Making RTI Work at the Middle and High School Levels Jim Wright www.interventioncentral.org

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Making RTI Work at the Middle and High School
LevelsJim Wrightwww.interventioncentral.org
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Download PowerPoints and Handouts from this
workshop athttp//www.interventioncentral.org/
NASP_Atlantic_City_2008.php
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Workshop Agenda
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The quality of a school as a learning community
can be measured by how effectively it addresses
the needs of struggling students.--Wright
(2005)
Discussion Read the quote below
Do you agree or disagree with this statement?
Why?
Source Wright, J. (2005, Summer). Five
interventions that work. NAESP Leadership
Compass, 2(4) pp.1,6.
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Secondary Students Unique Challenges

• Struggling learners in middle and high school
  may
• Have significant deficits in basic academic
  skills
• Lack higher-level problem-solving strategies and
  concepts
• Present with issues of school motivation
• Show social/emotional concerns that interfere
  with academics
• Have difficulty with attendance
• Are often in a process of disengaging from
  learning even as adults in school expect that
  those students will move toward being
  self-managing learners

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Why Do Students Drop Out of School? Student
Survey

• Classes were not perceived as interesting (47
  percent)
• Not motivated by teachers to work hard (69
  percent)
• Failing in school was a major factor in dropping
  out (35 percent)
• Had to get a job (32 percent)
• Became a parent (26 percent)
• Needed to care for a family member (22 percent)

Source Bridgeland, J. M., DiIulio, J. J.,
Morison, K. B. (2006). The silent epidemic
Perspectives of high school dropouts. Seattle,
WA Gates Foundation. Retrieved on May 4, 2008,
from http//www.gatesfoundation.org/nr/downloads/e
d/TheSilentEpidemic3-06FINAL.pdf
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What Are Some Attributes of High Schools That
Address the Needs of Struggling Learners?

• Small schools (i.e., 400 students or fewer)
• Well-articulated school mission that guides
  development of a coherent curriculum unified
  approach to effective instruction across
  classrooms and cohesive school culture
• Strong relationships between staff and students
• Close monitoring of student performance required
  for graduation and college eligibility
• Challenging and coherent instruction High
  school standards, curricula, and textbooks are
  amile wide and an inch deep.
• Relevant, functional real-world application of
  instructional content and learning activities

Source Gates Foundation (n.d.). High schools for
the new millenium Imagine the possibilities.
Retrieved on July 2, 2008, from
http//www.gatesfoundation.org/nr/downloads/ed/edw
hitepaper.pdf
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Overlap Between Policy Pathways RTI Goals
Recommendations for Schools to Reduce Dropout
Rates

• A range of high school learning options matched
  to the needs of individual learners different
  schools for different students
• Strategies to engage parents
• Individualized graduation plans
• Early warning systems to identify students at
  risk of school failure
• A range of supplemental services/intensive
  assistance strategies for struggling students
• Adult advocates to work individually with at-risk
  students to overcome obstacles to school
  completion

Source Bridgeland, J. M., DiIulio, J. J.,
Morison, K. B. (2006). The silent epidemic
Perspectives of high school dropouts. Seattle,
WA Gates Foundation. Retrieved on May 4, 2008,
from http//www.gatesfoundation.org/nr/downloads/e
d/TheSilentEpidemic3-06FINAL.pdf
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Five Core Components of RTI Service Delivery

1. Student services are arranged in a multi-tier
   model
2. Data are collected to assess student baseline
   levels and to make decisions about student
   progress
3. Interventions are evidence-based
4. The procedural integrity of interventions is
   measured
5. RTI is implemented and developed at the school-
   and district-level to be scalable and sustainable
   over time

