Response to Intervention's (RtI) original design was implemented as a kindergarten through third grade intervention for struggling readers. Therefore, it is difficult to conceptualize RtI as an intervention model to be used for high school students. Nevertheless, high schools have adopted RtI as an intervention model. The purpose of the study was to investigate and describe how one high school implemented RtI. The researcher utilized qualitative research methods to conduct the study. The two overarching research questions for the study were: Were the essential components of Response to Intervention implemented in this high school? Was the Response to Intervention framework implemented with fidelity? Research-based practices found in the literature that have influenced the implementation of RtI were (a) a structured focus on prevention for academic failures, (b) the use of the suggested RtI model consistently and with fidelity, and (c) a strong consideration for adoption of the suggested framework using the essential components of RtI (RtI Action Network, 2013).  The essential components of RtI found in the literature were universal screening, data collection, progress monitoring, a problem solving team, data-based decision making, and evidence-based interventions. The study attempted to determine if the high school implemented the essential components of RtI with fidelity, defined as "implemented RtI as it was intended by the program developers" (Mellard & Johnson, 2008, p. 240).   The study found that not all essential components of RtI were implemented with fidelity in the high school. All participants interviewed stated that the screening tools that were being utilized were not screening tools that were described in the literature. Participants identified the use of data collection and progress monitoring, but did not express a consistency in the practices. Because these two components were not implemented consistently, participants noted that the three-tiered system lacked evidence-based practices and interventions. Based on the participants' responses, the researcher concluded that the high school's implementation of RtI lacked fidelity. Through review of CHD High School's historical records, it appeared that the implementation of RtI only provided a minimal amount of improvement in students' academic grades, dropout rate, and standard assessments scores. Implications and recommendations for practice and future research are offered in Chapter 5. / Ed. D.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of West Florida, 2009. / Submitted to the Dept. of Professional and Community Leadership. Title from title page of source document. Document formatted into pages; contains 0 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

This case study addressed the problem of implementing response to intervention (RTI) in general secondary education. To investigate this problem, one north Texas school's RTI implementation was examined using the theoretical framework of the concerns-based adoption model (CBAM) and defining RTI as the innovation. RTI-related practices were studied for 10 secondary teachers, two from each core subject (i.e., mathematics, English language arts, science, and social studies) and the fine arts who had been implementing RTI for several years. Data regarding participants' stages of concern about and levels of use of RTI were collected across three time intervals using the three diagnostic instruments of CBAM (i.e., Stages of Concern Questionnaire, Levels of Use interviews, and Innovation Configuration Checklist matrix), behavioral observations during instruction and RTI meetings, and structured exit interviews of participants. Overall, findings indicated that the secondary teachers were at similar stages of concern and levels of use of RTI. Teachers' RTI concerns scores remained highest in the Self phase and lowest in the Impact phase of concern at all three intervals of data collection. As levels of RTI use increased, observed RTI use increased; however, teachers' RTI levels of use scores remained in the early levels of RTI implementation at all three intervals of data collection. Patterns in teachers' responses during exit interviews suggested that contextual factors unique to this setting (e.g., unexpected changes in RTI protocol, priorities of administrative personnel, and demands placed on teachers) may have influenced teachers' concerns about the teacher's role in, the professional development in, and the sustainability of RTI as an innovation. The literature does not currently address secondary teachers' concerns about and levels of use of RTI in relation to CBAM. Therefore, this study not only fills a gap in literature but also has implications for how teachers are trained and supported in implementing and sustaining the practices of consultation and differentiated instruction associated with RTI. This case study provided insight about the importance and value of teachers' participation and knowledge of RTI to facilitate the change process successfully.

Intensivundervisning i matematik, lärares perspektiv utifrån organisation, lärande och motivation har i studien studerats med utgångspunkt i metoden “Response to intervention”, RTI. RTI används bland annat för att stärka elever i matematiksvårigheter, metoden vilar på forskning och beprövad erfarenhet (DCSF, 2010). I Sverige har Sterner utifrån RTI utarbetat en modell kring intensivundervisning i matematik. Denna modell har spridit sig över hela landet och ett flertal projekt har genomförts. Syftet med denna studie är att studera intensivundervisning i matematik utifrån hur den kan organiseras på svenska skolor samt vilken påverkan lärare upplever att intensivundervisningen i matematik har på elevers lärande och motivation i ämnet matematik. För att ta reda på detta har metoden varit kvalitativ, i form av intervjuer med  4 stycken verksamma lärare. En intensivlärare och tre matematiklärare. Resultatet som framkom utifrån organisation var positivt till den pågående intensivundervisningen i matematik men utvecklingsmöjligheter lades fram. När det gäller lärande och motivation så framkom ett positivt samband där elevens framsteg kan  relateras mot elevens motiveringsgrad. Resultatet visar även att lärarna upplever ett ökat matematikintresse hos eleverna.

