California Department of Education
Taking Center Stage – Act II

Response to Intervention (Rtl)

Schools will hear a lot about RtI in the next few years. It is offered as an option for schools under the 2004 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (Outside Source) and is based on over 15 years of practice that has refined “continuous progress monitoring” as a strategy for keeping struggling students on a path toward success.

RtI is the practice of providing high-quality instruction and intervention matched to student needs by analyzing the learning rate over time to make important educational decisions. High-quality instruction is based on scientific research to produce high learning rates for most students. Learning rate refers to a student's growth in achievement or behavior competencies over time compared to peer growth.1

In its simplest form, RtI is a strategy for moving all students from one step in learning the standards to the next. The Response to Intervention approach looks at both academic and behavioral achievement.

  1. Tier 1: Universal interventions. RtI begins with preventive, proactive universal interventions in all subjects and for all students (80-90 percent of students). These interventions are all differentiated instructional strategies and supports that help students learn the material. The universal interventions tie closely to regular assessments that alert the teacher to problems in student learning. (These interventions would generally take place every four to six weeks.) Universal interventions correspond with California’s benchmark interventions (see discussion on Benchmark interventions—reinforcement).

  2. Tier 2: Targeted group interventions. In the next phase, RtI proposes targeted group interventions (for example, a specific mathematics or reading intervention class) for some students who are at risk based on assessment data. The interventions are designed to be rapid and highly efficient. Targeted interventions correspond to California’s strategic interventions (see Strategic interventions—reteaching).

  3. Tier 3: Intensive individual interventions. Anywhere from 1 to 5 percent of students will continue to experience learning difficulties even after the targeted group interventions. These students receive academic or behavioral intensive individual interventions that make use of high-intensity procedures.2

In the Spotlight

John Glenn Middle School (Outside Source) of International Studies, a Schools to Watch™Taking Center Stage 2004 model, Desert Sands Unified School District. The school uses an RSP (resource specialist program) co-teaching model at all three grade levels.

More information about RtI and interventions for special education students is available from the following sites.

California Department of Education Resources

External Resources

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Interventions

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Types of Accelerated Academic Interventions

Footnotes
1Batsche, G., and others, Response to Intervention, Policy Considerations and Implementation (Outside Source), Alexandria, Va.: National Association of State Directors of Special Education, Inc., 2005.
2W. David Tilly III, “Response to Intervention: An Overview,” The Special EDge, Vol. 19,
No. 2, (Winter/Spring 2006), 1, 4, 5.

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