Source Glover, T. A., DiPerna, J. C. (2007).
Service delivery for response to intervention
Core components and directions for future
research. School Psychology Review, 36, 526-540.
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RTI Pyramid of Interventions
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Tier I Interventions
Tier I interventions are universalavailable to
all students. Teachers often deliver these
interventions in the classroom (e.g., providing
additional drill and practice in reading fluency
for students with limited decoding skills).
Tier I interventions are those strategies that
instructors are likely to put into place at the
first sign that a student is struggling. Tier I
interventions attempt to answer the question Are
routine classroom strategies for instructional
delivery and classroom management sufficient to
help the student to achieve academic success?
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Tier II Interventions
Tier II interventions are individualized,
tailored to the unique needs of struggling
learners. They are reserved for students with
significant skill gaps who have failed to respond
successfully to Tier I strategies. Tier II
interventions attempt to answer the question Can
an individualized intervention plan carried out
in a general-education setting bring the student
up to the academic level of his or her peers?
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Tier II Interventions
There are two different vehicles that schools can
use to deliver Tier II interventions Standard-Pro
tocol (Standalone Intervention). Group
intervention programs based on scientifically
valid instructional practices (standard
protocol) are created to address frequent
student referral concerns. These services are
provided outside of the classroom. A middle
school, for example, may set up a structured
math-tutoring program staffed by adult volunteer
tutors to provide assistance to students with
limited math skills. Students referred for a Tier
II math intervention would be placed in this
tutoring program. An advantage of the
standard-protocol approach is that it is
efficient and consistent large numbers of
students can be put into these group
interventions to receive a highly standardized
intervention. However, standard group
intervention protocols often cannot be
individualized easily to accommodate a specific
students unique needs. Problem-solving
(Classroom-Based Intervention). Individualized
research-based interventions match the profile of
a particular students strengths and limitations.
The classroom teacher often has a large role in
carrying out these interventions. A plus of the
problem-solving approach is that the intervention
can be customized to the students needs.
However, developing intervention plans for
individual students can be time-consuming.
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Tier III Interventions
Tier III interventions are the most intensive
academic supports available in a school and are
generally reserved for students with chronic and
severe academic delays or behavioral problems.
In many schools, Tier III interventions are
available only through special education. Tier
III supports try to answer the question, What
ongoing supports does this student require and in
what settings to achieve the greatest success
possible?
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Levels of Intervention Tier I, II, III
Tier I Universal100
Tier II Individualized10-20
Tier III Intensive5-10
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RTI Secondary Schools A Walk on the Wild Side
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RTI at the Secondary Level In a Perfect World
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RTI is a Model in Development

• Several proposals for operationalizing response
  to intervention have been madeThe field can
  expect more efforts like these and, for a time at
  least, different models to be testedTherefore,
  it is premature to advocate any single model.
  (Barnett, Daly, Jones, Lentz, 2004 )

Source Barnett, D. W., Daly, E. J., Jones, K.
M., Lentz, F.E. (2004). Response to
intervention Empirically based special service
decisions from single-case designs of increasing
and decreasing intensity. Journal of Special
Education, 38, 66-79.
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Two Ways to Solve Problems Algorithm vs.
Heuristic

• Algorithm. An explicit step-by-step procedure for
  producing a solution to a given problem. Example
  Multiplying 6 x 2
• Heuristic. A rule of thumb or approach which may
  help in solving a problem, but is not guaranteed
  to find a solution. Heuristics are exploratory in
  nature. Example Using a map to find an
  appropriate route to a location.

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As Knowledge Base Grows, Heuristic Approaches
(Exploratory, Open-Ended Guidelines to Solving a
Problem) Can Sometimes Turn into Algorithms
(Fixed Rules for Solving a Problem )Example
Recipes Through History
MODERN DARYOLS RECIPE (ALGORITHM)INGREDIENTS 2
(9 inch) unbaked pie crusts 1/2 cup blanched
almonds 1 1/4 cups cold water 1
cup half-and-half cream 1 pinch saffron powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 5 eggs
3/4 cup white
sugar 1 teaspoon rose water DIRECTIONS Preheat
the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Press
pie crusts into the bottom and up the sides of
two 9 inch pie pans. Prick with a fork all over
to keep them from bubbling up. Bake pie crusts
for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until
set but not browned. Set aside to cool. Make an
almond milk by placing almonds in the container
of a food processor. Process until finely ground,
then add water, and pulse just to blend. Let the
mixture sit for 10 minutes, then strain through a
cheesecloth. Measure out 1 cup of the almond
milk, and mix with half and half. Stir in the
saffron and cinnamon, and set aside. Place the
eggs and sugar in a saucepan, and mix until well
blended. Place the pan over low heat, and
gradually stir in the almond milk mixture and
cinnamon. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly
until the mixture begins to thicken. When the
mixture is thick enough to evenly coat the back
of a metal spoon, stir in rose water and remove
from heat. Pour into the cooled pie shells. Bake
for 40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until
the center is set, but the top is not browned.
Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until
serving.
DARYOLS ORIGINAL14th CENTURY ENGLISH RECIPE
(HEURISTIC)Take cream of cow milk, or of
almonds do there-to eggs with sugar, saffron and
salt. Mix it fair. Do it in a pie shell of 2 inch
deep bake it well and serve it forth.
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RTI is a Work in Progress Some Areas Can Be
Managed Like an Algorithm While Others Require a
Heuristic Approch

