3 Tiered Model

The framework of RTI is similar throughout all applications of the process. The process consists of three tiers students will travel through as the intensity of remediation increases. Tier 1 includes all students as high quality instruction is given by effective teachers in a whole classroom setting. Teachers will progress monitor students weekly to chart growth. This tier will “address the needs of 80% to 85% of students” (Wixson & Lipson, 2012, p. 387). Students who do not show improvement or demonstrate continued gaps in knowledge will be moved into Tier 2. In Tier 2, students are instructed in small groups multiple times per week. Continued progress monitoring is vital for understanding student growth. Students who do not show growth are

It was developed in 2010 by Buysse and Peisner-Feinberg. It is specifically designed to address academic learning difficulties in preschool age children. This model follows the three tiered approach of RTI and previous early childhood tiered models. R&R specifically focuses on academic learning. It is designed for children ages three to five in center based programs, such as Head Start. Within each tier, there are three main components: a) “recognition, which involves gathering assessment information by screening all of the children”, b) “response, which includes providing an effective core curriculum, intentional teaching and targeted interventions linked to assessment results”, and c) “collaborative problem solving, which offers a process by which teachers, parents and specialists can work together to plan and evaluate instruction in all three tiers” (Buysse & Peisner-Feinburg, 2010, p. 4). Progress monitoring throughout the intervention process is still vital to success. The assessments are developmentally appropriate for the young students and can ideally be used for universal screening as well as monitoring the progress of students in Tier 2 and 3. These assessments are quick to administer, measure a child’s improvement and rate of growth, demonstrate how well a child performs at assessment time, are separate from the curriculum and measure skills in key domains of learning. Independent

Lieberman-Betz, Vail & Chai conducted a meta-analysis of differing methods of using RTI in early childhood classrooms in 2013. They reviewed various models by many different researchers, including the EMERGE and Response and Recognition models. The main framework of all the intervention models consisted of three tiers with increasing intensity of support as the tiers progress. They found that all models emphasized the understanding that children learn by reacting to their environment, adults mediate a child’s opportunities for learning, a child’s experience in a setting which expects a higher level of learning aids the child’s ability to complete those high level tasks, and appropriate instruction is different in many settings. Family involvement was also found to be imperative to strengthening the skills of young children. The main focus of the findings center around the support a family of young students must have for the student to be successful. The more involvement an intervention method has with families, the more successful the outcome for young children. Early childhood classrooms which utilize an RTI model for intervention, “have the potential to optimize learning opportunities for all children” (Lieberman-Betz, Vail, & Chai, 2013, p. 65). These models also allow for greater inclusion of young children with special needs into preschool classrooms. Having a