Syftet med följande studie är att studera vilka bestående resultat som kan utläsas ett år efter en avslutad pilotstudie av en Response to Intervention (RTI) i grundläggande taluppfattning. En jämförelse har genomförts mellan en experimentgrupp och en referensgrupp, där referensgruppen inte tagit del av RTI. Studien tittar även närmare på hur de elever som uppvisade störst svårigheter i grundläggande taluppfattning lyckades i uppföljningsstudien ett år efter avslutad intervention. Uppföljningsstudien är kvantitativ och baseras på testresultat som genomfördes före och efter RTI. Uppföljningsstudien använde sig av exakt samma tester och genomfördes på exakt samma vis som den tidigare pilotstudien för att göra tillförlitligheten så stor som möjligt. Testerna som användes var AG 1 på 3 minuter och AG 2 på 4 minuter.  Metoden har varit kvantitativ där testresultat från AG 1 och AG 2 samlades in och analyserades. Tillvägagångsättet har varit att sammanställa och dokumentera både tidigare tester från pilotstudien och testerna i uppföljningsstudien. Därefter analyserades resultaten på testerna för att studera likheter och skillnader mellan experimentgrupp och referensgrupp. Studien visar på en tydlig effekt av RTI där experimentgruppens elever når höga testresultat på AG 1 och AG 2 i uppföljningsstudien maj 2019. Resultatet stärker teorin om att RTI är en intervention som kan ge positiva och bestående effekter på elevers grundläggande taluppfattning över tid. / The aim of this study is to investigate if Response to Intervention (RTI) was successful in terms of achieving consisting results, one year after a RTI of foundational number sense. A comparison is made between an experiment group and a reference group, where the reference group was not participating in the RTI. Additionally, this study has an aim to investigate how the students showing the greatest difficulties in foundational number sense succeeded in a follow-up study one year after the intervention. The follow-up study is quantitative and based on tests results performed before and after the RTI. The follow-up study used the same tests performed with the same circumstances as the earlier pilot study to achieve reliability. The test was AG 1 (Diamant) in 3 minutes and AG 2 (Diamant) in 4 minutes.     A quantitative method was used where test results from AG 1 and AG 2 were collected and analyzed by quantitative measures. A compilation of the results were made and documented, both previous tests results from the pilot study, and test results from the follow-up study. Thereafter, the results were analyzed to discover similarities and differences between the experimental-group and the reference-group. The study shows a significant effect of the RTI where the experimental group´s students reach high test result on AG 1 and AG 2 in the follow-up study May 2019. The result strengthens the theory that RTI is an intervention that can provide positive and consisting effects on student’s foundational number sense over time.

This dissertation examines the question how do ESL teachers perceive the prereferral process for identifying adolescent Latino English language learners with specific learning disabilities? The study fits within the Latino Critical Race Theory framework and employs an interpretive phenomenological qualitative research approach. Participants were six secondary-level ESL teachers from two school districts with small ELL populations. Data consisted of in-depth interviews, researcher notes, and analytical memos. Phenomenological data analysis procedures followed recommendations by Colaizzi (1978) and Smith, Flowers, and Larkin (2009). Data validity measures included second-researcher review and member-checking. Results of the study are presented as descriptions of how participants perceived the prereferral processes for identifying adolescent Latino English language learners with suspected specific learning disabilities. Nine categories emerged from the interviews: (a) Characteristics and behaviors; (b) instructional supports and interventions; (c) progress-monitoring; (d) use of RTI; (e) prereferral outcomes; (f) parental participation; (g) special education department response; (h) identification challenges; and (i) recommendations. Implications of the study findings for policy, research, and educator practice are noted.

