Response to Intervention

Knox County RTI Tiers

Tier I Minimum of 6-8 weeks

Tier I is the regular education program and is designed to meet the needs of a majority of the school population. There are three critical elements in Tier I: a) an effective core academic program, b) testing of students at least three times a year to help determine their instructional needs, and c) the development of interventions by the classroom teacher to address any learning difficulties. The student’s progress is monitored once weekly.

Tier II Minimum of 40 sessions (30 minutes/session)

Tier II is for students who are falling behind on basic academic skills and need additional support to meet grade-level expectations. Students in Tier II receive at least 30 minutes per day of additional instruction in the area of difficulty in addition to the core academic instruction. Students are tested twice weekly to monitor the improvement of skills.

Tier III Minimum of 45 sessions (60 minutes/session)

Tier III is designed for students who still have considerable difficulty in mastering necessary academic skills, even after Tier I and Tier II interventions. Students in Tier III receive 60 minutes per day of additional instruction in the area of difficulty in addition to the core academic instruction. Students are tested twice weekly to monitor the improvement of skills.

An exception to the requirement of 45 sessions necessary for Tier III are cases in which two interventions are attempted in Tier II with regression or no improvement in performance. If, after 4 weeks in Tier III, such students continue to show no progress, special education can then be considered.

LD Consideration

Response to intervention is determined by the student’s level of performance and rate of growth. The goal is to bring the student to the 10^th percentile when compared to other students (level of performance) or achieve a rate of improvement equal to students at the 25^th percentile (rate of growth). If a student remains below the 10^th percentile but shows good growth compared to peers, the intervention is continued before progressing to a higher Tier. Students who fail to respond to Tier III interventions are suspected to have a learning disability and are then evaluated in order to provide additional information needed for special education placement.

Parent Involvement

Parents are informed of their child’s participation and progress in the various tiers through the use of monthly reports. Parent permission is always obtained for evaluation before formal consideration for special education services.