Response to Intervention Support System (RISS)

RISS is funded through a Maine Department of Education IDEA Professional Development grant to Syntiro ( Maine Support Network ). Year 1: 2009-10 Year 2: 2010-11 Year 3: ??

RISS Staff: Heidi McGinley, Ann Pike, Therese Bernier Burns

RISS 2009-2011 Districts

Two demonstration/pilot RSU’s (RSU 10 and RSU 38):

 8 elementary schools  4 high schools  3 middle schools  1 7-12 school

Began in August 2009.

RISS Project Goals:

1. Increase the number of

effective RtI systems

in a majority of the schools in each RSU. 2. Increase opportunities for collaborative work and learning in the two pilot RSU’s. 3. Increase the number of schools using a

continuous improvement

model to implement and sustain RtI systems over time. 4. Increase

information

on effective school and district RtI system implementation.

An effective RtI system: The RISS working definition

• • The more effective the RtI system, the more likely the proportion of students will resemble those of the model (i.e., 80%, 15%, 5%).

Schools with more effective approaches to RtI will have fewer special education referrals than schools with less effective approaches to RtI.

Continuous Improvement

Plan Do Study Act

Continuous Improvement

Step 1. Get clear about what you want. Learn where you currently are.

Step 2. Make a short-term plan to move closer.

Step 3. Do the plan and pay attention to what you’re learning along the way.

Step 4. Evaluate progress toward what you want.

Step 5. Make the next plan.

RISS Continuous Improvement Tools

• • • •

Classroom-level needs assessment.

Indicators of full implementation at three levels (classroom, school, and district).

School and district planning processes.

Collaborative review.

Visit www.syntiro.org/riss

The Goal

The goal of a Response to Intervention system is ensuring that 80% of students meet grade level standards and benchmarks in their regular classrooms (Tier 1 Core Program).

AND Struggling students receive increasingly more intensive support both in and outside their classrooms.

RTI: Teaching and Supporting All Students Academic Skills Behavioral/ Social Skills Intensive

•

Few students

•

1:1 instruction

5% •

High intensity

•

Weekly progress monitoring Targeted

•

Some students (at-risk)

•

Small group instruction

15% •

Monthly Progress monitoring

•

In addition to core instruction Core Instruction

•

All students

•

Core curricula

•

Preventive

•

Tri-annual assessment

80% E D U C I A T O N I S P E C A L 5% 15% 80%

Intensive

•

Few students

•

Functional assessment

•

Intensive instruction

•

Daily progress monitoring Targeted

•

Some students (at-risk)

•

Small group instruction

•

Rapid response

•

Weekly progress monitoring Core Instruction

•

All students

•

Present across settings

•

School-wide

•

Preventive

•

Incidence-based screening

Maine DOE 10/2010

RISS Design Principles



Tier 1 is the highest priority.

 RtI is NOT a separate program or initiative.

 RtI IS a designed system of interconnected school and district improvement practices that increase student achievement.

 RtI is standards-based.

 The RtI system must work in the daily lives of students, teachers, and schools.

The Core Program

•

“A school that has significantly less than 75% of its students at or above grade level proficiency has a core program problem, not an intervention problem.” --- Buffum, Mattos, and Weber. Pyramid

Response to Intervention. 2009

20% at Greater Intensity

• 15% – 20% of all students • Tiers II and III supplement the core program –

not replace it.

• • • •

More than 3 Tiers?

Classroom Level Tier 1

Core curriculum, instruction, and assessment all students experience.

Differentiation is provided during instruction. Formative assessments determine which students need additional support during instruction.

Summative assessments identify which students need additional support after core instruction has taken place.

•

Classroom –Level Tier 2:

Summative assessment and universal screener results enable grouping for additional instruction in specific skills.

•

Classroom-Level Tier 3:

Individual students receive additional support when classroom Tier 2 instruction isn’t effective.

