¶ … Intervention Effectiveness Response to instruction and intervention RTI2 is reported as a general approach in education to closing the gap in achievement. RTI2 methods are constructed upon the Response to Intervention (RTI) model that was an option for schools under the 'Building the Legacy, Idea 2004 reauthorization of the individuals with Disabilities Education Act IDEA. (California Department of Education, 2011) RTI and the expanded RTI2 are reported as being based upon "17 years of practice that has refined continuous progress monitoring as a strategy for keeping students on a path toward success." (California Department of Education, 2011) RTI is reported as a strategy that moves all students through the steps set out in the learning standards and is further more stated to be an approach that views both academic and behavioral achievement of students.

Tier 1-3

Tier 1 included the 'Universal Interventions' which include "preventive, proactive, universal intervention in all subjects and for all students (80-90% of students)." (California Department of Education, ) These interventions are stated to be "all differentiated instructional strategies and supports that help students learn the material." (California Department of Education, 2011) Universal interventions and regular assessments are closely linked so as to "alert the teacher to problems in student learning." (California Department of Education, ) Interventions are approximately four to six weeks in length and are reported to correspond with the benchmark interventions for the State of California. (California Department of Education, 2011) Tier 2 includes the 'Targeted Group Interventions' and includes specific subject-based interventions for students at risk upon the basis of assessment data. These interventions are designed for the purpose of being "rapid and highly efficient." (California Department of Education, 2011) These targeted interventions are reported to correspond directly to the strategic interventions for the State of California. (California Department of Education, 2011) Tier 3 is inclusive of 'Intensive Individual Interventions' as approximately one to five percent of students "will continue to experience learning difficulties even after the targeted group interventions." (California Department of Education, 2011) Students in this tier are on the receiving end of "academic or behavioral intensive interventions" that use "high intensity procedures." (California Department of Education, 2011)

Description of Interventions

Benchmark interventions, also known as early interventions are reported to be for those students who are achieving grade-level standards in a satisfactory manner but who "on occasions may require additional assistance and support for specific standards and concepts." (California Department of Education, 2011) Included in these interventions are "ancillary materials, tutoring, software assistance, additional time with the teacher, and differentiated instruction." (California Department of Education, 2011) Strategic interventions are reported as being for students "who may be one or two standard deviations below the mean according to the results of standardized testing or for those students who are a year below grade level." (California Department of Education, 2011) State-adopted reading/language arts instructions materials are reported to make provision of "30 minutes of additional instructional time" with a design that focuses on bringing students up to the grade level. The amount of additional time for instruction is reported as being determined by the teacher and the additional instruction is reported as being "in background knowledge, prerequisite skills, and concepts, more opportunities for vocabulary development, and additional practice of concepts and skills taught in the lesson…" (California Department of Education, 2011) It is reported that the material in the lesson may in some cases be taught again and may even involve pre-teaching of material. Intensive interventions are reported as being designed for students "who are two years or more below grade level." (California Department of Education, 2011) Intensive intervention makes a requirement of teaching material in a different manner as students failed to learn the material through methods of direct instruction and also failed to learn through reinforcement and supports. Generally, a requirement in the intensive interventions are the devotion of an additional period of class for intensive instruction in English language arts, English language development or mathematics. Sometimes students require intensive instruction in more than one subject, which involves special scheduling. Intensive intervention has as its aim moving students to grade-level courses upon mastering the foundational concepts and skills. There are reported to be two types of intensive intervention programs adopted by the State of California in reading and language arts. The 'Intensive Intervention Program in Reading/Language Arts are "stand-alone, intensive, accelerated reading/language arts programs" (State of California, 2011) reported to make provision of 2 1/2 hors of daily instruction that address the students...

The 'Intensive Intervention Programs for English Learners (ELs)' are reported as "stand-alone intensive reading/language arts programs. These programs provide two and one-half hours to three hours of daily instruction developed specifically for ELs in grades four through eight whose academic achievement is two or more years below grade level." (California Department of Education, 2011) The reading/language arts stand-alone intervention programs are reported to address development in literacy and language and are designed for the provision of "intensive, accelerated, and extensive English language development that complements and supports reading/language arts instruction." (California Department of Education, 2011)
RTI Reading Intervention and Instruction

The work entitled "Implications for Reading Teachers in Response to Intervention (RTI)" states that when it comes to RTI there is "no 'one size fits all' model for RTI. The federal government purposely provided few details for the development and implementation of RTI procedures, stating specifically that states and districts should be given the flexibility to establish models that reflect their own community." (International Reading Program, 2011) Benefits of RTI are reported to include the identification of students earlier that are experiencing difficulties in the area of reading in addition to decreases in the number of students referred to special education since placement is based on the student's ability to learn. Also included are better-informed parents who are able to support the interventions. The interventions offer a solution for closing the achievement gap and 15% of the school's special education funds can be used to implement the RTI process. RTI problem-solving is comprehensive and conducted in a multidisciplinary manner and the RTI reading instruction is high quality in classrooms based on evidence-based research by monitoring and evaluation of core reading instruction to determine that RTI instructions works for general education students and establishment of norms in benchmarking reading for the school, classroom and grade level. (International Reading Program, 2011)

Core Concepts in RTI

Included in RTI core concepts is high quality reading instructional and behavioral supports as well as frequent and ongoing assessment of all students and databased documentation for each student and frequent and ongoing assessment of all students. ( International Reading Program, 2011) Databased documentation for each student is reported as critical as is early identification of learning and behavioral needs. (International Reading Program, 2011) Close collaboration is also a core concept and this between general and special education instructors and parents. (International Reading Program, 2011) Core concepts are also inclusive of decision making that is shared and that is data driven with decision-making conducted on the basis of intervention type and intensity of interventions. ( International Reading Program, 2011)Reading instruction is reported as being "evidence-based" and to be such that are delivered by teachers who are highly qualified. (International Reading Program, 2011) Another core value is the increases in the levels of intensity in the interventions and last but not least is the core concept of commitment of the entire school system to the location and employing of the resources that must be procured if students are to realization progress in the general education curriculum in addition to documentation of the components and structure of the process of RTI in the district. (International Reading Program, 2011)

Success of a California School District Using RTI

Success stories of the use of RTI include that of El Rancho Unified School District in Pico Rivera, California, which reports that 34% of students in the district are SLL students. Specifically stated about the District is that for several years before implanting 2002 RTI the special education department for the district developed appropriate assessments for the diverse student population in the District in the form of pre -- and post-testing, which is comprised by the Group Reading Assessment and Diagnostic Evaluation (GRADE). (Williams, 2001, in: International Reading Program, 2011) It was noted that the program was based on "best strategies" as well as delivery of daily intensive services at least twice and sometimes three times each week in order to bring about improved learning styles. The RTI interventions specifically noted is the 'Put Reading First', which is comprised by one hour per day for nine weeks of reading instruction in "phonemics awareness, phonics instruction, vocabulary development, fluency, and text comprehension." (International Reading Program, 2011) Activities were developed that served to "guarantee instruction and daily practice in each of the five areas of reading." (International Reading Program, 2011)

Specifics on a Successful RTI Program

The El Rancho RTI program is stated to target students in 4th and 5th…