This document is offered by the Delaware Department of Education as guidance in implementing Department of Education regulations specific to the Response to Intervention Standards and Procedures found at 14 DE Admin Code §§ 925.6.11 and 7.0 through 12.0. 

Questions regarding this information may be directed to:

• Michael Stetter, Director, Curriculum Development, Department of Education, at (302) 735-4180
• Martha Toomey, Director, Exceptional Children and Early Development and Learning Resources Group, Department of Education, at (302) 735-4210

1. What Is Response To Intervention (“RTI”)?
2. Is RTI Provided To All Students?
3. What Are The Benefits Of RTI?
4. What Sources Of Funding Are Available To Implement RTI?
5. What Professional Development Will Support RTI Implementation?
6. What Is The Timeline For Implementation Of RTI?
7. How Are The Highly Qualified Teacher Requirements Linked To RTI?
8. What Is The Difference Between Evaluation And Assessment?
9. What Types Of Assessments Will A District Need To Implement RTI?
10. Do Screenings Have To Be Done At The Same Time For All Students, i.e. Can The Teacher Screen Several Children Per Day?
11. What Commercial Assessments And/ Or Progress Monitoring Tools Are Currently Available?
12. Is The Department Recommending Specific Screenings?
13. Will The State Have A Form For Weekly Progress Monitoring?
14. Is RTI Going To Result In More Testing For Students, With Less Time For Teaching?  How Time Consuming Is RTI?
15. Has The Delaware Department Of Education Approved Rubrics To Evaluate Intervention Programs For RTI?
16. When Does A Parent’s Right To An Independent Educational Evaluation Arise When A District Is Evaluating A Child Through The RTI Process?
17. What Must The Independent Educational Evaluation Contain?
18. What is the difference between an intervention, accommodation, modification and support?

1. What Is Response To Intervention (“RTI”)?

"RTI is the practice of providing high-quality instruction and interventions matched to student need, monitoring progress frequently to make decisions about changes in instruction or goals, and applying child response data to important educational decisions.  RTI should be used for making decisions about general, compensatory, and special education, creating a well-integrated system of instruction/intervention guided by child outcome data.”

(Source:  National Association of State Directors of Special Education and the Council of Administrators of Special Education, White Paper on RTI, May 2006.) 

For full document, click here.

 2.  Is RTI Provided To All Students?

Generally, yes. Each district must establish and implement procedures to determine whether a child responds to RTI procedures for reading and mathematics.  However, students who participate in Alternate Assessment based on Alternate Achievement standards are not required to participate in the RTI procedures.

See, 14 DE Admin Code § 925.12.1 and 12.4.

3.  What Are The Benefits Of RTI?

First and foremost, RTI increases the likelihood that all students will be successful in school.  RTI emphasizes quality instruction.  The core curriculum and interventions must be based on scientific research, aligned with the State Standards, and implemented with fidelity.  RTI helps ensure a student’s poor academic performance is not due to poor instruction or inappropriate curriculum.  RTI emphasizes the importance of differentiating the curriculum so student needs are addressed during the core curriculum.  The instruction and intervention must be matched to student need.  The required universal screening and progress monitoring informs the teachers planning and instruction to improve their instructional practices and identify the interventions students need.  RTI matches the level of support to each student need.  RTI provides instructional assistance in a timely fashion and serves students who require little intervention, as well as students who require long-term intervention.  The RTI process will provide the necessary data for districts to make an informed evaluation concerning a child’s need for special education services.  If a child is identified in need of special education services, the data collected from the RTI process will assist districts in identifying the instructional needs of the child and the appropriate special education services.  RTI allows for exit from special education when appropriate and based on ongoing measurement of progress and response to intervention.

4.  What Sources Of Funding Are Available To Implement RTI?

Districts are permitted to use up to 15% of Part B funds to develop and implement coordinated, early intervening services for students in kindergarten through grade twelve (12) (with a particular emphasis on students in kindergarten through grade three (3)) who are not currently identified as needing special education or related services, but who need additional academic and behavioral support to succeed in a general education environment.

