Using RTI Data to Inform Eligibility
Dr. Evelyn Johnson
Boise State University
National Center on
Response to Intervention
What is the National Center on RTI?
The National Center on RTI is a 5 year Technical
Assistance (TA) Center funded through a
cooperative agreement with the Office of Special
Education Program (OSEP)’s Research to Practice
Division and is part of OSEP’s National Technical
Assistance and Dissemination Network
National Center on
Response to Intervention
National Center on
Response to Intervention
NCRTI Mission
To build state capacity and support for
implementing RTI in local districts and schools by
serving as a central source of knowledge,
expertise, and research-based information for
educators, administrators, and parents.
National Center on
Response to Intervention
Defining RTI
Response to intervention (RTI) integrates
assessment and intervention within a multi-level
prevention system to maximize student
achievement and reduce behavioral problems.
(National Center on Response to Intervention)
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Response to Intervention
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Genesis of RTI – Public Health Model
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Response to Intervention
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Purposes of RTI
 School reform framework
 Early identification and prevention
 Disability determination
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Response to Intervention
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What are we trying to
prevent?
Instructional casualties – Working to
ensure that students receive effective
instruction to prevent learning
difficulties that later become
intractable.
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Response to Intervention
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Federal Definition of SLD
A specific learning disability means a disorder in one or more of the basic
psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language,
spoken or written, which may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen,
think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations, including
conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction,
dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. Specific learning disability does not
include learning problems that are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or
motor disabilities, of mental retardation, of emotional disturbance, or of
environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage. (34 CFR Sec. 300.8 (c)(10))
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Response to Intervention
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Characteristic
Criteria
Method
Not due to other
factors
Appropriate
instruction
Evidence that team
considered external
factors
RTI data
Screening data
Imperfect ability to
learn
Low achievement
(adverse impact)
RTI data
Academic Assessment
Basic disorder in
psychological process
Pattern of strengths
and weaknesses
Comprehensive
Evaluation
One State’s Approach to Operationalizing the SLD Definition
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Response to Intervention
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What is RTI Data?
Screening to initially
identify students at-risk
and establish effective
core
PM data to determine
response and establish
interventions are effective
Outcome data to establish
instructional program
efficacy
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Response to Intervention
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Standards for Data
Screening
Progress Monitoring
Outcome
Reliability
Alternate forms have
high reliability
Alternate forms have
high reliability
Minimal
Measurement Error
Validity
Does screening
predict outcome?
Does growth predict
outcome?
Does measure
represent construct?
Fidelity
Is core delivered as
intended?
Are interventions
effective?
Is instructional
program effective?
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Response to Intervention
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A Case Study: Cedric
This data helps establish that the core instructional program is generally effective for
most students.
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Response to Intervention
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A Case Study: Cedric
This data describes the intensity, frequency and duration of the Tier 2 intervention.
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Response to Intervention
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Progress Monitoring
Reviewing the collective
progress of the group of
students who receive
intervention demonstrates
that many of the students
are benefitting from Tier 2
intervention.
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Response to Intervention
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Individual Data Shows a Lack of Response
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Response to Intervention
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What RTI Data Tells Us About Cedric
 Has not achieved grade level performance
standards
 Core instruction is generally effective
 Was not responsive to an intervention
 Requires further assessment to determine the
nature, extent and underlying causes
 Informs individualized instructional planning
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Response to Intervention
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Questions?
 National Center on Response to Intervention
• www.rti4success.org
 Evelyn Johnson, Ed.D.
• [email protected]
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Response to Intervention
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