News and Knowledge

As our kids return to school, it is important to be in the know about the options available to you that can help your child overcome obstacles in the classroom. Guest blogger Jessica explains the RTI process and how it can benefit your child in this week’s OAR blog.

If your child has been struggling in school, chances are you have heard about RTI.  However, there are many misconceptions surrounding the process, and you may have questions about how it works and how it can benefit your child.  I will attempt to provide some answers here.  As an educator, I have been on my school’s Problem Solving Team since before RTI was created.  My goal is to provide you with a basic understanding of the process.  I encourage you to reach out to your school’s Problem Solving Team to find out specifics for your child’s school, as the process varies slightly from state to state.

What is RTI?

RTI or Response to Intervention is a “multi-step process of providing educational support and instruction to children who are struggling learners.”  (education.nh.gov).  RTI was developed in response to the over-identification of students for special education services.  In the past, if a student was struggling in school, a team of educational professionals known as the child study team would meet and discuss the child.  If the team agreed with the concerns of the parent and teacher, they would recommend educational evaluations.  If there was enough of a discrepancy between a child’s ability (as determined by the assessment) and the child’s performance, then the child would qualify for a learning disability.  Sometimes the child truly had a learning disability, but sometimes the child simply hadn’t had been given enough educational support to succeed.  This mode was often referred to as the “test and place” model.

RTI is a very different framework and mindset.  It is important to understand upfront that the goal of RTI is not to place students into special education services, though this could be one of the outcomes at the end of the process.   No longer do we simply test a child and place them into services.  The premise of RTI is that a child is struggling for a reason, and by providing the child with a specific research-based intervention that is targeted to the child’s specific area of need, the child will improve academically.  Data is collected frequently and progress is tracked and graphed on a regular basis.  If the child is not responding to the intervention, then often another intervention is recommended to see if the new intervention results in improved learning.  It is only after tracking and intensifying interventions over time with little results, that the team begins to discuss if special education services would be appropriate.

Once a child enters kindergarten, if there is an academic concern, the child goes through the RTI process before he or she can receive special education services.  Prior to this time, a child may be evaluated and placed.  For example, before my son entered Pre-K, he was tested at our local evaluation center and was found eligible for speech, language, and OT services under the classification of ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder).  Had my son entered kindergarten without these diagnoses, he may have gone through the entire RTI process before he would have been found eligible for these services.  A common exception to this is if the only area of concern is speech (aRTIculation).  The speech therapist can evaluate the child and, if found eligible, services can begin.  If the child has language concerns, however, the child goes through the steps of the RTI process. [Note: Parents have the right to request an evaluation at any time if they suspect that their child has a disability that interferes with school.]

The Tiers

RTI is traditionally a three-tiered framework.  I like to use the analogy of a wedding cake to help others understand it.  A wedding cake has tiers, stacked one on top of another.  The bottom tier is the largest, with each tier progressively getting smaller as the cake is stacked higher.  Each tier is connected to the other and, if we wanted a really big piece of cake, we could cut through all the tiers and the layers would all be there.

In much the same way, RTI is a multi-tiered system of support.  The bottom layer of the “RTI cake” is Tier 1.  This is the foundation of instruction that all students receive.  It is important to understand that all students, regardless of whether they have learning challenges or not, are included in the RTI process.  The instruction that all children receive is referred to as Tier 1 instruction.  In reading, this could include read aloud time, reading workshop, independent reading, and even small group instruction.   If all students receive the instruction, it is considered Tier 1.

Early in the school year, all students will be assessed on some measure in the area of reading (and usually math).  This is called a Universal Screener.  Once the school receives the results, the students’ results are sorted from highest to lowest.  The lowest 20 to 25% of the performers (usually at a grade level) are identified to receive more targeted interventions.  Now we have moved to the second layer of the “RTI cake”- Tier 2 interventions.

When your child is identified as a student who could benefit from Tier 2 interventions, you should be notified of the concern and the interventions that your child will receive.  Usually you will be notified in the form of a letter, but sometimes you may be invited to a Problem Solving Team meeting, where the team discusses the specific concerns and makes a plan for your child.  It is important to remember that the Tier 2 interventions will be provided in addition to Tier 1 instruction.  Tier 2 interventions are usually provided in a group of six students or less.  The group generally meets for about 30 minutes a day and the children in the group all have similar needs.  The person leading the group may or may not be your child’s teacher.  Often teachers share children so that they can better group children with like needs.  The group’s progress is tracked and graphed.  In this way, the team can see if the child is progressing in relation to the other students in the group.  If all the students are struggling, the intervention may be the concern.  If only one student is struggling, the team may choose to change the focus of the intervention for the child, give the intervention more time, or move to more intensive interventions.

If the child continues to struggles, the Problem Solving Team will meet and invite you to attend.  At the meeting, you and your child’s teacher will have an opportunity to share concerns.  Assessment data and graphs will be shared and next steps will be discussed.  At this point, the team often will recommend that more intensive (Tier 3) interventions be added in addition to Tier 1 and Tier 2.  Tier 3 is the top tier of the “RTI cake”.  It is the most intensive level of support that includes one-on-one time with the teacher or a qualified adult.  There can be no more than three students in this group, and it usually occurs two or three times per week for about 10 to 15 minutes.  At this stage in the process, the team may request additional educational evaluations if the team wants to gather more information about the child’s achievement, processing speed, etc.  As a parent, you can request these evaluations if you would like this additional information.  The school will provide a professional to complete these at no cost to you during school hours and will review the results with you at a later meeting.  Keep in mind that the school has 60 school days to complete the evaluations.  This is also an appropriate time to discuss language concerns, if there are any.  Language interventions also follow the three-tiered process and should happen concurrently with academic interventions.

After a period of time (at least another six weeks, but most likely longer), the team will reconvene to discuss the child’s progress with Tier 3 interventions.  Graphs will again be shared- this time comparing the student to the expected level for whatever area is being targeted (sight words, fluency, etc).  If the child is still not progressing, and the results of the evaluations indicate that the child is underperforming in various areas, the team may recommend that special education services be considered.  Again- special education is not the goal of the RTI process.  The goal is that the student responds to the interventions and no longer needs them.  If the graphs show that the student is progressing, then the student should gradually receive less tiered support until he or she is only receiving Tier 1 instruction.  However, if the student is not progressing or requires substantial support to make only minimal progress, then special education services may be appropriate.

Things to Expect

• The process will take time.  The team needs to collect at least six data points at each the Tier 2 and the Tier 3 level, often more, especially if the intervention has been changed.  In my experience, it takes at minimum one school year (often longer) for a student to move from receiving Tier 1 interventions to qualifying for special education services.

• When you attend your first Problem Solving Team meeting as a parent, it can be overwhelming because of the number of people in the room.  Keep in mind that every member has a role and that they are all there to help your child.  When you think about it, it’s pretty awesome that so many professionals come together with the express purpose of helping your child to succeed.

• Expect to hear lots of terms and jargon that you don’t understand.  Don’t be afraid to ask a member of a team to explain what they mean or repeat what they have said.  You are a member of the team and your role is a critical one.  Be an active paRTIcipant.  Your child needs you!

• Once your child begins receiving Tier 3 interventions and you sign consent for educational evaluations, the team should provide you with procedural safeguards.  These are your rights as a parent.  Again- don’t be afraid to ask questions about these and make sure you understand them fully.  If your child becomes a student who receives special education services, these rights will become very important.  Stay informed.

• If your child does qualify for special education services, this does not mean that he or she will necessarily be put into a special class.  Typically students who receive special education services start by receiving resource support where the special education teacher goes into the regular education classroom and provides extra support.  However, there are many different models and your child’s team will discuss which is appropriate for your child.  Remember, the law says that your child should be placed in the least restrictive environment, which is the environment that requires the least amount of supports for your student to succeed.

The RTI process can often be confusing and frustrating because of the amount of time it takes and the many meetings that are held, but keep in mind that the ultimate goal is to create a plan and to put supports in place that help your child succeed.  By staying involved every step of the way, proactively reaching out to the team to check on progress, and participating at every meeting, you will be helping to make critical decisions about your child’s educational future.  Best of luck!

About The Author

My name is Jessica and I am the mom of an amazing six year old on the Autism Spectrum named Ben.  I have changed both my name and his to protect his privacy. I have been a Literacy Specialist in our school district for the past several years, and, prior to that, was a classroom teacher.  This past year I started a blog called Changed for Good Autism in order to offer support to families who are on a similar journey and to help my own family grow in their understanding of autism and its unique impact on our family.  I believe that while Ben’s autism brings challenges to his life, he has also been given certain strengths, which we seek to build upon in order to help him to be the best version of himself that he can be.