See, 14 DE Admin Code §§ 924.8.0 through 8.2; 14 DE Admin Code § 924.26.

http://www.doe.k12.de.us/programs/specialed/default.shtml

See, Comments of Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, 71 Fed. Reg. 46627-46628 (August 14, 2006).

http://idea.ed.gov/explore/view/p/%2Croot%2Cregs%2C

The Department has also compiled a list of other potential funding sources available to districts for implementation of RTI.  The full list is available at

http://www.doe.k12.de.us/programs/profdev/rti_docs.shtml

5.  What Professional Development Will Support RTI Implementation?

Each district must ensure that all personnel necessary to carry out instruction are appropriately and adequately prepared, subject to the requirements of 14 DE Admin Code § 923.56.0 and § 2122 of the No Child Left Behind Act.

When pursuing any professional development, the Department encourages districts, school administrators, and instructional staff to consider the individual strengths and needs of staff and programs.  With respect to professional development and RTI, the implementation of a strong response to intervention process requires that instructional staff are provided quality professional development on any core curriculum being implemented in the district.  Professional development may also include administrative monitoring of the fidelity of curriculum delivery, such as administrative walk-throughs.  Administrative teams may benefit from professional development around creative scheduling.  In addition, staff who select curricular materials may need professional development as it relates to the selection criteria for scientifically research based curriculum and interventions, and the development of knowledge around validity and reliability of instructional materials.  Additional professional development considerations may include those relating to the area of universal and diagnostic assessment, the collection and interpretation of data for ongoing progress monitoring at the classroom, school and district levels, the development of collaborative team problem solving (such as the Instructional Support Team model) and the development of skills in identifying instructional needs, as well as linking appropriate interventions to individual instructional needs, and specific professional development as it may relate to the implementation of district selected scientifically research based instructional interventions to support students in need of Tier 2 or Tier 3 supports.  Depending upon staff and program needs, other considerations may include classroom management, school wide behavior management system (such as Positive Behavior Support), differentiated instruction, and co-teaching.

6.  What Is The Timeline For Implementation Of RTI? 

Districts are required to implement RTI for all elementary school children no later than the beginning of the 2008-2009 school year.  For all other students, districts must implement RTI no later than the beginning of the 2009-2010 school year.

See, 14 DE Admin Code 925.6.11.3.1 through 6.11.3.2.

7.  How Are The Highly Qualified Teacher Requirements Linked To RTI?

The qualifications of all personnel serving children need to be appropriately and adequately prepared and trained, and have the content knowledge and skills to serve children as established through the Department of Education’s certification regulations and requirements.

See, 14 DE Admin Code § 922.3.0; § 923.56.

See also, 14 DE Admin Code §§ 1501-1529

See also, NCLB Public Law 107-110, Part A, Subpart 1 § 1119, NCLB Subpart 2, § 2122

See, Comments of Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, 71 Fed. Reg. 46652-46657 (August 14, 2006).

http://idea.ed.gov/explore/view/p/%2Croot%2Cregs%2C

In reviewing best practices in the field of education, the Department recognizes that students who require interventions in order to successfully access the general curriculum also benefit from the experienced highly qualified teachers to deliver instruction where possible, and at a minimum plan, and guide the instruction for interventions.  Districts and schools must ensure all students have equitable access to experienced highly qualified teachers, including those students who fall into special education, low income, English language learner, and minority categories.  Students who are receiving interventions in either Tier II or Tier III must continue to receive high quality instruction from an experienced highly qualified teacher during their Tier I instruction.  During Tier II or Tier III interventions, students must receive high quality research based instruction by the staff most qualified to meet the students’ needs.  Furthermore, districts and schools may find it beneficial to analyze intervention referral rates by classroom in order to guide appropriate placements of students (to ensure students with needs are equally assigned among classrooms and that a best fit exists between student and teacher) and to guide planning for teachers’ professional development needs.

