RESPONSE TO INTERVENTION A STANDARDS-ALIGNED APPROACH TO STUDENT SUCCESS!

1. RESPONSE TO INTERVENTION A STANDARDS-ALIGNED APPROACH TO STUDENT SUCCESS! Northeastern Educational Intermediate Unit September 2008 RtI in PA

2. RESPONSE TO INSTRUCTION & INTERVENTION A STANDARDS-ALIGNED APPROACH TO STUDENT SUCCESS! Northeastern Educational Intermediate Unit September 2008 RtI in PA

3. Agenda • Overview of RtI framework • Characteristics of universal screening tools • Logistics for implementing an efficient universal screening

4. Starting point for RtI • Do I believe ALL children can learn? • Do I believe performance targets on the PSSA will be met by 2014? • Can I change my current instructional practice to impact student performance?

5. Underlying Principles of RtI • RtI is a general education initiative • Improving the effectiveness of core instruction is basic to the process • No Child Left Behind really means NO • Assessment data should both inform and evaluate the impact of instruction • Beliefs must be supported by research • How do you spell AYP??? RtI

6. Key Features • Effective instructional / intervention programs • Frequent assessment of student performance • Screening (Benchmark) • Diagnostic • Progress Monitoring (formative) • Outcome (summative) • Use of data to make instructional / intervention decisions

7. Why Screen?? First graders in the bottom quartile in reading have an 88% likelihood of placing in the bottom quartile in 4th grade and a 78% likelihood of remaining there through 8th grade. Juel 1988

8. Why Screen?? When students are tracked (homogenously grouped), the ability gap widens more than when students are not tracked (heterogeneously grouped). Davenport & Ruiz (1993)

9. The Scope of the Problem 40% of U.S. fourth-grade students read below a “basic level” and have “little or no mastery of the knowledge or skills necessary to perform work at each grade level” (NAEP) • Problems are particularly severe for disadvantaged students (50% of 4th grade students whose parents graduated from college were proficient / advanced compared to only of 4th graders whose parents did not finish high school). 10%

10. The Scope of the Problem 20% Almost of the nation’s children encounter severe reading problems before third grade which translates into more than million children in America who are struggling, unsuccessfully, to read 10 A full of students with learning disabilities have reading as their primary area of difficulty 80-85%

11. The Scope of the Problem 40% of seniors cannot add fractions with unlike denominators.

12. RtII is an early intervening strategy and carries dual meaning in Pennsylvania. • It is a comprehensive, multi-tiered, standards aligned strategy to enable early identification and intervention for students at academic or behavioral risk. • RtII may be considered as one alternative to the aptitude-achievement discrepancy model for the identification of students with learning disabilities after the establishment of specific progress measures.

13. RtI Paradigm Shift The concept is simple… the implementation is challenging. RtI requires that we rethink how and why we do what we do. G. Emerson Dickman

14. RTI - NOT • RtI students • RtI classroom • RtI teachers • Special education • Another name for IST RtI is a philosophy!

15. LEGAL AUTHORITY

16. NCLB: • Provided the impetus for school improvement through AYP accountability. • Defined and required implementation of ‘scientifically research-based practices’. • Supported involvement of all children in the general education curriculum.

17. What is Scientific Research? • Quantitative • Replicated • Large sample size • Hypothesis • Peer reviewed publication

18. IDEA 2004: Specific Learning Disabilities “The LEA shall not be required to take into consideration whether the child has a severe discrepancy between achievement and intellectual ability in oral expression, listening comprehension, written expression, basic reading skill, reading comprehension, reading fluency, mathematical calculation, or mathematical reasoning.”

19. IDEA 2004 Specific Learning Disabilities “In determining whether a child has a specific learning disability, a local educational agency may use a process which determines if a child responds to scientifically research- based interventions.”

20. IDEA 2004 Specific Learning Disabilities A child is not a child with a disability if the presenting problem is caused by: • Lack of instruction in reading – including in the essential components of reading instruction • Lack of instruction in math • Limited English proficiency

21. 14.125 Criteria for Determining Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) Each school district and IU must develop procedures for determination of SLD that conform to State criteria Procedures must be included in special education plans §14.125(a), §711.25 (a)

22. Per Sections 14.122 & 14.125… • All children are required to have ‘scientifically- based instruction’ in core academic subjects • All children must be screened at reasonable intervals • Children referred to MDT for SLD must receive repeated assessments

23. *The most crucial work of RtI implementation is ensuring quality teaching in the standards aligned general education core curriculum.

24. Connection toPennsylvania’s Standards Aligned System and School Improvement Process

25. Addressing the Priorities:A Standards-Aligned System Clear Standards Interventions (Safety Nets) Fair Assessments Curriculum: Concepts and Competencies Instructional Materials & Resources Instruction Strong Results

26. The Three Phases of a Continuous Improvement Planning Framework Phase 2 ANALYZE DATA and DISCOVER “Root Cause” RtI –Data teaming process Phase 3 PLAN SOLUTION *RtI Strategy Phase 1 ORGANIZE and REVIEW DATA RtI –Data driven process • Summative Assessments • Formative Assessments • Perceptual/Demographic Data *RtI connection: The RtI strategy may be used as one of the “vital few” research validated strategies to assist schools with improving student performance.

27. RtI: Universal Screening

28. Why Universal Screeners? • Early Intervening-actively seek out students at risk of difficulty and intervene immediately prior to long term failure and the need for intensive supports. OR • Wait for long-term failure greatly increasing the need for intensive interventions including special education.

30. Universal Screening Expectations • Screenings conducted on all students three times per year • School maintains results of screening in a database • School produces user-friendly summaries of screening data: • A graph is completed to display data for analysis and decision-making and to indicate percentage of students at-risk, at some risk, and at low risk

31. Characteristics of a Quality Screening Instrument • Must be brief and easily administered. • Must be research-based • Must be highly correlated to skills assessed • Must have benchmarks or be predictive of future performance • Must have high reliability and validity. • Must be sensitive to small increments of change

32. Additional Characteristics • Alternate forms available • Screening • Progress Monitoring • Rates of improvement specified • Data analysis and reporting available • Leads to teacher or student change National Center on Student Progress Monitoring

33. Reading – A National Priority • How many students in your school or district are identified as learning disabled in reading? • How are those students identified? • Are you satisfied with your school or district’s achievement in reading, spelling, writing, and/or language?

34. The reality is… • 80-85% of children referred to special education have learning disabilities involving reading and /or language. • 70-80% or poor readers have trouble with accurate and fluent word recognition in combination with fluency and comprehension problems. • Potential reading problems can be identified as early as mid-kindergarten and possibly earlier!

35. The Research Is Clear • Only 2-5% of our struggling readers should experience severe reading difficulties. • 90-95% of our students can become successful readers.

36. We can prevent the achievement gap!We can prevent many children with reading deficits from becoming reading disabled!

37. Frequently Used in PA • Dynamic Indicators of Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) • www.dibels.uoregon.edu • AIMSweb • 4Sight Benchmark Assessments • www.AIMSweb.com • www.successforall.net • Monitoring Basic Skills Progress (MBSP) • www.proedinc.com • School-wide Information Systems (SWIS) • www.swis.org

38. REMEMBER: WITHOUT DATA… ALL YOU HAVE IS AN OPINION!!! Screening data, while brief, is authentic, timely, and your first indicator of difficulty with your school, class, or student.

39. SCREENING PLAN FOR IT DO IT ANALYZE IT DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT