Considerations on RTI in the Secondary Setting

By Daryl F. Mellard
Center for Research on Learning, University of Kansas

While RTI has received extensive focus in the elementary setting, little research has been completed in a middle school or high school setting. We even have extensive discussions on whether RTI makes sense for a high school setting! In this month’s blog I hope to explore with you what we know about secondary level implementation and some directions for implementation.

You might have some interest in my previous work regarding responsiveness to intervention (RTI) and how I came to offer this information. The background isn’t that exciting but does include a fair amount of work regarding RTI in both the research and applied domains.

Since 1982 I have been a research associate within the Center for Research on Learning (CRL) and I am the director of CRL’s Division of Adult Studies. Currently, I am one of the principal investigators at the national Dissemination and Technical Assistance Center on Response to Intervention (www.RTI4Success.org) and also at the National Research Center on Learning Disabilities (www.NRCLD.org). My other current projects involve improving adult literacy through interventions provided in adult education and Job Corps literacy programs.

With the NRCLD I coordinated the largest national study of local school districts’ implementation of responsiveness to intervention (RTI) involving 41 school settings. The goal of this study was to identify schools engaged in exemplary RTI practices. I have written and published materials examining the components of RTI and their implementation for journals (e.g., Journal of Learning Disabilities, Learning Disabilities Quarterly, and Learning Disabilities Research and Practice, NAESP Leadership) and agencies and organizations. My colleague, Evelyn Johnson, and I wrote RTI: The Practitioner’s Guide to Response to Intervention (Corwin Press, 2008). Even with those experiences, I appreciate that RTI has many complexities that I certainly don’t pretend to understand.

In my next post, I’ll synthesize a literature review that several colleagues (Allison Layland and Barbara Parsons) and I recently completed. As you will see, we have very little for guidance in answering such questions as:

• What are the goals of RTI in secondary settings?
• What are effective RTI models for replication or scaling up?
• Where does one begin with RTI implementation?
• What is structures and culture must be in place to support implementation?
• How does RTI improve learner outcomes?

Comments

[Safiyyah]

I am a special education teacher at the high school level. I am exploring ways to implement RTI at my high school with the goal of constructing an implementation guide for regular ed teachers at my school. About 56 % of my school's student population is latino with more than half not using English as a primary language. The school consists of large segments of other minorities. I view RTI as a practice that could result in the improvement of services for students who REALLY need special education services. With the emphasis on early intervention, where and how do we start at the high school level. Please share ideas.

[cgordon]

I am a special education teacher at the middle school level. Four years ago we began experimenting with an RTI model at the middle school level. At this point we have a workable model that, although not perfect, has been able to help a number of kids who would have previously fallen through the cracks. Our district will begin to implement this program system wide next year.
The five questions in the article are precisely the questions that we have attempted to answer and to some degree we have although I would add the questions of staffing needs and development of Curriculum Based Measurements to the list. Please feel free to contact me with questions or ideas as we are still a work in progress. cgordon@nhcs.net

[Daryl Mellard]

Safiyyah comments about linguistic and other minorities remind me that one of the advantages of an RTI framework is that it helps us view RTI as a system effort, that is for all students not just students needing assistance. The IRIS center has just revised one of their modules that might be informative on this topic: Teachers at the Loom: Weaving Together Culture, Family, and Instruction for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Exceptional Students. The expanded and updated Cultural and Linguistic Differences: What Teachers Should Know is now available at the IRIS Web site: http://www.iriscenter.com/clde/chalcycle.htm
Also, I'll recommend some documents from the U. of Texas Center on Instruction regarding instruction for ELL.
Here are the titles:
RESEARCH-BASED RECOMMENDATIONS
FOR INSTRUCTION AND ACADEMIC
INTERVENTIONS Practical Guidelines for the Education of English Language Learners

RESEARCH-BASED RECOMMENDATIONS
FOR SERVING ADOLESCENT NEWCOMERS
Practical Guidelines for the Education of English Language Learners

RESEARCH-BASED RECOMMENDATIONS
FOR THE USE OF ACCOMMODATIONS IN
LARGE-SCALE ASSESSMENTSPractical Guidelines for the Education of English Language Learners

The point of my recommendations is to emphasis that a rigorous Tier 1 is a cornerstone for RTI.

[Daryl Mellard]

cgordon: Our RTI center is studying middle school implementation of RTI. I am wondering if one of our staff have contacted you about your school's participation. we're looking to identify schools that have implemented RTI and have student outcome data to suggest its effectiveness.

[Safiyyah]

Mr.Mellard,
Thank you so much for your response and the references. I will certainly take the time to study it and perhaps later share my conclusions.I was really glad to discover this blog.

[Shelley Joan Weiss]

Dear Friends,

I am interested in knowing specific practices, and ongoing assessments that you have used with 7th and 8th graders to support RtI efforts. I'd like to connect with schools who feel they are successful.

[Daryl Mellard]

Shelley,
Here are two websites to review concerning progress monitoring. When you mention "on-going assessments," I assume that you are including progress monitoring.
The National Center on Student Progress Monitoring (http://www.studentprogress.org/) and the Research Institute on Progress Monitoring (http://www.progressmonitoring.net/) offer lists of progress-monitoring resources and publications.
Also, the Center on RTI (RTI4Success.org) has a technical review committee that is in the process of reviewing the technical adequacy of commercially available progress monitoring tools. The committee has just completed its first level review and is providing comments to the publishers to ensure that the information was still current. Their findings will be posted on the Center's website.
I don't have sites to recommend beyond what I mentioned in my posting yesterday (2-9-09). The research base is very narrow.

[Courtney]

I am so excited to have found this blog. I teach special eduation at the high school level and need help with creating and understanding the RTI program. I know that I will find valuable information on this blog! Thanks.

[Daryl Mellard]

On Feb 9, I mentioned a second secondary school site with experience implementing RTI. I hope you understand that I'm not recommending their particular model but rather they seem to have worked out many of the challenges for a school's implementation. The contact information below is for staff at MN middle school. Carol Hokanson is a school psych and Paul Beggin is the "data guy" in the school. They are both great at describing the challenges and progress that they've made with their middle school RTI implementation.
Carol's email is Carol.Hokanson@Mahtomedi.k12.mn.us and her phone is 651-407-2260.
Paul's email is Paul.Beggin@Mahtomedi.k12.mn.us and his phone is 651-407-2224.

[Howard McMackin]

Rolling Meadows HS was selected by the IL State Board of Education as its lighthouse high school for RTI. It empowers Professional Learning Teams (mostly course alike teams) with a unique data-driven curriculum assessment system so their teams can follow student's performance benchmark by benchmark for each standard. Since RMHS also uses ACT/College Readiness Stds., ACT also promotes the model in the midwest.

The PLTs are to build a capacity to bring 80% the team's students to mastery on each standard assigned to their course. The PLTs manage program improvement and the Tier 1 process. PLT leaders and administration build the school-wide Tier 2 intervetions and Early Intervention Teams design Tier 3 intervetnions. All teams follow a common problem solving model.

You can go to the website that is being built just for their model at empoweredhighschools.com or contact me: howard.mcmackin@d214.org or charles.johns@d214.org

We would enjoy your interest, comments, and help. We very much want to be in regular contact with other schools. Thanks for reading. Howard

[Susan Steinhauer]

I propose schools implement Universal Design for Learning (Rose & Meyer, 2002) to assist teachers and ultimately students un the intended use of RTI.

[Haze Him]

Wow!