Today one of USA Today’s headlines exposed the need for education improvements in the United States by exclaiming: “One-Third of Students Need Remedial College Math, Reading.” Interestingly, that number also closely resembles the percentage of students which do not naturally learn to read with traditional teaching methods: 30%. There is no research supporting a correlation between the two statistics, however it seems almost intuitive to connect the two. 1/3 of college students need remediation as a result of past educational experiences, and almost 1/3 of students expose the need for some form of remediation in the future. Clearly something needs to change.
Many education professionals believe the answer to the current learning gap is through implementing and improving Response to Intervention (RTI) programs. This solution appears to be a perfect fit for this problem since RTI programs help remediate reading and math difficulties in students.
I recently viewed a webinar hosted by Education Week titled: “Response to Intervention: Making it Work.” The presentation offered many suggestions and practices needed to develop and maintain a successful RTI program. Here are some of the key points from the presentation:
Effective RTI Programs:
1. Teach effective core curriculums at Tier I of the RTI Triangle.
2. Differentiate instruction to meet individual student needs.
3. Review data often.
4. Celebrate student success.
Common Problems in RTI Programs:
1. Too many students in Tiers II & III of the RTI Triangle.
2. Implementing or using too many interventions at one time.
3. Uneven practices across classrooms within same school system.
4. Do not allocate enough time to RTI programs.
5. Students are not making progress.
RTI Triangle
One of the strongest emphasis’s throughout the presentation was the need for effective core curriculums. If the core curriculum doesn’t present students with an effective way of learning the material in the first place then intervention is first needed at the core level. The best way to know the efficacy of a core curriculum is through data analysis, another strong emphasis throughout the presentation. By assessing students and analyzing their results teachers can know if their core curriculum is effective.
Once an effective core curriculum is in place then improvements and interventions can be implemented for Tiers II & III. Of course, as clarified by the speakers, each change and intervention needs to be implemented successively. Only one intervention should be added at a time so the results can be measured. If the results can not be measured because of too many interventions are influencing the situation, than educators will not what is working and what isn’t working. Without these measures, RTI programs will struggle to improve.
It is important for RTI programs to be effective and strong. I continuously find research supporting that it is the solution to reading and writing problems universally. I also read an article the other day from an RTI specialist claiming that the best solution to these problems is using RTI curriculums as core curriculums in grades K-2. These programs are designed to ensure that every student will have the highest chance of success in building essential foundational skills. Core curriculums are clearly in need of improvement based on the daunting statistic that 1/3 of entry level college students are in need of remediation.
Register for Education Week's upcoming webinar on Thursday, May 13, 2010 at 2 PM EST, titled: "RTI and Special Education: Putting It All Together"
Also find more information on this same topic by listening to one of Reading Horizons past webinar's titled: "Creating Synergy Between Mainstream Reading Instruction & Special Education"
Reading Horizons is often used as an effective, and measurable RTI reading program and reading remediation. For more information visit: www.ReadingHorizons.com/rti/
