Date of Award:

5-2012

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Educational Specialist (EdS)

Department:

Psychology

Committee Chair(s)

Donna Gilbertson

Committee

Donna Gilbertson

Committee

Tim Slocum

Committee

Gretchen Gimpel Peacock

Abstract

Identifying and determining what a student needs in order to progress and succeed in school is an important aspect of education. One proposed model for doing so is called response to intervention (RTI). This model states that the degree to which a student does or does not respond to high-quality interventions can help predict future performance and provide needed insight into what skills a student does and does not have. A student receives more or less services based on his or her level of responding interventions provided. The standard RTI model indicates that 80% of a student population should respond to typical classroom instruction (Tier 1), 15% of students will not respond to this instruction and will require more intense interventions to progress (Tier 2), and 5% of a student population will not respond to Tier 1 or Tier 2 instruction and intervention and will, therefore, need even more intense and individualized help to progress (Tier 3). This model aims to help the most students in the most effective way. However, there are many unanswered questions about RTI’s utility within the school systems. For RTI to be an effective means of helping students, it is critical that research be conducted to determine how it should be utilized within a school system. Therefore, the following thesis investigated a functioning RTI model within an applied setting.

Data were collected and analyzed from a school system that utilized RTI during the 2009-2010 school year. This thesis looked specifically at if and how RTI worked in identifying and supporting students in the area of reading. Results showed that overall RTI can be a viable option for identifying and helping students who need support. Many interesting patterns were found in this study including noting that student placement within the tiers of RTI depends on method chosen to evaluate along with particular criterion chosen. Further, results indicated that flexible grouping, or movement between tiers, has the potential to help many students, however how frequently movement should be evaluated still needs to be determined. Finally, this project further supported previous research noting that allocation of resources and a systematic and structured delivery method of RTI are important for success.

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