The RTI method seems like a wonderful approach to identifying
students with specific learning disabilities. RTI tries to intervene right
away, whereas the discrepancy model sometimes waits until its too late and the
students fall way behind. RTI assesses the students frequently to see if
intervention is necessary and if it is they start right away. They don’t have
to wait for a standardized test or an IQ test to be performed. The goal for us
as teachers is to have our students read and have the ability to link the text
to prior knowledge. Some students are failing to perform well on the NAEP exam
because it focuses on thoughtful responses and teachers aren’t focusing their
lessons on that. They are focusing on having their students perform well on standardized
tests and that test focuses on memorizing details and spitting back
information. In my opinion until the standardized test get switched to the NAEP
format teachers aren’t going to focus on the thoughtful literacy, which is a
shame because that’s a really important skill.
RTI
is a three tier system which recognizes early on if a student needs extra help.
They start off in tier 1 and continue moving up if they need extra help. If the
students in tier 3 still need extra help then they are referred for special
education. RTI prevents many students from having to need special education.
They catch the problem early on and intervene right away.
RTI
is a great system but it requires a large amount of funds and human resources.
Can every school handle this?
Good question, I can imagine that many schools were hesitant about this program due to the large amount of training and resources RTI requires.
ReplyDeleteGood question, Susie. Often we get distracted by the glorifying details of a good program, but forget the technical aspects as in do we have the resources to implement the program.
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