What To Do When A Student
Does Not Respond To An
Academic Intervention
Libby Quade M.A., NCSP
May 5, 2014
Several slides provided courtesy of Brian Lloyd, Ed.S., NCSP
PLC Topics
 What PLC topics did you like this year?
October 1
Use of Technology For Assessments
October 28
AM
Trauma and Intervention, Part 1
Guest Speaker: Jim Henry
October 28
PM
Trauma and Intervention, Part 2
Guest Speaker: Jim Henry
(Training with Social Workers & SLPs)
(Training with Social Workers & SLPs)
(Training with Social Workers & SLPs)
January 7
FBA/BIPS, SLD FAQ, Changes in DSM-V and possible
implications to school psychs
English Language Learners
February 4
EI Eligibility
April 18
Writing & Math Interventions
December 5
(Training with SLPs)
(Training with Social Workers)
(Training with SLPs)
 What PLC’s would you like to have next fall?
Introductions
 Tell us about yourself:
 Tell
us your name
 The
primary school levels in which you work
 Briefly
describe the level or amount of RtI/MTSS
implementation in your buildings.
Agenda
 Determining a positive response vs. a lack of response to
interventions
 Making sure the problem has been correctly identified.
 Are interventions are correctly aligned to student skill
deficit?
 Fidelity of interventions and progress monitoring.
 Are evidence-based interventions being used?
 Description of evidence-based interventions for math,
reading, and behavior.
 What else can you try?
Making Decisions About Rate of Improvement
 How to make a decision about when an intervention
is successful.

4 data points below goal line.
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At least 8 data points – is ROI more than goal ROI?

Good goal is 1.5 expected rate for tier 2 and 2.0 expected rate for
tier 3. (See top of page 6 of LD FAQ)

Is student’s rate of improvement above average peer rate?

Did we give enough time for the intervention to be successful?
Problem Solving Is Recursive
•
Define the Problem
(Screening and Diagnostic Assessments)
What is the problem and why is it happening?
• Develop a Plan
• Evaluate
(Goal Setting and Planning)
(Progress Monitoring
Assessment)
What are we
going to do?
Did our plan work?
• Implement Plan
(Treatment Integrity)
Carry out the intervention
What Is The Minimum Number Of
Interventions Attempted?
 IISD LD FAQ Page 5 –
 A student may be referred to the MET team for
consideration of special education eligibility after a
minimum of two interventions have been tried and
the child has demonstrated growth far below the
typical (i.e., locally normal) age/grade level rate of
acquisition.
 Also middle of page 16 of the IISD SLD Guidelines.
Is The Problem Correctly Identified - Reading
 Set up a target date to meet to evaluate success of
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interventions.
Periodically check on AIMSWeb or have graphs on an
accessible network location.
Schedule a meeting to review data for groups of students.
For reading, use BIG FIVE skills to frame your
intervention skill target.
Make sure that both your intervention and progress
monitoring measure align to the skill(s) you want to
measure.
When in doubt about PM measure for reading, use RCBM or DORF (oral reading fluency).
Is The Problem Correctly Identified - Math
 Math
 Try to get access to evidence-based intervention.
 You need broad based skill remediation approach.
-Evidence-based strategies (BTN)
Is The Problem Correctly Identified - Math
INTERVENTIONS
 Not all interventions are created equal.
 Doing analysis of ROI for entire intervention groups is
critical.
 Student ROI should be compared to same-grade norms,
as well as to the students within the intervention group,

