Response to Intervention Should Not Delay an Evaluation
The following blog post was written by special education advocate Allison Meyerson.
In September of 1988, I was a newly certified teacher and excitedly teaching my first class of fifth graders. I was disappointed to learn that children were divided into two groups: those that received extra support, and those that did not. To be on the receiving end, the child needed to be significantly behind the abilities of his/her peers. There was no continuum, no area for a child to receive varying amounts of support. It was all or nothing. And far too often it was nothing. I clearly remember the literacy specialist telling me at the time, “I can take your two lowest achieving students, the ones that are struggling the most.”
What is the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS)?
Luckily for the millions of students that today receive academic intervention services, this model from 1988 has been replaced with Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS). At first, to help accurately identify students who needed intervention services, Response to Intervention (RTI) was created. The goal of RTI is to serve the needs of students who require more instruction to succeed but did not necessarily display a learning disability. Response to Intervention aims to identify struggling students early on and give them the support they needed to thrive in school. Response to intervention emerged from the 2004 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
The one caveat? Response to Intervention only addressed academics. Therefore, to include social and emotional needs, the Multi-Tiered System of Supports was created. Multi-Tiered System of Supports is comprehensive and integrates both academic and behavioral support while incorporating Response to Intervention guidelines. In addition to literacy and math interventions, students can receive targeted support for emotional skills such as social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.
From BranchingMinds.com
Three Levels of Support
Like Response to Intervention, Multi-Tiered System of Supports uses a three-tiered system.
· Tier 1 is for all students. All students must receive high-quality classroom instruction and academic screening. Research suggests that approximately 80 percent of students can reach targeted goals under Tier 1 instruction.
· Tier 2 is for those students identified as struggling. These students are not reaching targeted goals within the Tier 1 support. Therefore, they are provided with targeted interventions that increase in intensity and decrease in group size. Typically, around 15 percent of students will receive small-group and supplemental instruction in Tier 2.
· Tier 3 is for those students that need more intensive intervention than is available in a Tier 2. While this is often in a group of two-three students, it can be administered in a one-to-one setting as well. Historically, five percent of students require this more intensive and individualized intervention.
Criteria for MTSS
Regardless of the tier, the Multi-Tiered System of Support must incorporate the following criteria:
Consist of three tiers, increasing in intensity and decreasing in group size as the tier number increases
Students are given a universal screener to identify areas of need
Interventionists administer progress-monitoring of student performance
Evidence-based interventions are selected based on data and progress
The Multi-Tiered System of Support has improved the amount and quality of intervention given to struggling students. Allowing the child to be seen as a whole: academically, socially, and emotionally. Addressing those areas of concern early and with targeted, research-based interventions, can make all the difference in the world.
Tiered Support Should Not Delay Evaluation
However, it is important to note that MTSS and RTI services should not delay an evaluation. If you suspect that your child has a learning disability, an evaluation should be given regardless of the level of support your child is presently receiving. If your child is not showing progress with the current interventions an evaluation should be completed.
Sadly, some families are erroneously told that they need to give the present levels of support time to work before an evaluation can be completed. This is untrue and can be detrimental to the child. To receive the correct targeted intervention, it is vital to know what disability is at play. Research shows that identifying and addressing learning disabilities, especially dyslexia, in the earliest possible stages of education can significantly improve student reading and writing abilities. If your child’s school does not initiate an educational evaluation, and you suspect a learning disability, you can and should you to request a full evaluation to determine if the child is eligible for special education.
Allison Meyerson is a non-attorney special education advocate serving clients in New York’s Orange and Rockland counties and New Jersey’s Union and Bergen counties as well as surrounding areas.