Response to Intervention Tiers

Response to Intervention (RTI) is a 3 tiered intervention system to help provide all students with the support they need to succeed in the classroom. The interventions in RTI are not uniform. Rather, they different from student to student based on need. For example, a reader struggling with comprehension may not need an intervention focused on pronunciation. The base of RTI is Tier 1. All students are delivered Tier 1 instruction. These interventions are the typical differentiated instruction that is administered by the classroom teacher during regular instruction.

Tier 2 comes into play when a student does not respond to Tier 1 interventions. Only about 15% of students will receive Tier 2 interventions.  Tier 2 interventions are administered by either the teacher or another team member in the classroom to a small group of students. Tier 2 interventions are meant to be a supplement to Tier 1 interventions, rather than a replacement. For example, a student receiving Tier 2 interventions will take part in the regular Tier 1 instruction with the rest of the class. However, the student receiving Tier 2 interventions may have an extra period of instruction where he/she receives Tier 2 instruction in addition to the Tier 1 instruction the entire class received.

                Tier 3 interventions are the most intensive and targeted of the interventions in RTI. Roughly 5% of the student population will require Tier 3 interventions. Tier 3 interventions are administered to very small groups of students or on an individual basis. Intervention specialists or special education teachers may administer Tier 3 interventions. It is worth noting, however, that not all students receiving Tier 3 interventions will require special education, nor is it required that the students receiving these interventions are labeled as disabled. As with Tier 2 interventions, Tier 3 interventions are a supplement to prior interventions, not a replacement. Students receiving Tier 3 interventions will continue receiving Tier 1 instruction with the rest of the class and will receive Tier 2 and 3 instruction at a different time.