School Levels

•

School-Level Tier 2:

Small groups (at grade level and/or ungraded) when classroom-level interventions are ineffective or require deeper expertise •

School-Level Tier 3:

Individual students receive more intensive support

The RISS 7 RtI Foundations

1. Ensure leadership, structure, coordination, and continuous improvement.

2. Know what all students need to know and be able to do and how well.

3. Use universal screening data.

4. Target interventions (evidence-based strategies and programs).

5. Track response to the intervention (progress monitoring).

6. Strengthen the core program.

7. Build shared responsibility.

1. Ensure leadership, structure, coordination, and continuous improvement.

School RtI Leadership Teams District RtI Leadership Team

School RtI Leadership Teams

(An existing team or a new one)

• • • • • • •

Understand RtI system design Provide academic and behavioral leadership Assess needs at all tiers and develop plans to meet them Monitor plan implementation Provide for ongoing training and support Have time to meet and make adjustments Are connected to the district’s RtI leadership

District RtI Leadership Team

Ultimately, the district’s Administrative Team augmented with teacher leaders:

• • • • • • •

Connects all initiatives with student achievement and well being.

Provides the umbrella for effective practice and policy.

Insists on continuous improvement data collection, analysis, planning, and evaluation.

Provides student data management.

Actively builds instructional capacity at all grade spans.

Uses existing resources creatively.

Works “bottom up” and “top down” to provide equitable student access to effective core curriculum, instruction, and assessment and additional support.

2. Know what all students need to know and be able to do and how well.

1.

2.

3.

Use the Common Core State Standards.

Identify essential or “power standards” at each grade level. These are the standards all students must meet before moving on and the priority for instruction and assessment at all tiers.

Decide on grade-level benchmarks for each standard: How good is good enough?

Power Standards

Doug Reeves’ (2005) three criteria: 1. Endurance – Does the standard address knowledge and skills that will endure throughout a student’s academic career and professional life?

2. Leverage – Does it address knowledge and skills that will be of value in multiple content areas?

3. Necessity – Does it provide the essential knowledge and skills students need to succeed in the next grade level?

3. Use Universal Screening Data

• • • To see the core program.

To pinpoint strengths and needs of groups of students.

To pinpoint the specific learning needs of individual students.

Further diagnostic assessments are sometimes necessary…

Criteria for Selecting Universal Screeners

1. Technical standards 2. What is assessed 3. Administration 4. Reports and data

Technical standards

• • Validity. The assessment measures the skills and sub-skills it purports to measure, and has predictive validity (of future reading or mathematics performance) of at least .60 (

What Works Clearinghouse

, 2009).

Reliability. The assessment’s internal consistency or Cronbach’s alpha is at least .70 (

What Works Clearinghouse

, 2009).

What is assessed

• • • • The assessment: Is criterion-referenced (

National Research Center on Learning Disabilities

, 2006).

Assesses age-appropriate knowledge and skills (

National Research Center on Learning Disabilities,

2006).

Assesses existing state and national standards (

National Research Center on Learning Disabilities,

2006

)

.

Provides clear cut points/scores relative to the knowledge and skills being assessed (Catts, 2006).

Assessment Administration

• • The screener can be administered fairly and uniformly to all students.

The screener accurately identifies students who need additional support without consuming resources (time and money) needed for instruction.

Reports and data:

The assessment:

• • • • Provides individual student scores for each sub-skill measured to minimize additional diagnostic assessments.

Provides classroom, sub-group and aggregated student reports.

Can be interpreted and used by classroom teachers.

Data are transferable to data management systems used district-wide.

4. Targeted interventions (evidence-based strategies and programs)



The intervention addresses a specific skill or sub-skill.



The intervention addresses causes -- not symptoms.

 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Structure additional support in a sequence which includes:

Student engagement and goal setting related to the standard Explicit instruction Guided practice Independent practice Corrective feedback during practice Assessment when students are ready to demonstrate or when more information is needed to determine next steps.

5. Track response to the intervention

(Progress monitoring = formative assessment) • • Regular brief assessment of student progress toward a specific learning goal.

Assesses student progress over time as well as the effectiveness of the intervention.

• • • • •

6. Strengthen the Core Program

Getting to 80% is the school’s mission.

All teachers use data and act on data individually and in collaborative groups.

Teachers use formative assessments frequently to check progress.

Instruction is differentiated for individuals and small groups in the core program. (Students receiving additional support still

experience differentiated time with their classroom teachers.)

Strategies that work as interventions can also be embedded in the core program.

7. Build Shared Responsibility

• • • • • •

Put students at the center.

Take action for students based on data.

Use collaborative work and learning.

Provide appropriate, effective professional development. Soften program silos.

Build on the culture you’ve got and the work you’re already doing.

www.syntiro.org/riss