Monitoring Progress
Response to Intervention's Promise and Pitfalls
March 2, 2011
Response to intervention began as a way to identify and teach struggling readers and special education students. It's fast becoming a way to change schooling for everyone. This special report examines the many forms the approach is now taking, its research base, its influence on the educational marketplace, and the federal regulations that both fuel and restrict its growth. For the project, our reporters drew on interviews with researchers, curriculum developers, educators, parents, and students.
- Education Funding Districts Must Walk a Fine Line to Fund RTI ProgramsDespite its growing popularity, RTI can be an awkward fit with some of the federal grant programs used to pay for it.
Teaching RTI Makes Few Inroads Into the Nation's Education SchoolsOne exception is the University of Utah, where aspiring urban teachers get exposed to 'tiered-instruction' techniques in all their core classes.
Special Education Some Parents Remain Leery of RTI's BenefitsWhile response to intervention has won over some parents, others complain the schooling approach has delayed needed services for children with learning problems.Special Education An Instructional Approach Expands Its ReachResponse to intervention began as a way to identify and teach struggling readers and special education students. It's fast becoming a way to change schooling for everyone.IT Infrastructure & Management RTI's Growth Helps Buoy Education MarketplaceWhile curriculum developers seek to capitalize on response to intervention's popularity, experts fret about an overreliance on canned approaches.
School Climate & Safety School Enlists Tiered Approach to DisciplineA middle school in Washington state uses Positive Behavior Supports, or PBIS, to curb behavior problems.
Special Education Calif. District Uses RTI to Boost Achievement for AllEducators in the Sanger, Calif., schools credit response to intervention for the district's dramatic test-score turnaround.
