RTI in Action

Spectrum K12 School Solutions in partnership with a host of other organizations surveyed school administrators to understand the current state of RTI implementation.  The report analyzes data from 1,390 respondents.  Here are some highlights:

• RTI implementation has increased since 2007 with 68% of the respondents in 2011 indicating they are in the process of or in full implementation of district wide implementation.  Only 24% of schools have reached full implementation.
• Elementary schools are leading the charge, with 80% of respondents reporting they have fully implemented RTI with fidelity in one or more domain areas.
• Across all grade levels, Reading is the predominant domain area for which RTI has been implemented followed by Math and then Behavior.
• With regards to the impact of RTI on student achievement, seven in ten districts report insufficient data to make a judgment on the impact of RTI on AYP.  Of the 28% schools with enough data, the majority (17%) report that RTI has had a positive impact.
• More and more schools are using RTI to individualize learning for ALL students.  (This reiterates what I’ve always thought – isn’t RTI simply good pedagogy?)
• This is interesting – “About five in ten districts have data on referrals to special education. Of these, eight in ten report reductions in referrals to special education compared to those who report no change. This is about the same as the previous two years.”

The report also clearly and concisely defines “full implementation” of RTI which may be helpful for some folks.  My next question would be:  What tools and supports are schools using to support the implementation process?  Feel free to comment (we’ve opened up commenting to make the blog more interactive) and share with us some of the valuable tools and supports you’re using at your school.

RTI In Action

Spectrum K12 School Solutions in partnership with a host of other organizations surveyed school administrators to understand the current state of RTI implementation.  The report analyzes data from 1,390 respondents.  Here are some highlights:

• RTI implementation has increased since 2007 with 68% of the respondents in 2011 indicating they are in the process of or in full implementation of district wide implementation.  Only 24% of schools have reached full implementation.
• Elementary schools are leading the charge, with 80% of respondents reporting they have fully implemented RTI with fidelity in one or more domain areas.
• Across all grade levels, Reading is the predominant domain area for which RTI has been implemented followed by Math and then Behavior.
• With regards to the impact of RTI on student achievement, seven in ten districts report insufficient data to make a judgment on the impact of RTI on AYP.  Of the 28% schools with enough data, the majority (17%) report that RTI has had a positive impact.
• More and more schools are using RTI to individualize learning for ALL students.  (This reiterates what I’ve always thought – isn’t RTI simply good pedagogy?)
• This is interesting – “About five in ten districts have data on referrals to special education. Of these, eight in ten report reductions in referrals to special education compared to those who report no change. This is about the same as the previous two years.”

The report also clearly and concisely defines “full implementation” of RTI which may be helpful for some folks.  My next question would be:  What tools and supports are schools using to support the implementation process?  Feel free to comment (we’ve opened up commenting to make the blog more interactive) and share with us some of the valuable tools and supports you’re using at your school.

Technology to support Response to Intervention

CompassLearning shared some thoughts about Response to Intervention at the middle and high school level.  So often the RtI conversation focuses only on the elementary level.  The article focuses on the power of technology to help teachers accurately diagnose students and conduct effective interventions.  Teachers should ask themselves two key questions when determining if a piece of technology or software program helps with RtI.

• Can you diagnostically assess and determine what foundational skills students have missed and identify critical instructional gaps?
• Does the program allow you to go back in the instructional skills continuum, pick up those skills, accelerate learning, and get students on a trajectory for grade-level success?

If you’re currently using CompassLearning or any of our other programs and products and you can’t answer these questions, call us!  We’d be happy to help you leverage the powerful capabilities of our products to meet your specific needs.