No Child Left Behind (NCLB) & Response to Intervention (RtI)

1. What are the changes in intervention due to Response to Intervention (RtI) and No Child Left Behind (NCLB)? Unless stated otherwise the content of this section is based on Chapter 15 – Gunning, T.G. (2010) Assessing and Correcting Reading and Writing Difficulties. Boston, MA.: Pearson, Education, Inc. Benedictine University

2. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) & Response to Intervention (RtI) • In order to meet the goals of NCLB legislation, schools, parents, and community members need to work together • Early reports have indicated that NCLB has resulted in getting assistance for groups of students like children from low-income families, minority groups, and students with disabilities Benedictine University

3. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) & Response to Intervention (RtI) Cont. • While gains have been made, more must be done to close the gap • Response to Intervention (RtI) is an approach that encourages staff to work together and provide necessary coordinated intervention to all students who need it, regardless of labels Benedictine University

4. Bringing About Change • The first step toward bringing people together = setting up a literacy committee. The committee should: • Adopt a research-based core program, if one does not already exist • Ensure that the curriculum is being implemented with integrity • What other steps do you think a literacy committee should take to enact change? • After brainstorming a few ideas, read the bulleted list of suggested committee work on page 528 of Assessing and Correcting Reading and Writing Difficulties Benedictine University

5. Additional Steps to Bring About Change Collaboration • Grade-level/team meetings focused on student achievement • Study groups to explore areas of need • Review conferences • Teachers, principals, and reading specialists meet to examine student progress utilizing formal and informal data • Shared decision-making among classroom teachers, reading specialists, learning disabilities specialists, and other staff to plan, implement, and monitor the program Benedictine University

6. Additional Steps to Bring About Change • A Coordinated Program • Intervention programs should be coordinated with the classroom program • Leadership • Support (encouragement, planning support and resources) from the administration is essential • Modeling and coaching for staff by literacy experts should occur Benedictine University

7. What are the Essential Components of an Intervention Program? Unless stated otherwise the content of this section is based on Chapter 15 – Gunning, T.G. (2010) Assessing and Correcting Reading and Writing Difficulties. Boston, MA.: Pearson, Education, Inc.

8. The Essential Components of an Intervention Program • Intervention programs should have certain key elements: • These elements are explained in detail on Slides 18 – 26 Benedictine University

9. Essential Components of an Intervention Program Process for Selecting Students • Some options include: • Students falling below a cut-off point • The lowest-achieving students (bottom 20% or neediest three in each class) • Students failing to meet a certain benchmark • Laws and regulations • Universal screening is recommended • Test should be valid, reliable, easy and quick to administer • Screenings should occur three times per year • Selection of screening device depends on the goals of the program • Teachers should consult informal assessment as well. Benedictine University

10. Essential Components of an Intervention Program • Curriculum • Should reflect the school’s philosophy of goals or standards, the school’s philosophy of reading, the nature of the program, and the students’ needs • Should be research-based and implemented with integrity • Instructional Approaches • The core of any intervention is the instructional approach • The instructional approaches should be designed to honor the strengths of the students and consider their needs Benedictine University

11. Essential Components of an Intervention Program • Instructional Schedule • Meet with students no less than two sessions per week • Interventions occur in addition to the classroom instruction • Students should apply literacy skills in all content areas, in addition to language arts classes • A minimum of 50 hours of corrective instruction is required for sustained gains (Guthrie, Seifert, Kline, 1978) • Do not expect students to close the gap overnight; it requires time and patience Benedictine University

12. Essential Components of an Intervention Program • Well-planned Intervention Session • 30-40 minutes with three to seven students • The higher the needs, the smaller the group should be • Strategies should be taught that students can apply in the regular classroom • Carefully consider when to discontinue students from an intervention program • Use two criteria to determine if it is time for a student to be discontinued: (Harris and Sipay, 1990) • Is the student able to meet the reading demands of the regular classroom? • Does the student read voluntarily? Benedictine University

