Summary

The authors introduce a strengthened model of RTI that emphasizes formative assessment and core instruction rather than multiple layers of intervention. They also describe what undermines most approaches to RTI and how an effective RTI effort can lead to improved curriculum and instruction for all students.

Summary

Are we missing the opportunity to reach struggling learners from the very beginning? Are we hastily--and unnecessarily-- referring students to intervention programs that substitute for high-quality core instruction? What if we could eliminate the need for intervention programs in the first place?

Response to Intervention (RTI) programs are only as powerful and effective as the core instruction on which they're built. High-quality instruction, then, is the key ingredient that helps all students excel, and it's at the heart of Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey's unique approach to the RTI model -- Response to Instruction and Intervention, or RTI2.

In Enhancing RTI , the authors argue that students learn best when classroom instruction and supplemental intervention mirror each other in both content and purpose. This book provides K-12 teachers with the knowledge and tools they need to implement a cohesive RTI2 system that helps all children learn by proactively addressing their needs. To this end, you will learn how to

* Integrate and align core instruction and supplemental intervention.

* Assess your own classroom instruction, in addition to your students' responses to it.

* Strengthen existing school improvement efforts within an RTI2 framework.

* Utilize systematic feedback to raise student achievement.

Fisher and Frey maintain that the RTI2 model not only promotes active student learning, but it also, when done right, promotes a culture of hardwired excellence at all levels of instruction.