As individual student needs are determined, students are assigned to Response to Intervention (RTI) tiers. Note that these are flexible assignments, meaning that students should not be automatically locked into a tier for the remainder of the school year. Because of the ongoing assessments DnA facilitates, students’ progress and needs are regularly assessed and they are reassigned to different tiers (and/or their goals are modified) as needed.
Basically, Tier 1 constitutes the good general education instruction all students receive from the onset (as covered in the “Good Instruction” lesson earlier in this manual). While there is differentiation within Tier I (flexible grouping, targeting specific skills, etc.), the main change in Tier II is that it includes supplemental instruction. The added instruction and support in Tier II (targeted to the student’s needs) takes
place in addition to solid standards-based instruction the student continues to receive in Tier I. If a student continues to struggle despite Tier II, he or she can be moved to Tier III, where he or she receives even more explicit instruction for a particular skill (noting that it is usually remedial but can also be accelerated).
While students are in Tiers II and III, progress on their goals in continually monitored, and adjustments in their goals and programs are made as necessary. DnA makes tracking progress and goals easy, allowing multiple stakeholders to view and contribute to the data and promoting dialogue between stakeholders.
Track Placement and Goals by Student
Create and share a Summary Assessment with any columns you desire (e.g., a text column for tracking goals, a date column to record program entry date, a number column to record starting performance level, and more). Anyone you share the summary assessment with (and give editing permissions) can enter and edit information for students to which they have access.
Now anyone who is given access can keep track of which student is assigned to which intervention, what goals the student has at different points during the intervention, when he or she enters and exits the intervention, and anything else you want to track.
Clicking any column header allows you to sort by its criteria, you can export the data to Excel xls, Adobe pdf, and more.
Track Overall (e.g., Assessment) Progress by Student
Any piece of data (e.g., local assessment scores, homework or project assessments performance levels, state or national assessment scores, English language proficiency level, special education status, disability code, parent contact information, grades, attendance, etc.) can be easily added to an Illuminate custom report. This allows you to monitor how students are responding to interventions.
You can also add different graph types to your reports to make trends and red flags easier to spot.
Track Standard (e.g., State, National, or Local) Progress by Student
Illuminate custom reports can show you how students are progressing on a particular standard (or standards) over time.
Throw in graphs to see which students are showing growth and which are not.
Add as many charts as you like, and vary the chart type (for example, bar, line, column, pie, and motion charts are all possible).
Note the charts are interactive. For example, you can click on any data column to change the sort order, and you can click on any item in the chart (for example, a bar, as shown above) to see a description of its data.
Our search function lets you pull up one student at a time to narrow down report results and focus on a single student’s needs.
Track Progress (with Placement and Goals) by Student
Since all pieces of data can be easily consolidated in an Illuminate custom report, you can also track how each student is progressing in relation to his or her placement and goals.
Again, graphs make it easy to spot trends.
It Doesn’t Stop There
Students who show no (or little) progress at their current intervention levels are considered for placement in a higher tier and in some cases considered for special education placement (data collected during Tiers 1, 2, and 3 can assist in determining eligibility). Students who show moderate progress might have their intervention goals and/or instruction modified. Students who achieve success are considered for placement in a lower tier.
You might also be interested in other chapters and lessons within the Illuminate Help system for assistance performing the actions described in the "RTI" manual for more help with your RTI implementation. For example, lessons in the "Assessments," "Reports," and "Summary Assessments," manuals might prove especially helpful, depending on the actions you wish to perform.