8.  What Is The Difference Between Evaluation And Assessment?

John L. Hosp, NCSP of The National Association of School Psychologists has answered this question as it relates to Response to Intervention in NASP Communiqué, Vol. 34, #7 May 2006, as follows:

Often these terms are used interchangeably, but it can be helpful in navigating the implementation of RTI to think of how these terms are differentiated. If you think of assessment as the process of collecting information, it becomes easier to convey to teachers the need for standardization, reliability, validity, and using different assessments for different purposes. This leads to thinking about evaluation as the process of using information to make decisions (i.e., information collected through assessment). We often get caught up in the process of conducting an assessment because we had to or someone told us to do so. If we think about evaluation, it starts a dialogue about why we are conducting assessments. Teachers have a lot of different things to do every day. Having a reason to do something (or to not do it) can be very reinforcing as their time is valuable and at a premium. This can just be the starting point—other team members might begin to consider the purpose of their activities and find time for new by eliminating some of the old.

For full text on Assessment in Response to Intervention from this communiqué click here

9.  What Types Of Assessments Will A District Need To Implement RTI?

In order to meet the instructional needs of all students, the United States Department of Education has charged schools with assessing all students including the economically disadvantaged, those who are English language learners and others who are struggling to learn.   In order to effectively evaluate all students under the RTI model, the district must consider the data from assessments related to universal screening and progress monitoring.  The district may   also consider data from diagnostic assessments on a case by case basis to assess additional instructional needs. The National Research Center on Learning Disabilities (NRCLD) outlines these assessments by table including the purposes of each type of assessment within the RTI process.

	Screening	Progress Monitoring	Diagnostic Tests
Population	School Wide/ all students	Class/Small group/ Student	Individual student
Uses	Broad Index	Specific academic skill or behavioral target	Specific academic, domains of knowledge, skills, abilities
Frequency	Yearly/three times/monthly	< 3 weeks /weekly /daily	Yearly
Purpose	Identify students who are at risk.	Regroup students	Identify specific student deficits
Focus	School Focus	Student/class focus	Student focus
Instruction	Class/ school instruction and curriculum decisions	Within intervention (curriculum/instruction)	Selecting specific curricular and instructional methods
Implications	As first step for intervention planning	Continue or revise placement	Planning or specifying intervention

For more information on assessment in RTI from NCRLD click here.

See also 14 DE Admin Code § 925.12.1-12.11

10.  Do Screenings Have To Be Done At The Same Time For All Students, i.e. Can The Teacher Screen Several Children Per Day?

Universal Tier 1 instructional screenings for reading and mathematics shall be conducted at least 3 times each regular school year at routine and fairly spaced intervals. The first screening shall be conducted within 2 weeks of the beginning of the regular school year, or within 2 weeks of the child’s entry into school. 

See 14 DE Admin Code § 925.12.6.1

The Delaware Department of Education recognizes that districts will need to follow the recommended administrative practices of the selected assessment.  Certainly, fairness is a primary consideration in all aspects of testing. Careful standardization of tests and administration conditions helps to ensure that all test takers are given   comparable opportunity to demonstrate what they know and how they can perform in the area being tested.  Consequently, details of administration will be dependent upon the requirements of the assessment being utilized.  Districts, where possible, should be cognizant of the issues surrounding measurement and timing with regard to data comparison and analysis.

The guidance provided in Joint Committee on Testing Practices (JCTP)

Code of Fair Testing Practices in Education also provides guidance as it relates to testing in an educational setting.  Click here to access full text.

11.  What Commercial Assessments And/ Or Progress Monitoring Tools Are Currently Available?

Many publishing companies of curriculums offer curriculum based assessment as part of the support materials sold to districts.  With the changes to IDEA and the interest around Response to Intervention, many companies have developed universal screenings as well.   The Department of Education is not recommending specific commercial assessments. While the literature around best practice recommends curriculum based assessment, districts need to assure any assessment utilized meets the standard of being scientifically research-based as set forth in the regulations of both NCLB and IDEA. 

In the process of selecting assessments, districts may wish to refer to the following: 

http://www.studentprogress.org/chart/chart.asp

The National Center on Student Progress Monitoring provides information on scientifically based practice that is used to assess students’ academic performance and evaluate the effectiveness of instruction.

