RTI: The Central Role of Instruction in NCLB and IDEA

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RTI The Central Role of Instruction in NCLB and
IDEA

• Joseph Witt, PhD

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NCLB and IDEA are Merging

• Foundation is good practices in general education
• Eligibility determination in special education
  cannot be based on a lack of appropriate
  instruction in general education
• Comes Together in
• 3 Tiered Model

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Responsiveness to Intervention Model
Level IV Special Education IEP Determination
   
HIGH
Level III Intensive Interventions
Level II Selected Interventions
Intensity of Treatment
Level I Universal Interventions
Degree of Unresponsiveness to Intervention
LOW
HIGH
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Kalisha New Way and Old Way
Current Grade Placement5th
Current Reading Level3rd
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A Discrepancy Does Exist but Why?
The Discrepancy between Actual and Expected
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Two Approaches

• Assume problem resides within child and search
  for problem
• Learning Disability
• Assume FIRST problem is with instruction
• every child can learn given the right strategies

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Current System

• Kalisha is Referred
• Tested
• Woodcocked
• WISCered
• Voila
• Severe Discrepancy
• Diagnosis LD
• Placement in Special Education

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Discrepancy ExplainedKalisha has LD!

• Kalisha goes off to Special Education
• The Classroom Teacher Returns to Normal Routines
• School Based Team is Happy
• Something has been done about Kalisha

Why Consider a Change in IDEA to RTI
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Why Change

• Disability designation and hall passes
• LD placements up in US astronomically
• Increase not a problem IF Students do Well in
  SPED
• Outcomes for SPED Students Poor

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Could All Those New Placements Really be LD?

• Is there a new LD epidemic
• If not, what could explain the large increases in
  LD placement?

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LD Epidemic Mystery Solved

• Scientists have Discovered that often the student
  has merely not been instructed --ABT
• Was teacher highly qualified
• Did reading instruction include essential
  components of reading
• Was reading instruction evidenced based
• Did instruction occur consistently

Duh
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Now with NCLB Onus on District to Show
Progress-Not Blame Student
Why is Student Low

• Are progress data available showing most
  students are successful?
• Are all subgroups successful?
• If not how can you say any one child is LD
• They have not had a chance to learn.

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How Do you KNOW

• Core instruction is working within RTI
• Which students need help
• STEEP Example

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RTI Lots of Moving Parts

• Screen ALL Students
• Begin Intervention for Some
• Monitor Progress
• Make Changes if Needed
• Schools Need Tech Assistance
• Who will do these new Jobs
• How do you do them

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Universal ScreeningSounds Like Too Much Work

• STEEP
• ReadingOne Minute Individual Screening
• MathGroup Screening
• Cant Do or Wont Do
• Most Schools Can Be Screened in a Day
• Results returned to teachers that day

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How Does it Work?

• First, All Children in the school are screened in
  reading and math
• Using BRIEF classroom based testsCBM
• Next, Cant Do/Wont Do Assessment
• Is problem skill or motivation

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Many students in the red zone.
The team should consider group or classwide
interventions rather than referring one student
at a time.
Core Curriculum Problems
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(No Transcript)
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Needs Instructional Intervention
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How Does All that Help
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Filters Increase Accuracy of Referrals
Many Children Are Screened
Few Individual Concerns
Fewer Non-responders
Even Less Require Full Evaluation
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Positive Outcomes

• Biloxi, MS
• Referrals in two schools from 1999-2003
• 40 Total Per Year
• Referrals 2004-2005
• 1 Total
• Why? School Psycs and Speech Paths with
  Graphsmodeling interventions
• Vail Arizona
• Multiple Baseline Across Schools
• 30-50 Reduction in Referrals
• Why? Focus on Core CurriculumTEACHERS!!

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Determining Lack of Instruction Many students
not Learning at Tier 1
Grade Level Standard
The Sore Thumb Test
Kalisha in Red Seems to be a Problem
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Progress Monitoring in General ED a MUST

• Inquiring minds want to know, how did Kalisha get
  behind in the first place
• Did this happen gradually?
• Why wasnt something done sooner

Asleep at the Wheel?
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Progress for Subgroups?
Why Place Hispanic StudentsCore not Working
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Let me See Reading
Will this be known in future?
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What Should you Do if Core Curriculum is a Problem

• Options
• Classwide Intervention
• Large Group
• Most students will respond

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STEEP Screening Identified School Wide Math
Deficits in Arizona School
Green Zone
Yellow Zone
Red Zone
Each bar is a students performance
Math problems grades 3-5
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After School Wide Intervention--No Systemic
Problem
Fourth Grade
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Importantly Significant Improvements in SAT-9
Data
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How are these alike?

• Overidentification
• Disproportionality

Linked to Academic Progress or Lack Thereof
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What if Kalishas Class is OK but She is
Struggling? Core instruction is OK.
Grade Level Standard
Kalisha Sticks out Like a Sore Thumb
Core curriculum working for most but not her
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Tier 2 For KalishaResponse to Intervention
Before Intervention
During Intervention
Correct
Avg. for his Class
Each Dot is one Day of Intervention
Intervention Sessions
Intervention in Reading
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No Response to intervention
Before Intervention
During Intervention


Correct
Avg. for his Class
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Goals of Tier 2 Intervention

• To reduce the gap
• To rule out ABT
• Cant be done with Woodcock or any other test.
• Testing cant know she wasnt taught
  effectively!!!
• The only way to determine if student can learn
  normally is to teach and look at students
  response

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Kalisha using RTI via NCLB and IDEA

• Evidenced based core to prevent failure
• Universal screening to detect Kalisha when she is
  slightly behind
• Evidenced based Supplemental Instruction
• Intensive Individual Intervention
• New way 95 Chance No SPED Needed
• Old way 90 Chance SPED Needed

Kalisha Needs the Juice I-N-S-T-R-U-C-T-I-O-N
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Challenges Exist

• Research Base is Lacking in Some Areas
• New Jobs Require
• Existing people learning new Jobs
• New RTI Specialists
• Interventionists
• Job Integrated Training
• The big big challengeImplementation Fidelity

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Heres the Friction

• Currently Team
• Develops Gut Feeling About the problem
• Then Self Report cycle for teacher
• How do you know child needs help.
• How do you know intervention was done
• How do you know intervention did not work
• Ok lets test
• Because that is ONLY real option
• Now Lets place
• Nobody has to do much
• Old way easy and routine.
• RTILots of Moving Part

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Daunting Facts

• Yesseldyke Studies
• The Big Green Arrow
• If intervention fidelity is this low
• Teacher delivered intervention impossible

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Changes May be Needed

• Current Practice
• Every child has collaboratively developed
  individual intervention
• Problems
• Not evidenced based
• No one is an expert
• Materials must be assembled
• New Way
• Tiny Number of Evidenced Based Interventions
• Materials ReadiedPre-training
• Use them when needed

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Due Process and Fidelity

• Old Way
• We did the intervention now lets place
• New WayResults tell us
• Can child learn at normal rate?
• Rule out ABT
• What intensity of services are needed?
• Intervention now serves an assessment purpose.
  Validity data needed.

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Common Questions

• How much improvement is enough
• What counts as intervention
• How long, what intensity
• What if intervention not used
• Due Process Requirements
• Completely Untested

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Kalisha
OLD WAY
NEW WAY

• Wait to fail
• Test her using
• Block design
• Woodcock her
• Compare to National Norms
• Place

• Screen early-help early
• Compare to local norms
• Intervene
• Use intervention response to determine child needs

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Thank You
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