National Center on Response to Intervention (RTI)

This brief from 2007 provides information for parents on what children may experience in schools that use RTI to identify and instruct children with specific learning disabilities.  It presents a three-tier model and includes question section that parents could use to fill in information about screening, progress monitoring, tiered instruction, staff collaboration, and fidelity of implementation.  The tool was written by Daryl Mellard, Melinda McKnight, and Donald Deshler and produced by the National Research Center on Learning Disabilities.

 PDF Version

This 2007 brief provides an overview of Responsiveness to Intervention and its primary components. It was created by the National Research Center on Learning Disabilities (NRCLD) and could be of particular interest for families who are looking for an introduction to RTI. This resource is part of a broader toolkit produced by NRCLD, and is available here. 

 PDF Version

Watch and listen as Dr. Daryl Mellard addresses these questions.

Watch the Video  (6:33) 
  Read the Transcript

Specific Learning Disability and Responsiveness to Intervention General Information

The general information in this section covers a broad range of issues and provides a solid background on SLD and RTI. Use these materials to build your own knowledge of these topics, distribute copies to others who need an understanding of these issues, or use the information presented here as the foundation for critical conversations as you prepare to change the SLD determination procedures in your state, district, or school.

 Executive Summary of the NRCLD Symposium on Responsiveness to Intervention

 Executive Summary of the NRCLD Topical Forum Applying Responsiveness to Intervention to Specific Learning Disability Determination Decisions 

 NRCLD Update on Responsiveness to Intervention: Research to Practice 

 Information Digest: Responsiveness to Intervention: An SLD Determination Resource 

 TA & Information Related to IDEA 2004: Responsiveness to Intervention in Conjunction with Learning Disability Determination 

 Helping Educators Discuss Responsiveness to Intervention with Parents and Students 

 Resource List: Specific Learning Disabilities and Responsiveness to Intervention 

 Select NRCLD Publications 

Specific Learning Disability and Responsiveness to Intervention Tools for Change

The tools in this section will help you begin to make changes in the procedures you use for specific learning disability determination. We developed these tools to help you start the necessary conversations and consider the many factors that influence the SLD determination process.

 SLD Identification Overview: General Information and Tools to Get Started

 Responsiveness to Intervention in the SLD Determination Process

 Screening Tool for Well-Described Responsiveness to Intervention Models and Comparison Models

Getting Started with SLD Determination: After IDEA Reauthorization

Responsiveness to Intervention: How to Do It

This tool will help you design and implement responsiveness to intervention models in the context of SLD determination. This manual provides comprehensive coverage of RTI features, based on current research.

Introduction to Responsiveness to Intervention: How to Do It

Section 1: School-Wide Screening

Section 2: Progress Monitoring

Section 3: A Tiered Service Delivery Mode

Section 4: Fidelity of Implementation

Section 5: School Examples, Student Case Studies, and Research Examples

PowerPoint Presentations

The PowerPoint presentations and handouts in this section will help you lead discussions about SLD, RTI, and the process of change in the context of revising SLD determination procedures. You must have Microsoft PowerPoint installed on your computer to use these files.

PowerPoint Citations

A Research-Based View of Specific Learning Disabilities: Implementing Change
Presentation | Handouts  

A Research-Based View of Specific Learning Disabilities: Responsiveness to Intervention Overview
Presentation | Handouts  

Responsiveness to Intervention (RTI): Preventing and Identifying Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) for State Educational Agencies
Presentation | Handouts  

Responsiveness to Intervention (RTI): Reading and Math Standardized Tier 2 Research-Based Intervention
Presentation | Handouts  

Topical Form I: Applying Response-to-Intervention (RTI) to Specific Learning Disability (SLD) Determination Decisions: Research Findings
Presentation | Handouts  

Parent Pages

As your schools move forward with changes in SLD determination procedures--possibly adopting responsiveness to intervention as one component--parents likely will have questions. The materials in this section are designed to help you answer these questions. You may want to give copies of these materials to parents whose children will be affected by changes at your school.

Who is the Student with Specific Learning Disability? 

 What is Responsiveness to Intervention?

 What is Progress Monitoring?

 How Can Early Intervening Services and Responsiveness to Intervention Work Together? 

 How Can You Evaluate Whether a Program is Research Based?

 How Can You be Involved in School Improvement?

This brief provides a number of steps parents can take to ensure their child receives the benefits of Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM). It was presented by Kathleen McLane and released by the National Center on Student Progress Monitoring.

HTML Version  |  PDF Version

This brief provides an overview of Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM).  It explains how CBM can be helpful to parents because it provides current, week-by-week information on the progress children are making. It was presented by Kathleen McLane and released by the National Center on Student Progress Monitoring.

HTML Version  |  PDF Version

In 2002, the U.S. Department of Education asked NRCLD to identify, describe, and evaluate responsiveness to intervention in elementary schools. Working with the six Regional Resource Centers, we identified potential sites and solicited school participation. We initially considered more than 60 schools across the country; 41 of those schools submitted information. NRCLD research staff reviewed the extensive information from these schools and judged that 19 of them engaged in one or more of the following commendable practices: school-wide screening, progress monitoring, tiered service delivery, data-based decision making, parent involvement, and fidelity of implementation.

Here, we draw on this work to provide real-life examples of components of RTI service delivery models. For each of these components, we describe one or more schools using an RTI service delivery model and discuss their implementation process for the specific component.

• School-Wide Screening

• Progress Monitoring

• Tiered Service-Delivery model

• Data-Based Decision Making

• Fidelity of Implementation

This 2007 brief addresses the different definitions and interpretations of specific learning disabilities (SLD) and the process for identifying SLD. This was written by the National Research Center on Learning Disabilities (NRCLD) and would be useful for families who are looking for information on determination of SLD. This resource is part of a broader toolkit and is available here. 

 PDF Version 

This 2007 brief explains the connection between Early Intervening Services (EIS) as stipulated in the 2004 reauthorization of IDEA and Responsiveness to Intervention. It was created by the National Research Center on Learning Disabilities and could be of use for families who are looking for foundational information regarding EIS and RTI.  This resource is part of a broader toolkit and is available here. 

 PDF Version 

This 2007 brief provides an overview of Progress Monitoring and Curriculum-Based Measurement. It was created by the National Research Center on Learning Disabilities (NRCLD) and could be of use for families who are looking for information regarding Progress Monitoring. This resource is part of a broader toolkit produced by NRCLD and is available here. 

 PDF Version