Research continues and claims are made by many publishers and programs.  The U.S. Department of Education has set the criteria with regard to what constitutes the standards in Identifying and Implementing Educational Practices Supported by Rigorous Evidence: a User Friendly Guide. http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs/rigorousevid/index.html

12.  Is The Department Recommending Specific Screenings?

While the Department will not designate specific required screenings,  the Department does require that districts screen students in reading and math as set forth in  14 of the DE Administrative Code § 925 12.6.1:  Universal Tier 1 instructional screenings for reading and mathematics shall be conducted at least 3 times each regular school year at routine and fairly spaced intervals. The first screening shall be conducted within 2 weeks of the beginning of the regular school year, or within 2 weeks of the child’s entry into school. Furthermore, the Department recommends districts consider screenings that meet the rigorous standards outlined in No Child Left Behind Act for being scientifically research based in terms of validity and reliability of assessments.  Districts implementing specific programs, such as Reading First, will use the screenings required (i.e., DIBELS) to screen.  Best practice for districts will include consideration of many factors, including but not limited to, the current district culture, practices, and curriculum; the sensitivity of instruments in identifying students at need for intervention;   ongoing research and monitoring of development in the field of assessment and screening; in addition to ongoing analysis to determine if selected screenings are continuing to meet the needs of the district and its students.

13.  Will The State Have A Form For Weekly Progress Monitoring?

While the Department recognizes the importance of documenting data for monitoring student progress during the implementation of interventions, the Department will not require that the documentation be made on any specific state created form. 

The Department recognizes that best practices around data collection and analysis have four components as outlined below. 

(Source:  Brown-Chidsey, Rachel and Steege, Mark W. Response to Intervention: Principles and Strategies for Effective Practice, 2005, Guilford Press.)

• Target skill or behavior defined clearly addressing what it looks like, how often it happens, for how long and to what degree of intensity or proficiency.
• Setting where the target behavior will be observed and recorded is described; if using multiple settings then codes to identify settings are created.
• Data recording procedures and materials are developed to specify
  • Who will collect data
  • Where data will be recorded
  • When data will be recorded
  • How data will be recorded
  • Access to and availability of needed materials
• Analysis and interpretation of data collected to determine whether desired outcomes were achieved and/or to revise, increase, decrease or discontinue the intervention.

 Furthermore, in analyzing data to further plan for a student’s needs, all available and pertinent data on the student should be collected and considered.  This may include, but is not limited to, summative data such as DSTP results, results of universal screenings, progress monitoring, other formative assessments, as well as anecdotal information collected from parents and other team members. 

14.  Is RTI Going To Result In More Testing For Students, With Less Time For Teaching?  How Time Consuming Is RTI?

“When compared with the 10 or more hours often estimated to go into each individualized evaluation conducted for special education eligibility, RTI procedures are really not time-consuming at all.  While the research steps necessary to review potential Tier I and Tier II interventions may take several hours, the benchmark testing is very brief, taking about 10 minutes per student at the longest.  If CBM is used as the benchmark data collection tool, the only measures requiring individualized testing are DIBELS and oral reading fluency.  In the areas of math, spelling, and writing, the assessment items can be administered to entire classes at a time.  Similarly, CBM progress-monitoring procedures are very fast, involving weekly testing of 2 minutes or less per student.”

Source: Brown-Chidsey, Rachel and Steege, Mark W. Response to Intervention: Principles and Strategies for Effective Practice, 2005, Guilford Press. )

15.  Has The Delaware Department Of Education Approved Rubrics To Evaluate Intervention Programs For RTI?

In 14 DE Admin Code § 925.12.2 :  “Public agencies shall use rubrics approved by DOE to evaluate and select programs of instruction, and Tier II and Tier III interventions for reading and mathematics.”

Rubrics the Department recommends for schools in reading are available at http://www.fcrr.org/ and http://reading.uoregon.edu/

Websites exist that have evaluated interventions and provide detailed information regarding their findings as to which are evidence based.  Some of these are:

http://www.w-w-c.org/  The What Works Clearinghouse established by the U.S. Department of Educations’ Institute of Education Sciences.

http://www.promisingpractices.net/ The Promising Practices Network highlights programs and practices that credible research indicates are effective.

http://www.evidencebasedprograms.org/ The Coalition for Evidence Based Policy Social Programs that Work lists programs and practices and their effectiveness.

http://www.studentprogress.org/chart/chart.asp  The National Center on Student Progress Monitoring provides information on scientifically based practice that is used to assess students’ academic performance and evaluate the effectiveness of instruction.