Math skills are essential to daily life, impacting a person?s ability to function at home, work, and in the community. Although reading has been the focus in recent years, many students struggle in math. The inability to master math calculation and problem solving has contributed to the rising incidence of student failure, referrals for special education evaluations, and dropout rates. Studies have shown that curriculum based measurement (CBM) is a well-established tool for formative assessment, and could potentially be used for other purposes such as a prediction of state standards test scores, however to date there are limited validity studies between mathematics CBM and standard-based assessment. This research examined a brief assessment that reported to be aligned to national curriculum standards in order to predict student performance on state standards-based mathematics curriculum, identify students at-risk of failure, and plan instruction. Evidence was gathered on the System to Enhance Educational Performance Grade 3 Focal Mathematics Assessment Instrument (STEEP3M) as a formative, universal screener. Using a sample of 337 students and 22 instructional staff, four qualities of the STEEP3M were examined: a) internal consistency and criterion related validity (concurrent); b) screening students for a multi-tiered decision-making process; c) utility for instructional planning and intervention recommendations; and d) efficiency of administration, scoring, and reporting results which were the basis of the four research questions for this study. Several optimized solutions were generated from Receiver Operator Curve (ROC) statistical analysis; however none demonstrated that the STEEP3M maximized either sensitivity or specificity. In semi-structured interviews teachers reported that they would consider using the STEEP3M, however only as a part of a decision-making rubric along with other measures. Further, teachers indicated that lessons are developed before the school year starts, more in response to the sequence of the state standards than to students? needs. While the STEEP3M was sufficiently long enough for high-stakes or criterion-referenced decisions, this study found that the test does not provide sufficient diagnostic information for multi-tiered decision-making for intervention or instructional planning. Although practical and efficient to administer, the conclusions of this study show the test does not provide sufficient information on the content domain and does not accurately classify students in need of assistance.

Research shows that having an excellent reading teacher in the classroom is key to preventing reading difficulties. However, teachers often feel unprepared to work with students experiencing reading difficulties. This can be problematic in a school that uses a multi-tiered system of support for students in which the classroom teacher is responsible for core instruction and early reading interventions. This qualitative study examined the influences on elementary teachers' instructional and assessment decisions when teaching reading to students who are experiencing reading difficulties. Data were collected through both survey and interviews and were analyzed using thematic analysis. Five themes were identified that suggest teachers' literacy instructional decisions are influenced by administrators, their knowledge of reading instruction, professional development, their beliefs about using data for instruction, and collaboration. Findings from this study provide evidence that teacher decisions are more heavily influenced by forces when teachers lack a deep understanding of their students or of effective literacy instruction. When this happens, teachers' efficacy is also affected, which research shows can affect student outcomes. Teacher decision-making is supported through professional development on effective literacy instruction and use of data for planning. Teacher efficacy improves with opportunities to work with and learn from colleagues and from having administrators who work alongside them when making literacy decisions. Recommendations for administrators, teacher educators, and teachers are included as well as suggestions for future research.

Response to Intervention (RD) has been shown to be an effective method for the identification and remediation of poor readers especially in the early grades. Given the extensive advantages of RTI school districts across the country are interested in adopting such a model however very little research in this area has been completed. This case study sought to discover how one school district in California successfully completed the task of adopting and implementing an RTI program with relatively few complications. Themes from interviews and documents revealed that adoption and implementation of the RTI model closely followed Rogers Diffusion of Innovation theory. Among other findings it is also suggested that teachers are more likely to support innovation when they consider themselves part of a team and when they feel their students will benefit from the innovation. Several practical implications regarding the adoption of and implementation of an RTI program are discussed. These include the development of teams to research and garner support for the program as well as administrative techniques such as allowing staff to modify the program to make it their own.

School-age children are at high risk of experiencing traumatic and stressful events that can negatively impact their academic, emotional, and behavior performance (Brock et al., 2016). Any stressful situation (i.e., natural disaster) or adverse childhood experience (ACE) can potentially become a traumatic event for a child or adolescent. The current literature indicates that 60% of children experience at least one ACE, putting them at high risk for a variety of health and social problems (Manyema et al., 2018). Natural disasters adversely impact children's life as they have the potential to destroy physical structures and injure the child or family members. According to Inoue and colleagues (2018) natural disasters can additionally be considered as an ACE. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between PTSD symptoms of students who have experienced a natural disaster (e.g., hurricane exposure) and students’ internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Participants included 75 students from elementary, middle, and high school in a school district in the Southeastern United States. Linear regression showed that PTSD symptoms are significantly correlated with internalizing and externalizing behaviors. However, moderation and interaction effects showed that he type of hurricane exposure did not significantly moderate the relationship between PTSD symptoms and students' internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Implications from these results suggest that trauma-informed strategies are needed for students that are exposed to a traumatic event.