Response to Intervention:
Tirzah Carroll
Reinhardt University
Special education is no longer the sole responsibility of a special needs educator. General education teachers are now finding their classrooms operating under the inclusion philosophy, which believes that all students, regardless of type or severity of their disability, have a right to receive instruction in a general classroom (Taylor, Smiley, & Richard, 2009). In fact, general education teachers are involved in the learning disability identification process long before these students ever receive an individualized education program (IEP). Schools are now implementing a systematic approach for monitoring student progress called the Response to …show more content…
Its ability to provide additional instruction to a large number of at-risk students makes it invaluable. Whole school monitoring and intervention can improve schoolwide achievement, and the structured approach to this model reduces bias. This approach also enables identification of learning disabilities before they cause significant problems. The RtI process has correlated to a reduction in referrals for the special education programs. However, RtI is no perfect science. It raises lots of questions, including legal questions regarding its use to determine learning disability eligibility. For example, a student’s lack of an adequate response in intervention might warrant special education but not a learning disability. The criteria for measuring responsiveness and unresponsiveness is also ambiguous (Taylor et al., …show more content…
School administrators seeking their students’ best interests are utilizing training programs for the implementation of RtI into the regular classrooms. RtI’s systematic process enables students to practically progress or regress through the three tiers of the model: Tier-1, Tier-2, and Tier-3. Students who are not progressing with regular, Tier-1 instruction then proceed to Tier-2 intervention. Those in Tier-2 who progress return to Tier-1, but those who still struggle proceed to Tier-3, where they are given 9 to 12 weeks of intensive instruction with the purpose of minimalizing academic regression. Students in Tier-3 usually end up with a learning disability diagnosis by the end of the phase. There are pros and cons to RtI. Teachers often struggle due to the time and paperwork demand. A lack of training can result in an insufficient implementation of the process. However, adequate training and resources can result in schoolwide progress for students. True to the “No Child Left Behind Act,” RtI’s goal is to help all students from falling behind so they can be academically successful to the best of their
Tirzah Carroll
Reinhardt University
Special education is no longer the sole responsibility of a special needs educator. General education teachers are now finding their classrooms operating under the inclusion philosophy, which believes that all students, regardless of type or severity of their disability, have a right to receive instruction in a general classroom (Taylor, Smiley, & Richard, 2009). In fact, general education teachers are involved in the learning disability identification process long before these students ever receive an individualized education program (IEP). Schools are now implementing a systematic approach for monitoring student progress called the Response to …show more content…
Its ability to provide additional instruction to a large number of at-risk students makes it invaluable. Whole school monitoring and intervention can improve schoolwide achievement, and the structured approach to this model reduces bias. This approach also enables identification of learning disabilities before they cause significant problems. The RtI process has correlated to a reduction in referrals for the special education programs. However, RtI is no perfect science. It raises lots of questions, including legal questions regarding its use to determine learning disability eligibility. For example, a student’s lack of an adequate response in intervention might warrant special education but not a learning disability. The criteria for measuring responsiveness and unresponsiveness is also ambiguous (Taylor et al., …show more content…
School administrators seeking their students’ best interests are utilizing training programs for the implementation of RtI into the regular classrooms. RtI’s systematic process enables students to practically progress or regress through the three tiers of the model: Tier-1, Tier-2, and Tier-3. Students who are not progressing with regular, Tier-1 instruction then proceed to Tier-2 intervention. Those in Tier-2 who progress return to Tier-1, but those who still struggle proceed to Tier-3, where they are given 9 to 12 weeks of intensive instruction with the purpose of minimalizing academic regression. Students in Tier-3 usually end up with a learning disability diagnosis by the end of the phase. There are pros and cons to RtI. Teachers often struggle due to the time and paperwork demand. A lack of training can result in an insufficient implementation of the process. However, adequate training and resources can result in schoolwide progress for students. True to the “No Child Left Behind Act,” RtI’s goal is to help all students from falling behind so they can be academically successful to the best of their