RTI

Daryl F. Mellard is a research associate within the Center for Research on Learning and director of the Division of Adult Studies at the University of Kansas. His current projects address assessment and services to children and youth with learning disabilities, reading comprehension, and adult literacy. Mellard directed the National Research Center on Learning Disabilities (NRCLD) in its review of Responsiveness to Intervention (RTI), was one of the principal investigators in NRCLD’s examination of learning disabilities identification that included the application of RTI, and directed research on education, social, and employment issues for adults with disabilities. He has served as a cochair to the Kansas Coalition on Adult Literacy and Learning Disabilities and as a board of directors’ officer for the local independent living center. Mellard received his doctorate from the University of Kansas. Evelyn S. Johnson is an associate professor of special education at Boise State University and the coauthor of RTI: A Practitioner’s Guide to Implementing Response to Intervention. She began her career in Washington in 1994 as a special education teacher, and then at the University of Washington, Seattle, where her research focused on the inclusion of students with disabilities in accountability systems. Johnson’s work on assessment for students with disabilities has included research on accommodations and alternate assessments, as well as research on screening for reading problems. Prior to joining the faculty at BSU, she worked as a research associate for the National Research Center on Learning Disabilities (NRCLD), where she developed numerous technical assistance products to assist state and local educational agencies on RTI and learning disability identification–related issues. Currently, her research focuses on RTI implementation at the secondary levels.

Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
1. Introduction: What Is RTI?
RTI as a Three-Tiered Model
Purposes of RTI
Research Support for RTI
Summary
References
2. RTI in the Context of Policy Initiatives
Policy Coherence, Professional Learning Communities, and the Professional Teaching and Learning Cycle
Key Elements of NCLB 2001
Key Elements of Reading First
Key Provisions of IDEA 2004
Summary
References
3. Schoolwide Screening
Definitions and Features
Implementation
Changing Structures and Roles
Challenges to Implementation
Screening in Practice
Summary
Resources
References
4. Progress Monitoring
Definitions and Features
Implementation
Changing Structures and Roles
Challenges to Implementation
Progress Monitoring in Practice
Summary
Resources
References
5. Tier 1: General Education
Definitions and Features
Implementation
Changing Structures and Roles
Challenges to Implementation
Summary
Resources
References
6. Tier 2: Intervention
Definitions and Features
Implementation
Changing Structures and Roles
Challenges to Implementation
Summary
Resources
References
7. Tier 3: Special Education
Definitions and Features
Implementation
Changing Structures and Roles
Challenges to Implementation
Tiered Service Delivery in Practice
Summary
Resources
References
8. Fidelity of Implementation
Definitions and Features
Implementation
Changing Structures and Roles
Challenges to Implementation
Summary
Resources
References
9. Conclusion
Frequently Asked Questions About RTI
Conclusion
References
Index