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Practice Guide iconPractice Guide
Released: February 2009
Full Guide (1.2 MB)
Assisting Students Struggling with Reading: Response to Intervention (RtI) and Multi-Tier Intervention in the Primary Grades
This guide offers five specific recommendations to help educators identify struggling readers and implement evidence-based strategies to promote their reading achievement. Teachers and reading specialists can utilize these strategies to implement RtI and multi-tier intervention methods and frameworks at the classroom or school level. Recommendations cover how to screen students for reading problems, design a multi-tier intervention program, adjust instruction to help struggling readers, and monitor student progress.
1
Moderate Evidence
Screen all students for potential reading problems at the beginning of the year and again in the middle of the year.
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2
Minimal Evidence
Provide time for differentiated reading instruction for all students based on assessments of students’ current reading level.
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3
Strong Evidence
Provide intensive, systematic instruction on up to three foundational reading skills in small groups to students who score below the benchmark score on universal screening.
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4
Minimal Evidence
Monitor the progress of tier 2 students at least once a month.
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5
Minimal Evidence
Provide intensive instruction on a daily basis that promotes the development of the various components of reading proficiency to students who show minimal progress after reasonable time in tier 2 small group instruction (tier 3).
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Transcript PDF (140 KB)
Video (6:16 minutes)

Regularly monitor the progress of students at risk for developing reading disabilities.

Learn More About This Recommendation (1.2 MB)

Transcript PDF (115 KB)
Video (6:46 minutes)

Typically, these groups meet between three and five times a week, for 20 to 40 minutes.

Learn More About This Recommendation (1.2 MB)

Transcript PDF (145 KB)
Video (5:32 minutes)

Use these data to determine whether students still require intervention. For those students still making insufficient progress, schoolwide teams should design a tier 3 intervention plan.

Learn More About This Recommendation (1.2 MB)

Related Resources:
Topics: Grades:
Audience:
  • Administrators
  • Policymakers
  • Researchers
  • School Specialist
  • Teacher

This practice guide was prepared for the WWC by Mathematica under contract ED-07-CO-0062.

The following research staff contributed to the guide: Kristin Hallgren, Scott Cody, and Cassie Pickens Jewell.

These videos were prepared by WestEd under the Doing What Works Contract (ED-PEP-11-C-0068).
All videos are based on recommendations from the WWC practice guides and are designed to complement the guides.

  • Russell Gersten (Chair)
    Instructional Research Group

    Play an interview of Panel Chair, Russell Gersten, and Sharon Vaughn: Evolution of Response to Intervention (7:04 minutes)
  • Donald Compton
    Vanderbilt University
  • Carol M. Connor
    Florida State University
  • Joseph Dimino
    Instructional Research Group
  • Lana Santoro
    Instructional Research Group
  • Sylvia Linan-Thompson
    University of Texas, Austin
  • W. David Tilly
    Heartland Area Education Agency
Video
Literacy Instruction Strategies for Success: Multi-Tier Intervention in Primary Grades
December 4, 2020

This video from Regional Educational Laboratory Midwest (REL Midwest) discusses the most effective evidence-based practices for identifying and assisting struggling readers.

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