Over the past decade, Response to Intervention (RTI) has seen widespread use in schools as an effective way to promote student learning. Originally developed to help students with learning disabilities, RTI’s success has led to its use for all students at a school, not just for those with specialized needs. The approach has several key components:

• Multi-tiered instruction: All students receive Tier 1 support. Students that need additional help (typically about 15 percent of students) also receive Tier 2 support in small groups. About 5 percent of students receive intensive one-on-one Tier 3 support.
• Ongoing assessment: All students undergo regular monitoring to determine whether they need Tier 1, Tier 2, or Tier 3 support.
• Collaborative decision-making: Schools often use a team of educators (such as general education teachers, learning specialists, and school counselors) to make decisions about what supports a student may need. Parents are also heavily involved.

RTI models vary across schools and states. It can also be referred to asResponse to Instruction and Intervention (RTII), which emphasizes research-based instruction at its core. RTI is often paired with Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (PBIS), which supports students’ emotional needs. More recently, Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) is being used as an umbrella term that includes academic, behavioral, social, and emotional supports for students.

Here’s a collection of resources to help you understand, implement, and refine RTI at your school:

• State/local departments of education are excellent sources for RTI information. Visit the California Department of Education, the Texas Education Agency, and the New York City Department of Education to learn more.

• Using an RTI Framework to Improve Student Learning: This pocket guide for state and district leaders explains how a research-based RTI framework can be used to improve learning for all students, particularly in low-performing schools and those with large achievement gaps.

• Assisting Students Struggling with Mathematics: RTI for Elementary ...: Published by the U.S. Department of Education, this guide provides recommendations to address the needs of students struggling with math. Assisting Students Struggling with Reading is also available.

• The Role of Assessment in RTI: In this brief guide from Pearson Education, learn how assessments play a key role in determining whether a student should receive Tier 1, Tier 2, or Tier 3 support.

• Ask the Expert at the Center on Response to Intervention is a collection of over two dozen videos with expert answers for commonly asked questions, such as, "How does the RTI Framework intersect with the Common Core State Standards Initiative?"

• A Parent’s Guide to RTI: This guide, published by the National Center for Learning Disabilities, gives useful tips for getting parents involved in their child's learning. You may also want to check out RTI Fact Sheet for Parents (PDF) from the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

• Federal Funding to Support RTI: The RTI Action Network developed this guide to assist schools in using IDEA, Title I, and Title III funds to support RTI services and professional development.

• Research Spotlight on RTI (National Education Association) provides an overview of the research on RTI, including essential components of a successful program. For more articles, check out Research Support for RTI (RTI Action Network). Also, a 2015 study called into question the effectiveness of RTI for first-grade stude....

RTI in Action: P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School

P.K. Yonge uses Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) to meet the learning needs of its high school students. MTSS is similar to RTI, with an added emphasis on behavioral support. In addition to the video below, which is an overview of the school's program, you can see videos focusing onacademic support and behavioral support for students.

Resources from the school include:

• MTSS Handbook: A Resource Guide (PDF): P. K. Yonge's handbook on making the MTSS process work is full of tips, procedures, and strategies for engaging students and teachers.
• MTSS Flowchart: How the Academic Tiered System Works and Interventi... (PDF): This flowchart describes how MTSS meets students' academic needs, including details on benchmarks and how progress is defined.
• MTSS Graphic Organizer: The Basics (PDF): This chart shows how MTSS serves students with multiple needs.

A full list of resources from the school is available through our Schools That Work video series.

Additional Articles and Guides for RTI

• What Is Response to Intervention? (ASCD)
• Getting Started Guide (RTI Action Network)
• RTI Rubrics, Videos, and Links (Colorado Department of Education)
• RTI Fact Sheet (PDF) (New Mexico Public Education Department)
• Spotlight on Response to Intervention (Education Week)
• Essential Components of RTI (National Center on Response to Intervention)
• Intervention for Failing Students: What Matters Most? (Edutopia)
• How to Implement Response to Intervention at the Secondary Level(Edutopia)