assuming I have the same fidelity data for all students across the
group.
 If all or even most of the students within an intervention
group don’t make the expected ROI, ask:
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Is that a problem with each student in the intervention group ?
Is it a problem with how that intervention group has been set up?
(ineffective intervention, poor fidelity, poor match of intervention to
student need, etc.)
INTERVENTIONS – Williamston Last Year
 Last year (2012-13), Teacher Directed PALS
improved NWF scores for Kindergarten, but not 1st
Grade.
 Last year, Phonics For Reading improved scores for
students in the 1st grade, but not in the 2nd grade.
 Last year, 6 Minute Solutions seemed to give better
improvement to students with reading fluency issues
than Read Naturally, but it could be student
characteristic dependent.
 Last year, My Sidewalks had a positive effect on ROI
in one school district, but not as much in another.
INTERVENTIONS – This Year
 At the start of last year, the Williamston MTSS
coaches brainstormed how to improve intervention
group performances
 They targeted reading fluency as the big 5 area
they were weak in for both tiered intervention and
classroom instruction.
 They “tweaked” interventions to include a fluency
component for many and added reading fluency (6
minute and/ read naturally) in the 3rd grade (and in
some other grade classrooms).
 Williamston’s fall data looks (I think) very good.
INTERVENTIONS – This Year
Fluency Intervention Grade Level Analysis
 FALL PROGRESS MONITORING
 2nd Grade AIMSWeb R-CBM Graphs indicated that 33
total students’ progress was monitored. 25 of 33
students (76%) met their goal.
 3rd Grade AIMSWeb R-CBM Graphs indicated that 35
total students’ progress was monitored. 32 of 35
students (91%) met their goal.
 4th grade AIMSWeb R-CBM Graphs indicated that 31
total students’ progress was monitored. 29 of 31
students (94%) met their goal.
 5th grade AIMSWeb R-CBM Graphs indicated that 41
total students’ progress was monitored. 40 of 41
students (98%) met their goal.
INTERVENTIONS – This Year
 The winter data did not look as good. The snow days
didn’t help.
 It was once again found that students receiving Phonics
For Reading made good ROI in the fall, but did not meet
their goals in the winter.
 Last data point prior to evaluating intervention groups,
32 of 32 1st grade students scores plummeted on R-CBM
for that week. The assumption is the that the reading probe
may have been a harder measure than previous probes.
 What would you do with this information?