Research continues and claims are made by many publishers and programs.  The U.S. Department of Education has set the criteria with regard to what constitutes the standards.  The recommendations in Identifying and Implementing Educational Practices Supported by Rigorous Evidence: a User Friendly Guide include guidance and a rubric outlining the criteria recommended in choosing scientifically researched based materials for instruction and intervention. 

See http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs/rigorousevid/index.html

16.  When Does A Parent’s Right To An Independent Educational Evaluation Arise When A District Is Evaluating A Child Through The RTI Process?

As mentioned, districts must eventually use the RTI standards and procedures to determine a child’s eligibility for special education services under the learning disability and educable mental disability categories.  A district may also use the RTI process as part of the district’s evaluation to determine the educational needs of a child.  A district may decide its evaluation is not complete until the district is able to collect and examine all the data it needs to evaluate a child’s response to the intervention process.  A parent is generally not entitled to an independent educational evaluation until the district fully completes its own evaluation.

If a parent then disagrees with the results of the district’s completed evaluation (which includes a review of the results of the child’s response to intervention process), the parent has a right to an independent educational evaluation at public expense, subject to the conditions in 14 DE Admin Code §§ 926.2.4.1 through 2.5.

However, a parent does not have the right to obtain an independent educational evaluation at public expense before the district completes its evaluation simply because the parent disagrees with the district’s decision to collect and examine data from the child’s response to the intervention process as part of its evaluation.

See, Comments of Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services,  71 Fed. Reg. 46689-46690 (August 14, 2006).

http://idea.ed.gov/explore/view/p/%2Croot%2Cregs%2C

See also, 14 DE Admin Code § 926.20; 14 DE Admin Code §§ 925.7.0 through 12.0

http://www.doe.k12.de.us/programs/specialed/default.shtml

17.  What Must The Independent Educational Evaluation Contain?

As a general rule, an independent educational evaluation must meet the same criteria the district used when the district initiated its evaluation.  If, for example, the district’s evaluation included a review of data to determine a child’s response to scientific, research based intervention, so too should the independent educational evaluation.  Since the review of existing evaluation data and input from the child’s parents must be part of the district’s evaluation, they are also appropriate elements of an independent educational evaluation.  In addition, since the district’s evaluation must include a variety of assessment tools and strategies to gather relevant functional, developmental, and academic information about the child, these elements should also be included in an independent educational evaluation conducted by an independent evaluator.

See, Comments of Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services,  71 Fed. Reg. 46689-46690 (August 14, 2006).

http://idea.ed.gov/explore/view/p/%2Croot%2Cregs%2C

See also, 14 DE Admin Code § 926.2.9.         

18.  What is the difference between an intervention, accommodation, modification and support?

An intervention is focused on specific, targeted performance deficits identified through scientifically researched based screenings and/or diagnostic assessment.  Interventions are provided in addition to the core curriculum with the intent of improving the at risk student’s proficiency in meeting grade level expectations.  Interventions may be selected through a standard treatment protocol approach or a problem solving approach. Interventions require either the teaching of a researched based strategy or a skill that is focused on increasing the at risk student’s proficiency in the targeted area, either academically or behaviorally.  Success of the intervention is determined by collecting data on it’s effectiveness in improving student performance through progress monitoring.

Accommodations, modifications and supports are frequently referenced with regard to students with disabilities.

Accommodations are practices and procedures in the areas of presentation, response, setting and timing/scheduling that provide equitable access to the general (core) curriculum during instruction and assessments for students with disabilities. 

Accommodations are intended to reduce or even eliminate the effects of a student’s disability. Accommodations do not reduce learning expectations.

Supports may be considered a subset of accommodations.  Usually technological in nature (i.e. high tech supports such as, communications devices, computers, IPods, and various software programs. or low tech  supports such as adaptive equipment), they allow the student to either access the core curriculum and/or effectively and efficiently communicate their knowledge and learning.

Modifications or alterations are substantial changes in what the student is expected to demonstrate.  Modifications may be changes in instructional level, content, and performance criteria, may include changes in test form or format or alternative assignments.

Modifications can increase the gap between the achievement of students with disabilities and expectations for proficiency at a particular grade level.  Using modifications may result in implications that could adversely affect students throughout their educational career.