The purpose of this dissertation research was to ascertain information from ninth-grade students about their perspective in reference to Response to Intervention (RTI) in their school and how it is impacting them as well as their perceived future implications on their education. In order to accomplish this overall objective, the following three research questions framed this study: 1. What are the perceptions of ninth-grade students concerning RTI? 2. What elements of RTI do they see as beneficial for them to progress to their sophomore year? 3. What are the RTI teachers doing to assist ninth-grade students to progress successfully to their sophomore year? A rural school in the Midwest was selected for this qualitative case study research. Document analysis of two websites, six papers, and student grades and test scores were used. Forty, ninth-grade students were surveyed, four students from this population were interviewed, and two core/RTI teachers were interviewed along with the building principal. Participants in the study self-selected pseudonyms for research anonymity purposes. The surveys were conducted in the ninth-grade English classes on one day, and interviews were conducted on separate days, face-to-face, and later transcribed for accuracy. There are three themes which emerged from the data: (1) students’ sense of accomplishment, (2) students’ sense of belonging, and (3) students’ sense of maturity. These findings describe students’ self-pronounced perceptions of their 8th hour RTI class and RTI’s effects on their learning. Based on this study’s findings, it is recommended that additional investigation into elements of RTI and student perceptions be conducted. Data collection and assimilation from one school year to the next and progress monitoring using norm-referenced tests need to be increasingly used in high schools. The schools should monitor RTI and student achievements and keep a record to improve their instruction. One way to screen the effects of RTI is to access students’ RTI perceptions and conduct longitudinal data collection and analysis from many school districts and populations.

The problem of this study was to determine if there was a difference in the self-concept of two groups of ninth-grade students when one group received the services of junior and senior students in a Peer Assistance and Leadership class. The results of the Piers-Harris Children's—Self—Concept Scale were used to determine the difference between the mean self-concept scores of the two groups and also to determine if there was a relationship between the criterion variable of the total self-concept score and eight predictor variables as identified by House Bill 1010: Limited English proficiency, age, school attendance, achievement scores two or more years below grade level in reading and mathematics on a norm-referenced test, failure to master any portion of the Texas Educational Assessment of Minimum Skills, failure in two or more subjects, grade retention, and eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch. A total of 105 students, 50 in the experimental group and 55 in the control group, participated. The findings revealed that there was no significant difference in the mean self-concept scores of the two groups. The correlation revealed that there were significant differences between self-concept and the variables of mathematics achievement scores, failing grades, and eligibility for free lunch.