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Enrollment at Northstar Elementary School consists of 350 students in kindergarten through fifth grade. Each grade level comprises three classes. Of the total student population, 133 students (38 percent) receive free or reduced lunch, one student is an English language learner, and 32 students are served in special education. Northstar Elementary's responsiveness-to-intervention model uses the following structure: Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3, and special education.
Reading instruction in Tier 1 (core classroom instruction) is for all students and takes place in the general education classroom. The kindergarten teachers use Read Well; the first-grade general education teachers use Read Well, Open Court, and Write Well. Teachers in grades two through five use Open Court.
Reading instruction for students in kindergarten through third grade is provided five days each week for two and a half hours each day; for students in grades four and five, reading instruction is provided one and a half hours each day. General education teachers use DIBELS, Iowa Test of Basic Skills, Mid Iowa Achievement Level Test, Basic Reading Inventory, Open Court unit tests, and Read Well for student assessments. Staff members involved with Tier 1 reading include the classroom teachers, Title I teachers, and the reading specialist.
Professional development for core classroom instruction focuses on Open Court, provided by the company consultant, and on Read Well.
Reading instruction in Tier 2 is supplemental instruction for students identified as "strategic," a designation based on DIBELS criteria and synonymous with the DIBELS "Some Risk" cut score, if that score is an intended benchmark at the time the test is given. The curriculum and instruction in Tier 2 are based on an analysis of student need. Materials and programs used for Tier 2 instruction include REWARDS, Read Naturally, Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS), Corrective Reading, Six-Minute Solution, Reading Mastery, and Quick Reads.
Tier 2 instruction is provided in addition to the core reading instruction and occurs for 45 to 60 minutes each day, three to five days per week, in the general education classroom or the reading room. The assessments used to measure Tier 2 progress are the same as those used during core instruction, with additional assessments used as needed (weekly probes, error analysis, and running records, for example). The staff members who work with students in Tier 2 include classroom teachers, Title I teachers, the reading specialist, associates (personnel hired to assist teachers in helping students), and special teachers (art, music, physical education). Northstar Elementary has three building associates and one Title I associate.
Professional development for Tier 2 instruction focuses on Open Court, provided by the company consultant; Read Well; and Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS).
Reading instruction in Tier 3 consists of supplemental instruction for students identified as "intensive," a designation based on DIBELS criteria and synonymous with the DIBELS "At Risk" cut score, if that score is an intended benchmark at the time the test is given. The curriculum and instruction in Tier 3 are based on an analysis of student need. Tier 3 instruction differs from Tier 2 in that the group size may be smaller, more time is spent on instruction, and the instruction is more intensive. Programs include REWARDS, Read Naturally, PALS, Corrective Reading, Six-Minute Solution, Reading Mastery, and Quick Reads.
Tier 3 instruction is provided in addition to core reading instruction and occurs for 60 minutes each day, five days a week, in the general education classroom or in the reading room. Assessments used to measure Tier 3 progress are the same as those used during core instruction, with additional assessments (such as weekly probes, error analysis, and running records) used as needed. Students in Tier 3 may be assessed more frequently than students in Tier 2. Staff members who work with students in Tier 3 include classroom teachers, Title I teachers, the reading specialist, associates, special teachers, and special education teachers.
Professional development for Tier 3 instruction focuses on Open Court, provided by the company consultant; Read Well; and LETRS.
School staff members base the decision to move a student to Tier 2 instruction on weekly progress monitoring, individual goals, and research-determined expected growth rates. If it is determined that a student cannot be successful in the core general education classroom, he or she may be moved to Tier 2. Those students who are able to be successful in the core general education classroom remain or return there.
Similarly, school staff members base the decision to move a student to Tier 3 instruction on weekly progress monitoring, individual goals, and research-determined expected growth rates. If it is determined that a student cannot be successful in Tier 2, he or she may be moved to Tier 3.
Groups are very fluid and flexible; students often move among tiers throughout the year. Students are continually monitored regardless of tier and are moved based on their needs.
Students who are resistive to intervention support are considered for special education. These students may demonstrate slower rates of progress and significant discrepancy from average peers and may have needs beyond what general education can support without additional resources. Northstar Elementary identifies students for special education based on need rather than on disability.
Funding for NRCLD is provided by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special
Education Programs. Award No. H324U010004. Opinions expressed herein are those of the National
Research Center on Learning Disabilities and do not necessarily represent the position of the U.S.
Department of Education.
© 2007 National Research Center on Learning Disabilities
Last Updated: November 19, 2007
Contact: nrcld@ku.edu