Huge Gains Are Possible, But Too Often Unrealized
RTI, MTSS and other forms of intervention hold promise for the millions of students who struggle to read, master grade level content, and graduate. Despite the power of effective intervention, the achievement gap has stubbornly remained too large and many classroom teachers question the quality and effectiveness of how RTI and MTSS have been implemented in their schools.
Harness the full power of effective intervention:
1. Apply systems thinking
RTI and MTSS are part of a comprehensive approach to supporting struggling students, but too often these efforts are disconnected from the rest of a student's instruction. Different funding sources can lead to intervention curriculum that doesn't connect well to the core, scheduling practices unintentionally group students with different needs (e.g. phonics vs fluency) into the same group, and IEPs often include less effective supports than what's offered through general education intervention.
Only by managing all the parts and pieces as a set of interconnected elements can the promise off RTI and MTSS become a reality. This includes unifying curriculum, partnering with ELL and special ed leaders, and strategically building schedules for students and staff.
2. Set unambiguous criteria for which students need extra help
Does staffing or student need determine who gets extra help? Too often once the intervention schedule is full, no more students are added. This means that given students with identical needs in different schools, some would receive intervention and others wouldn't. Transparent, objective criteria must determine who needs extra help and staffing formulas should ensure all who need RTI and MTSS get it.
3. Don’t forget secondary schools
Most districts started building out RTI and MTSS in their elementary schools given the need to build a strong foundation of skills and learning. Too many, however, never got around to building robust intervention at the secondary level. By 6th and 9th grade skill gaps can be large and mastering next year's material requires a strong grasp of last year's. Middle and high school students need extra help just as much as their elementary peers.
This is equally true for reading supports in middle and high school. Unfortunately, some secondary students still struggle to read and too few receive targeted, credit bearing instruction in fluency and comprehension from skilled teachers of reading.
With a focus on implementation, best practice intervention can be effective and cost effective.
What matters more:
Intervention or core instruction?
No district can "intervene its way to proficiency". MTSS and RTI are an important add on to great core instruction, not a replacement for it. If more than 30% of students need something extra in the way of intervention, then it really shouldn't be viewed as extra, but rather a call for "intervention for all" as part of expanded core instruction. This can mean longer core instruction blocks and a revamp of classroom teaching practices, but not a call for a large number of interventionists.
What Success Looks Like
One district reduced by half the need for special education services by intervening early and effectively.
One diverse district saw all 24 elementary schools improve reading proficiency through RTI, some with as much as 21% more students at grade level.
One district tripled the number of freshman reaching grade level in math, increasing from 21% at grade level to 67% in just 2 years through targeted intervention.