• Reading Fluency. Can be approached as a fixed
  algorithm.
• DIBELS allows universal screening and
  progress-monitoring
• DIBELS benchmarks give indication of student risk
  status
• Classroom-friendly research-based fluency
  building interventions have been validated
• Study Skills. A complex set of skills whose
  problem-solving approach resembles a heuristic.
• Students basic set of study skills must be
  analyzed
• The intervention selected will be highly
  dependent on the hypothesized reason(s) for the
  students study difficulties
• The quality of the research on study-skills
  interventions varies and is still in development

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RTI implementation has clearly focused on
elementary grades, with few attempting it on the
secondary levelHowever, school districts will
need to decide when and howrather than ifRTI
will begin in their middle schools and high
schools. We suggest focusing on elementary
schools in the initial phase of implementation,
but eventually including secondary schools in
practice and throughout the planning process.--
Burns Gibbons (2008) p. 10
Source Burns, M. K., Gibbons, K. A. (2008).
Implementing response-to-intervention in
elementary and secondary schools Procedures to
assure scientific-based practices. New York
Routledge.
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RTI Research Questions

• Q How Relevant is RTI to Secondary Schools?
• The purposes of RTI have been widely defined as
• Early intervention in general education
• Special education disability determination
• How relevant is RTI at the middle or high school
  level?

Source Fuchs, D., Deshler, D. D. (2007). What
we need to know about responsiveness to
intervention (and shouldnt be afraid to ask)..
Learning Disabilities Research Practice,
22(2),129136.
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The Purpose of RTI in Secondary Schools What
Students Does It Serve?

• While the dual use of the RTI model (1) for
  early identification/remediation of at-risk
  students and (2) for the classification of
  children needing special education is adequate
  for the elementary level, in middle and high
  school there are also significant numbers of
  students who have a long history of poor school
  performance yet will probably not quality for
  special education services.
• In secondary schools, RTI must expand its
  mission to help chronically struggling,
  unmotivated students in a systematic way. In
  particular, how does RTI manage the needs of the
  chronically underachieving secondary student who
  does not (and likely will not) qualify for
  special education but requires ongoing academic
  support?

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The Purpose of RTI in Secondary Schools What
Students Should It Serve?
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Big Ideas in Academic Interventions
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Big Ideas Student Social Academic Behaviors
Are Strongly Influenced by the Instructional
Setting (Lentz Shapiro, 1986)

• Students with learning problems do not exist in
  isolation. Rather, their instructional
  environment plays an enormously important role in
  these students eventual success or failure

Source Lentz, F. E. Shapiro, E. S. (1986).
Functional assessment of the academic
environment. School Psychology Review, 15, 346-57.
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Big Ideas Learn Unit (Heward, 1996) p. 35

• The three essential elements of effective student
  learning include
• Academic Opportunity to Respond. The student is
  presented with a meaningful opportunity to
  respond to an academic task. A question posed by
  the teacher, a math word problem, and a spelling
  item on an educational computer Word Gobbler
  game could all be considered academic
  opportunities to respond.
• Active Student Response. The student answers the
  item, solves the problem presented, or completes
  the academic task. Answering the teachers
  question, computing the answer to a math word
  problem (and showing all work), and typing in the
  correct spelling of an item when playing an
  educational computer game are all examples of
  active student responding.
• Performance Feedback. The student receives timely
  feedback about whether his or her response is
  correctoften with praise and encouragement. A
  teacher exclaiming Right! Good job! when a
  student gives an response in class, a student
  using an answer key to check her answer to a math
  word problem, and a computer message that says
  Congratulations! You get 2 points for correctly
  spelling this word! are all examples of
  performance feedback.

