Response to Intervention (RTI)

Response to intervention (RTI) is an alternative assessment approach used in identifying students with specific learning disabilities (SLD). The 2004 revision of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) authorized RTI as a permissible method for identifying SLD students. The IDEA allows states, through local educational agencies or school boards, to use scientific, research-based interventions in determining which students are eligible for SLD services, rather than relying on a severe discrepancy between intellectual ability and achievement.

The RTI approach is typically a multitiered, systematic method of providing research-based interventions to students with reading difficulties and carefully monitoring their progress in order to evaluate the need for future educational services. RTI is not mandated, but provides an additional method for state educational agencies to use in assessing ...