Three Tiered Model of Student Interventions

Overview

Response to Intervention (RTI) is a process to help children who are struggling. This is an intervention model to increase student achievement. RTI enhances the opportunity for children to be successful and maintain their class placements in the general education setting by receiving appropriate individualized instruction and intervention.  

The RTI model consists of three well-defined and separate processes.  Each tier constitutes a level of instructional/behavioral interventions targeting individual student needs. The tiered structure of RTI encompasses increased time and intensity of instruction at all levels (Tiers I, II, and III). Data is collected routinely to assess student response to the interventions. The three tiered intervention process is embedded in several legislative mandates. The model was first required as a part of the Reading First Initiative, it is aligned with best practices as outlined in No Child Left Behind, and is a part of IDEA 2004 requirements for the diagnosis of learning disability.

Definition of TIER’s

Definitions and tiered percentages based on work from Region 10 ESC and Ada Munoneke, PhD (2007) in Response to Intervention: A Systematic Approach to Reading and School Improvement, Southwest Educational Development Laboratory.

TIER I – All students receive high quality instructional and behavioral support in the general education classroom.  The TEKS-based district curriculum features high-quality, research-based instruction that is differentiated to meet individual student needs.  Schools take a proactive and preventive approach to intervention in TIER I.  Typically 80-90% of all students should be successful in TIER I.

TIER II – Targeted strategic short-term interventions are provided students whose behavior or performance and rate of progress lag behind the norm for their grade and educational setting.  Progress monitoring and a collaborative problem-solving team (Student Assistance Team - SAT) are used to design/determine and implement a written individualized intervention plan.  Students will be concurrently involved in all TIER I activities.  Typically 5-15% of all students should be successful with additional TIER II support.

TIER III – Targeted intensive intervention services are provided to students who have not responded to interventions in TIER II and whose performance and rate of progress exhibit difficulty to a marked degree.  The SAT will evaluate, adjust, and/or replace TIER II interventions.  Instruction is individualized, of longer duration, and administered in substantial blocks of additional time.  Progress monitoring and collaborative problem solving continues on a more frequent basis to establish necessary adaptations in the intervention plan, lesson content, delivery, materials, or activities.  Students will be concurrently involved all TIER I activities.  Typically 2-5% of all students should be successful with additional TIER III support.