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I decided to throw that data point out.
78% percent of students ended up meeting their end of intervention
goal at least once.
BREAK
INTERVENTIONS - READING
 READING – Research based, but are they equal?
CORE Literacy Library Teaching Reading Source Book 1st Edition
CORE Literacy Library Teaching Reading Source Book 2nd Edition
CORE Literacy Library Teaching Vocabulary Handbook
Corrective Reading
My Sidewalks Levels A-E
PALS – Kindergarten
PALS – First Grade
Pearson Early Reading Intervention (ERI)
Phonemic Awareness in Young Children
Phonics for Reading
Phonics for Reading (has 3 levels)
Read 180
Read Naturally
INTERVENTIONS - READING
 Reading Continued…
REWARDS
REWARDS - Intermediate
REWARDS - Science
REWARDS - Social Studies
REWARDS - Writing
Road to the Code
Six-Minute Solution Primary
Six-Minute Solution Intermediate
Six-Minute Solution Secondary
SRA Corrective Reading Comprehension Levels (A, B1, B2, C)
SRA Corrective Reading Decoding Levels (A, B1, B2, C)
SRA Read to Achieve Comprehending Content Area Text
SRA Read to Achieve Comprehending Narrative Text
SRA Reading Mastery
Teacher Directed PALS
Words Their Way
INTERVENTIONS - READING
 Here are reading interventions added to our list last
May 2013:
RAZ - http://www.learninga-z.com/index.html
Explode The Code
Stepping Stones To Literacy
Sound Partners
Leveled Literacy Intervention
Earobics (Focus on Big 5)
Fusion Reading
Language!
Parent Six Minute Solution - ? Not sure about
this.
Success Maker
INTERVENTIONS - MATH
 Connecting Math was added at our May 2013 PLC
Do the Math
FASTT Math
Number Worlds
ORIGO Math
PALS - Kindergarten
PALS - First Grade
PALS - Grades 2-6
Rocket Math
STAR Math
Study Island
Key Math 3
focusMATH http://www.pearsonschool.com/index.cfm?locator=PS1bFt&PMDbSiteId=2781&PMDbSolutionId=6724&PMDbSubSol
utionId=&PMDbCategoryId=806&PMDbSubCategoryId=25741&PMDbSubjectAreaId=&PMDbProgramId=67361
Math Interventions
http://www.intensiveinterventions.org
INTERVENTION SELECTION
 The What Works Clearinghouse
 (http://www.w-w-c.org/) established by the U.S. Department of Education's
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Institute of Education Sciences to provide educators, policymakers, and the
public with a central, independent, and trusted source of scientific evidence of
what works in education.
CASEL Intervention Program Ratings
http://casel.org/guide/framework/elementary-school-program-ratings/
The 2013 CASEL Guide identifies well-designed, evidence-based social and
emotional learning programs with potential for broad dissemination to schools
across the United States.
National Center on Intensive Intervention
The Center's approach to intensive interventions is data-based individualization
(DBI).
http://www.intensiveintervention.org/chart/instructional-intervention-tools
 TEAM TIME TO DEVELOP A MORE COMPREHENSIVE LIST
INTERVENTIONS – TEAM TIME
 Let’s break into teams of 2 to 3
 What interventions on the IISD lists have you found to
improve student outcomes/PM scores?
 What interventions not on the lists have you found to
improve student outcomes/PM scores?
 What interventions have you found to NOT have the
outcomes you would have expected?
 Let’s share out at the end of the team time and report
your interventions and reports of efficacy with the large
group
INTERVENTIONS
 Last year we hoped that Illuminate Ed could help us
track intervention group data.
 That project hasn’t been successful as of yet.
FIDELITY
 Periodic and/or spot checks of the interventions.
 This could include the use of an intervention
component checklist.
 Number of Components Present divided by Total
Number of Components times 100 = percentage
score that can serve as fidelity rating.
FIDELITY
FIDELITY
FIDELITY
 Problems with fidelity checks through observation
forms.
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Who does them?
Who does them?!
WHO DOES THEM!?!?!?!?
Time/Money/Schedules/etc.
FIDELITY
 How can we set up system to check?
 One check could be to record minutes expected and
minutes attended.
FIDELITY
 The Data Will Tell
 One flag you have to check integrity is the outcomes
of your interventions. If nobody or only a few are
making progress in response to a research-based
intervention, this is a BIG RED FLAG.
 Even if only one student is not responding, this is a
little red flag, but still worthy of checking.
FIDELITY
 Interview the interventionist
 In the case of one or a few students not responding,
talk with the interventionist and ask her why.
She/he may tell you.
 An easily correctable issue may arise.
 My experience, biggest cause of fidelity issues?
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1st Place: Schedule, schedule, schedule, schedule…
2nd Place: Simple communication break downs.
Progress Monitoring FIDELITY
 Are the progress monitoring scores matching
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benchmark scores?
Are progress monitoring scores matching what the
teacher sees in the classroom?
Are you seeing big peaks and valleys on a regular
basis with your progress monitoring scores?
Do you not see PM scores reported for months at a
time?
RED FLAGS. Check.
INTERVENTIONS “OUT OF THE BOX”
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How can buildings plan for the maximum amount of
people to give the most amount of intervention time?
OUT OF BOX – Role flexibility is required. Creative
scheduling is required.
Example: Principals cover a classroom to allow
teachers to give small group intervention.
Example: Teachers take multiple classes to have
enrichment activity while second teacher (and other
staff) teaches small group intervention.
Team Discussion
 In teams of 2 or 3 discuss:
 Who provides tier 2 and tier 3 interventions in your
building? Is it you?
 List other possible staff members who could be identified to
deliver interventions
 How could they be enabled to do that?
 How do you go about addressing barriers to intervention
delivery?
 As a group:
 Share your team’s responses and record them for the large
group.
WHAT IF IT’S STILL NOT WORKING?
• See Instructional Variables Checklist
handout.
• Case Examples
DISCUSSIONS
 What do you think?