13. Essential Components of an Intervention Program • Organizational patterns that match the students’ needs, resources available, and philosophy of the school district • One-on-One and Small Group Instruction • One-on-One instruction is preferred, but not always practical • If possible, keep groups at or below a 1 to 4 (teacher to students) ratio, in order to avoid stretching the teacher’s efforts too thin Benedictine University

14. Essential Components of an Intervention Program • Small Group vs. Whole-Class Instruction • In-class instruction should be differentiated to meet all students’ needs • According to the National Reading Panel (2000), struggling readers do better when they are grouped according to common needs • Having students in small groups helps the teacher assess their progress and adjust instruction more easily • Read about Guided Reading, Joplin Plan Grouping, and Reading Workshop (page 534 in Assessing and Correcting Reading and Writing Difficulties) • As you read, consider which of these strategies you currently use and which strategies you can try Benedictine University

15. Essential Components of an Intervention Program • Catching Up • More high-quality instructional time can help struggling students close the gap: • Before school, after school, and Saturday programs • Summer school programs • Retention • Is not an effective tool for closing the achievement gap • Gains achieved after students are retained fade after two or three years • Retention = the best predictor of future dropout Benedictine University

16. Essential Components of an Intervention Program • Need for an Extended Program • Specialized literacy instruction should be available at all grades • Students’ needs change as they get older and face different academic demands • Pacing • The rate at which students are introduced to new learning and move through material should allow them catch up with their peers • Programs need energized teaching, careful sequencing of tasks, time spent only on activities that have high payoff, and scaffolding that leads to independence • Monitoring • Progress monitoring and making changes when necessary is essential Benedictine University

17. Essential Components of an Intervention Program • Involving Parents • Parents of struggling readers should be involved in every step of the process, using an ongoing dialogue between the parents and the school • They should be reminded of their children’s strengths, as well as areas of concern • Family Literacy • Parents should be taught strategies and techniques to use with their children • Parents and children could attend sessions together after school or in the summer Benedictine University

18. Additional Information on Intervention Programs Unless stated otherwise the content of this section is based on Chapter 15 – Gunning, T.G. (2010) Assessing and Correcting Reading and Writing Difficulties. Boston, MA.: Pearson, Education, Inc.

19. Test Preparation and Effective Intervention Programs • When struggling readers are given a well-planned intervention program, their test scores rise • Avoid “test-prep” programs, which often just focus on lower-level questions • Instead… • Integrate key content and skills that are tested into your curriculum • Teach some test-taking strategies so that students know what to expect when taking the test Benedictine University

20. Other Ways to Make an Impact with Intervention • Read about the following three additional ways to make an impact with intervention: • Providing Professional Development (page 537) • Tutoring Options (page 537-538) • Fostering Voluntary Reading (page 543) • While reading, reflect on your experience with these three elements. • Have they been addressed at your school? • What would you do differently? Benedictine University

21. Resources Needed for Successful Intervention • Reading materials should be: • At the students’ independent and instructional levels • Available for all content areas • Technology can be used to: • Present information in an engaging way (CDs, videos, Mp3 players to listen to books) • Help students organize information (computers) • Make adaptations (voice-recognition, used when a student dictating a story) • Motivate students to read (e-books) For more information, see pages 543-546 in Assessing and Correcting Reading and Writing Difficulties Benedictine University

22. Programs Evaluation Unless stated otherwise the content of this section is based on Chapter 15 – Gunning, T.G. (2010) Assessing and Correcting Reading and Writing Difficulties. Boston, MA.: Pearson, Education, Inc.

23. Evaluation of Programs • Intervention programs should be evaluated periodically to ensure they are meeting their goals and objectives • Read about the evaluations of intervention programs on pages 546-548 in Assessing and Correcting Reading and Writing Difficulties • As you read, consider the major elements of a successful intervention program • When you have completed the reading, turn to the next slide to describe what are, in your opinion, the important elements of a successful intervention program Benedictine University