Source Heward, W.L. (1996). Three low-tech
strategies for increasing the frequency of active
student response during group instruction. In R.
Gardner, D. M.S ainato, J. O. Cooper, T. E.
Heron, W. L. Heward, J. W. Eshleman, T. A.
Grossi (Eds.), Behavior analysis in education
Focus on measurably superior instruction
(pp.283-320). Pacific Grove, CABrooks/Cole.
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Big Ideas The Four Stages of Learning Can Be
Summed Up in the Instructional Hierarchy pp.
35-36 (Haring et al., 1978)

• Student learning can be thought of as a
  multi-stage process. The universal stages of
  learning include
• Acquisition The student is just acquiring the
  skill.
• Fluency The student can perform the skill but
  must make that skill automatic.
• Generalization The student must perform the
  skill across situations or settings.
• Adaptation The student confronts novel task
  demands that require that the student adapt a
  current skill to meet new requirements.

Source Haring, N.G., Lovitt, T.C., Eaton, M.D.,
Hansen, C.L. (1978). The fourth R Research in
the classroom. Columbus, OH Charles E. Merrill
Publishing Co.
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Instructional Hierarchy Stages of Learning

• Acquisition Effective Intervention Ideas
• Teacher actively demonstrates target skill
• Teacher uses think-aloud strategy-- especially
  for thinking skills that are otherwise covert
• Student has models of correct performance to
  consult as needed (e.g., correctly completed math
  problems on board)
• Student gets feedback about correct performance
• Student receives praise, encouragement for effort

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Instructional Hierarchy Stages of Learning

• Fluency Effective Intervention Ideas
• Teacher structures learning activities to give
  student opportunity for active (observable)
  responding
• Student has frequent opportunities to drill
  (direct repetition of target skill) and practice
  (blending target skill with other skills to solve
  problems)
• Student gets feedback on fluency and accuracy of
  performance
• Student receives praise, encouragement for
  increased fluency

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Instructional Hierarchy Stages of Learning

• Generalization Effective Intervention Ideas
• Teacher structures academic tasks to require that
  the student use the target skill regularly in
  assignments.
• Student receives encouragement, praise,
  reinforcers for using skill in new settings,
  situations
• If student confuses target skill with similar
  skill(s), the student is given practice items
  that force him/her to correctly discriminate
  between similar skills
• Teacher works with parents to identify tasks that
  the student can do outside of school to practice
  target skill
• Student gets periodic opportunities to review,
  practice target skill to ensure maintenance

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Instructional Building Blocks

• Adaption Effective Intervention Ideas
• Teacher helps student to articulate the big
  ideas or core element(s) of target skill that
  the student can modify to face novel tasks,
  situations (e.g., fractions, ratios, and
  percentages link to the big idea of the part in
  relation to the whole Thank you is part of a
  larger class of polite speech)
• Train for adaptation Student gets opportunities
  to practice the target skill with modest
  modifications in new situations, settings with
  encouragement, corrective feedback, praise, other
  reinforcers.
• Encourage student to set own goals for adapting
  skill to new and challenging situations

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Big Ideas Academic Delays Can Be a Potent Cause
of Behavior Problems (Witt, Daly, Noell, 2000)

• Student academic problems cause many school
  behavior problems.
• Whether a students problem is a behavior
  problem or an academic one, we recommend starting
  with a functional academic assessment, since
  often behavior problems occur when students
  cannot or will not do required academic work.

Source Witt, J. C., Daly, E. M., Moell, G.
(2000). Functional assessments A step-by-step
guide to solving academic and behavior problems.
Longmont, CO Sopris West, p. 13
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Elbow-Group Activity Secondary RTI Strengths
Blockers

• As a group, discuss the issue of implementing an
  RTI model in your secondary school(s).
• Identify strengths in your system that will help
  the process of bringing RTI to your school(s).
• Identify potential blockers or challenges that
  must be overcome to bring RTI to your school(s).