Improving Student Outcomes Through RTI: An Article Review

Bianco, S. (2010). Improving Student Outcomes: Data-driven Instruction and Fidelity of Implementation in a Response to Intervention (RTI) Model. Teaching Exceptional Children Plus, 6(5), 2-13. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

The article tells us how to document student progress and fidelity of implementation and the things to note. The 3 basic features of RTI are given which include matching high quality research-based intervention to student’s educational and behavioral needs, progress monitoring is used to assess the need for changes in instruction or goals, and student response’s from progress monitoring data is the basis of important educational decisions, which might include additional levels or tiers of instructional intensity or possibly eligibility for special education. The article also explains what fidelity is. Fidelity of implementation is the delivery of instruction in the way in which it was designed and intended to be delivered. The article tells how the main goal of RTI is to provide services at the point of concern without having to wait for a formal assessment or evaluation. There is an example in the article of a student intervention tracking form.

·         To document student progress and fidelity of implementation by noting

1.     Instructional interventions

2.     Frequency (# of days/week)

3.     Duration (# of minutes/session)

4.     Intensity (individual or # of students/group)

5.     How, if at all they deviated from the intervention plan

·         RTI has 3 basic features:

1.     Matching high quality research-based intervention to student’s educational and behavioral needs

2.     Progress monitoring is used to assess the need for changes in instruction or goals

3.     Student response’s from progress monitoring data is the basis of important educational decisions, which might include additional levels or tiers of instructional intensity or possibly eligibility for special education.

·         Benchmark assessment occurs using the DIBELS and the Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System. (This process caught students before they failed a subject and referred them for further assessment or more intense instruction.)

·         Fidelity of implementation is the delivery of instruction in the way in which it was designed and intended to be delivered.

·         RTI’s main goal is to provide services at the point of concern without having to wait for a formal assessment or evaluation.

·         3 specific mechanisms were implemented to enhance fidelity of implementation in this district

§  A form to track what was occurring during instruction

§  Reading coaches

§  Video clips

·         Teachers, administrators, and members of intervention teams use student performance data to inform instructional decisions and monitor the fidelity of implementation of tiered instruction in a RTI

I thought that the article was very informative on the data-driven instruction and fidelity of implementation in RTI. Before reading the article, I didn’t know what fidelity even meant. I liked that there was an example of the student intervention tracking form in the article because I had never seen one like that. Also, it was interesting to read the box that told student referral and classification rates over the past few years.