Intervention and Prevention
Early interventions are designed to help students before they begin to fail. Knowing which students are at risk for reading difficulty, and knowing what to do for those students are the first steps in providing effective early intervention. Find out how to use this knowledge to help prevent reading problems for struggling readers.
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Best Practice for RTI: Small Group Instruction for Students Making Minimal Progress (Tier 3)
After reviewing the research, the What Works Clearninghouse recommends that in tier 3 of Response To Intervention, schools provide provide intensive instruction on a daily basis that promotes the development of the various components of reading proficiency to students who show minimal progress after reasonable time. It also provides some specific features that should be considered in carrying out this recommendation.
Best Practice for RTI: Monitor Progress of Tier 2 Students
After reviewing the research, the What Works Clearninghouse recommends that students in tier 2 of RTI be monitored at least monthly, and use this data to determine if and how primary grade students may need additional reading instructional support.
Best Practice for RTI: Intensive, Systematic Instruction for Some Students (Tier 2)
The What Works Clearninghouse reviewed the research available about using Response To Intervention to help primary grade students overcome reading struggles. WWC's recommendation for tier 2 of RTI is to provide intensive, systematic instruction on up to three foundational reading skills in small groups to students.
Best Practice for RTI: Differentiated Reading Instruction for All Students (Tier 1)
After reviewing the research, the What Works Clearninghouse recommends that in tier 1 of Response To Intervention, schools provide differentiated reading instruction for all students based on assessments of students’ current reading levels.
Best Practice for RTI: Universal Screening
According to research, the Education Department's What Works Clearinghouse finds that the first step in using Response To Intervention to help early elementary-aged students learn to read is to screen all students and regularly monitor students who are at elevated risk of reading problems.
Checklist for Using RTI to Promote Reading Achievement
This is a checklist to help educators carry out the five recommendations made in the What Works Clearninghouse report Assisting Students Struggling with Reading: Response to Intervention (RTI) and Multi-Tier Intervention in the Primary Grades.
What Is This Thing Called RTI?
Response to Intervention (RTI) is a complex subject and states and districts have a lot of discretion with the implementation of this three-step, research-based approach to intervention and placement. Learn about some of the common misconceptions of the RTI process and read about additional RTI web sources.
Having Your Child Tested for Learning Disabilities Outside of School
Children who struggle with reading often need extra help. This help usually comes from the school, but some parents choose to look outside of the school for professionals who can assess, diagnose, tutor, or provide other education services. The following article provides information on how to find the right person for your child.
Best Practice for ELLs: Small-Group Interventions
Providing small-group reading instruction in five core reading elements (phonological awareness, phonics, reading fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension) can really help English language learners in the elementary grades.
Three Things Research Tells Us about Interventions for Struggling Readers
This article, excerpted from a larger guidance document from the Center on Instruction, looks at what research tells us about helping students who read below grade level, and highlights the following findings: 1) schools must provide varied instructional support, based on the degree and nature of the student's difficulty; 2) it is important for students to learn comprehension strategies, and strategy instruction should be coordinated between literacy specialists and content-area teachers; and 3) more research is needed to prove which instructional improvements are really effective.
Response to Intervention (RTI): A Primer for Parents
Learn what questions to ask about Response to Intervention (RTI), an approach to helping struggling learners that's gaining momentum in schools across the country. The National Association of School Psychologists tells you the most important features of the process, key terms, and its relationship to special education evaluation.
Can teachers and parents of preschoolers identify learning problems early enough to prevent problems later in school? The Recognition & Response model helps adults know what to look for and how to help, so that later remediation and special education may not be necessary.
Learning to read is a challenge for many kids, but most can become good readers if they get the right help. Parents have an important job in recognizing when a child is struggling and knowing how to find help.
The Role of the School Psychologist in the RTI Process
School psychologists working in districts that use Response to Intervention (RTI) can offer expertise at many levels, from system-wide program design to specific assessment and intervention efforts with individual students.
Learning Disabilities and Young Children: Identification and Intervention
The National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities developed an overview on screening, diagnosing and serving children age four or younger. The document was developed for researchers, administrators, and people who need an academic overview.
Selecting Assessments for Your School
There are over two dozen individually administered screening tools produced for the primary grades. Considering their subject matter and purpose, schools must decide which assessment best fits their needs. This article gives an overview of the screening tools and the kind of information they provide.
Some young children show signs that they may not be learning in an expected manner, even before they begin kindergarten. These children may exhibit problems in areas such as language development, phonological awareness, perceptual-motor abilities, and attention, which have been considered precursors of learning disabilities in older children. However, under current state and federal guidelines, these children are unlikely to meet eligibility criteria for having a learning disability. This is because formal identification of a child's learning disability generally does not occur until there is a measurable discrepancy between the child's aptitude and academic achievement, often not until the second or third grade.
Improving the effectiveness of interventions for struggling readers is critical. It requires a school-level system for early identification of 'at risk' students and then providing those students with intensive interventions. This article describes what the Florida Center for Reading Research has learned by visiting Reading First schools that have demonstrated success in reaching struggling readers. School leaders will find ideas described here that can help them successfully meet the unique challenges within their own schools.
RTI and Reading: Response to Intervention in a Nutshell
RTI is not a particular method or instructional approach, rather it is a process that aims to shift educational resources toward the delivery and evaluation of instruction that works best for students. This article provides a quick overview of RTI as it relates to reading.
Helping Children With Communication Disorders in the Schools
The following are frequently asked questions on how to help children with communication disorders, particularly in regards to speaking, listening, reading, and writing.