Impact Evaluation of Response to Intervention Strategies

Contractor: MDRC, SRI International, and Survey Research Management

Background/Research Questions:

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA 2004) is the most recent authorization of a law passed in 1975 to promote a free appropriate public education for children with disabilities. Funded at $12.0 billion in FY 2008, IDEA supports early intervention services for infants and toddlers, special education services for children ages 3 through 21, and early intervening services for students not in special education but in need of academic or behavioral support. IES is conducting studies under Section 664 of IDEA 2004 to assess the implementation and effectiveness of key programs and services supported under the law.

Response to Intervention (RtI) is a multi-step approach to providing early and more intensive intervention and monitoring within the general education setting. In principle, RtI begins with research-based instruction and behavioral support provided to students in the general education classroom, followed by screening of all students to identify those who may need systematic progress monitoring, intervention, or support. Students who are not responding to the general education curriculum and instruction are provided with increasingly intense interventions through a "tiered" system, and they are frequently monitored to assess their progress and inform the choice of future interventions, including possibly special education for students determined to have a disability. IDEA 2004 (P.L. 108-446) permits some Part B special education funds to be used for "early intervening services" such as RtI, and also permit districts to use RtI to inform decisions regarding a child's eligibility for special education.

This evaluation, occurring under the National Assessment of IDEA 2004, will address the following questions:

• What are the relative impacts of different Response to Intervention strategies on student outcomes, including academic achievement, grade promotion, and identification for special education?
• Do the relative impacts of different RtI strategies vary for different groups of students within study schools?

Design:

The evaluation will rely on the random assignment of schools to receive training in different RtI strategies for monitoring student progress and providing research-based instruction in Grade 1 and 2 reading. About 150 elementary schools will be recruited during 2009 and randomly assigned to one of three RtI treatment conditions. Data collection will occur on RtI implementation and on student outcomes including Grade 1 and 2 reading achievement, grade promotion, and identification for special education.

Duration: 60 months (March 26, 2008, to March 25, 2013)

Current Status:

The contractor has convened a meeting of members of a Technical Working Group to advise the study, and has drafted materials related to the recruitment of districts and schools for participation in the evaluation. Selection of providers of RtI training and support, and recruitment of districts and schools to participate in the study, is planned for 2009. Reports for this study are planned for release in early 2012 and early 2013 and will be announced on http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/.