Discusses the Tier implementation in an elementary school and the problems of implementing RTI in a Middle and High School

1. RESPONSE TO INTERVENTION
IMPLEMENTATION
Eileen Lowry Whittle

2. RTI IMPLEMENTATION
ELEMENTARY LEVEL
TIER ONE
80% of student should successfully reach learning objectives
with research based teaching strategies
Guided reading, paired reading, scaffolded sustained silent
reading are good examples of research- based strategies in an
elementary level
Screen all students in the fall, conduct monitoring probes weekly.
2 hours of reading instruction is needed (Burns & Gibbons, 2008,
p. 97).
Content Reading and Phonics should be included
A school wide RTI time is successful and can be called
enrichment.

3. TIER TWO
Notify parents about Tier Two placement
Small groups, 4 to 6 children, 30 minutes 3 to 5 times a week
Teaching involves skill building and tutoring
Should last 8 to 12 weeks, A heavy dose of Tier Two would be 25 weeks and
80 sessions.
This is in addition to and never instead of general education

4. TIER THREE
Parents should be notified about Tier three placements.
Five percent of the student population will not be
successful in Tiers One and Two
Fuchs, Fuchs, & Compton believe that tutoring is the
essential component for at- risk learners (2012).
An intervention plan is developed with the classroom
teacher, school psychologist, special education teacher
and speech and language therapist.

5. TIER THREE
An IEP may be developed. Measureable goals should be established.
Teachers should use data, analyze the problem, develop a plan, and then plan
the implementation.
Teachers should include assessments such as curriculum based measures
weekly.
Need for multiple interventions that include instruction in the deficit skill.

6. TIER THREE
Tier Three needs instructional experts. The teacher
should be trained in instructional assessment and
behavior analysis.
The teacher would adjust instruction child by child.
Tier Three is like Tier Two. Tier Three requires more
intense approaches and should continue for 2 months.
Use scaffolding , providing structure and support.

7. TIER THREE
If the child is successful they can enter a 10 week cycle in Tier Two. If the
child continues to do well they can return to Tier One.
The student may remain in special education. Some students may remain in
Tier Three.
Students may need to move into and out of special education.

8. RTI IN THE MIDDLE AND HIGH
SCHOOLS
The middle schools and high schools do not have the same research evidence
based practices that are found in elementary education.
A year -long study of 6th grade Tier 2 intervention was compared to a similar
group receiving school provided instruction. The Tier 2 students showed
modest gains in comprehension and fluency. The results did not indicate that
this Tier 2 instruction was effective. The authors recommend special
education as an alternative.(Vaughn 2010)

9. RTI IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOLS
Increasing the comprehension skills of struggling
readers is difficult in secondary RTI.
Block scheduling and departmentalizing makes RTI
difficult to implement on the secondary level.
Vaughn (2010) concluded that RTI may not be
sufficient to help middle school students with
chronic reading problems achieve grade-level reading
expectations ( as cited in King, Lemons, & Hill,
2012,p.9).

10. REFERENCES
Brozo, W. (2009). Response to intervention or responsive instruction: Challenges ad
possibilities of RTI for adolescent literacy. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 53(4),
277-281. Retrieved October 6, 2012.
Burns, M. K., & Gibbons, K. (2008). Implementing response-to-intervention in elementary and
secondary schools: Procedures to assure scientific-based practices. New York: Routledge.
Fuchs, D., Fuchs, L., & Compton, D. (2012). Smart RTI: A next generation approach
to multilevel prevention. Exceptional Children, 78(3), 263-279. Retrieved October 6,
2012.
King, S. A., Lemons, C. J., & Hill, D. R. (2012). Response to intervention in secondary
schools: Considerations for administrators. NASSP Bullletin, 96(1), 5-22.
National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State
School Officers. (2010). The Standards. Common Core State Standards Initiative. Retrieved
October 5, 2012, from
http://www.corestandards.org/assets/CCSSI_ELA%20Standards.pdf