RTI -- The Next "Reading First"?

Is RTI ("Response To Intervention") the best thing since sliced bread, or just a new name for something old, or -- worst case scenario -- a fancy-sounding way to overburden mainstream classroom teachers and save districts some cash by delaying SPED referrals?  I don't really know. 

I just started hearing about RTI last year -- you probably heard about it much earlier.  But it had been a while since I'd heard about anything "new" and of course that made me curious.  Here's an article by the Washington Post's Michael Allison Chandler from this past winter (Waiting Too Late to Test) that raises some of these questions. 

I like the notion of putting in a systematic screening system that makes sure kids don't just fall through the cracks -- rather than relying entirely on teachers' instincts.  And I'm curious about the potential for small interventions  that might make a difference.  But I'm skeptical about teachers' willingness to do all the formative assessments and ability to make a series of subtle adjustments.  Maybe that's why it's mostly being implemented in better-off districts.

Previous Posts:  Could "Checklists" Improve Academic Outcomes?

Comments

[Jen Boggs]

Either I'm missing something or I'm not very clever. Why the pic of Madge and JT? Does Justin represent RTI? Or do we have four minutes to save kids from SPED? I might add that I am also unsure of RTI as the next best thing vs. ed-flavor of the week.

JT is the best thing since sliced bread. Madonna is the repackaged same old same old. RTI could be either.

[Jen Boggs]

Got it! Looking forward to RTI mashups in the future...

[Cheryl]

It's an interesting comparison. If you look, the same folks that manipulated Reading First are behind RTI. Interesting....or scary. Special Ed folks running the world.