Pioneering RTI Systems That Work

Abstract

Using collaborative teamwork to build unique response-to-intervention (RTI) systems responsive to the needs and strengths within their separate schools and communities, two Montana elementary schools forged a trail for other schools. Each school encountered different obstacles along the way as well as distinctive ways of defining success. How can schools evaluate the "social validity" of a process, and how does this contribute to success? How did the two schools differ in their decisions on how to implement similar interventions? What pitfalls did they encounter, and what lessons did they learn? What role does collaboration play in building sustainable RTI systems that reflect a school's local culture, values, resources, and needs?

Considering Coherence: Teacher Perceptions of the Competing Agendas of RTI and an Existing Special Education Model

“…Lembke, Garman, Deno, and Stecker (2010), in their discussion about one school's implementation of RTI, described the importance of the inclusion of four elements: staff and administrative buy-in, the use of curriculum based measurement (CBM), the inclusion of evidenced-based teaching practices in both classroom practice and interventions, and the collaboration of staff. The need for commitment, consistency, and collaboration has been shown in other empirical studies (e.g., Mahdavi & Beebe-Frankenberger, 2009). However, these studies were conducted in an American context where changes to the identification procedures have already occurred (Glover & Diperna, 2007), allowing for early intervention with students who are at risk.…”

Academic Achievement Test Use and Assessment Practices: A National Survey of Special

“…The few published studies that have examined CBM practices by non-school psychologists' have relied on limited samples (Clemens et al, 2016;Jenkins et al, 2013). Specifically, Jenkins et al (2013) surveyed 62 schools, Mellard and colleagues (2009) 41 schools, Tackett et al (2009) five schools, and Mahdavi and Beebe-Frankenberger (2009) two schools regarding their CBM use. Additionally, none of these studies surveyed schools from all U.S. demographic areas and all relied on convenience sampling, which significantly impacts the external validity of their findings (Olsen et al, 2013).…”

Training for Generalization and Maintenance in RtI Implementation: Front‐Loading for Sustainability

“…Moreover, educators are more likely to implement interventions or practices in which they have experience, support, and belief in overall effectiveness (Fixsen, Blase, Naoom & Wallace, ). Although RtI implementation research has found that collaboration is important for teacher acceptance, teacher buy‐in can be difficult to gain (Mahdavi & Beebe‐Franenberger, ).…”