher Needs to Know (Heinemann, 2009), by Mary Howard