Last Updated on Saturday, January 28, 2012 at 10:02 PM
The Kentucky System of Intervention (KSI) is a framework for providing systematic, comprehensive services to address academic and behavioral needs for all students, preschool through grade 12. The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) has developed this guidance document to provide resources in planning and decision making as districts and schools develop a system of intervention to meet the needs of all students.
This guidance document addresses several key points.
q Decision making rules ensure effective, equitable and fair treatment for all students
q Tiered services provide a system of interventions to maximize student achievement and to reduce behavior problems.
q Intervention team roles enable successful collaboration in meeting the needs of students
q Curriculum must be aligned to national, state and local standards and accessible to all students.
q Highly effective instruction is research based, aligned to curriculum and accessible to all students.
q Universal screening determines the need for diagnostic assessments that inform decisions made by the intervention team.
q Progress monitoring informs decisions about instruction and individual student learning.
q Family and community engagement is focused on improving student learning.
KDE established KSI to assist schools and districts as they develop a comprehensive instructional system, integrating human, physical and financial resources and materials. This comprehensive system addresses Response to Intervention (RTI), accelerated learning requirements (see Appendix E), closing achievement gaps, highy effective instruction, readiness to learn and student transitions.
“Response to intervention (RTI) integrates assessment and intervention within a multi-level prevention system to maximize student achievement and to reduce behavior problems. With RTI, schools identify students at risk for poor learning outcomes, monitor student progress, provide evidence-based interventions and adjust the intensity and nature of those interventions depending on a student’s responsiveness, and identify students with learning disabilities” (National Center on Response to Intervention).
The components of RTI serve as a framework in the design of the KSI. Consultant John McCook, Ed.D, has identified these components as the core requirements of a strong RTI model.
q universal screening
q measurable definition of problem area
q baseline data prior to an intervention
q establishment of a written plan detailing accountability
q progress monitoring
q comparison of pre-intervention data to post-intervention data for efficacy
KDE has expanded the framework for RTI to assist schools and districts in incorporating state and federal programs to provide a seamless system of intervention for improving student achievement.
RTI is usually thought of as a multi-tiered model. In Tier 1, all students receive highly effective, scientifically based, developmentally appropriate academic and behavior instruction within the general education classroom or the core instruction. All students are screened periodically during the school year to identify those who need instructional and behavioral support through interventions. General education staff conducts academic and behavior screenings. If screening results indicate students are not meeting standards, those students receive appropriate interventions in the classroom differentiated to meet their needs. Monitoring of student progress and program fidelity continues. If monitoring of student progress indicates that classroom interventions are not successful, those students identified as not meeting academic or behavior standards are recommended for Tier 2.
In addition to the core instruction in Tier 1, Tier 2 provides interventions for students not making adequate progress in the core curriculum. Students in Tier 2 receive increasingly intensive academic and/or behavior instruction matched to their needs, based on results of continuous progress monitoring. Instruction in Tier 2 typically involves small groups of students focused on the targeted area/s of deficit. The identified frequency and duration of the intervention needed usually determines if the student remains in Tier 2, moves to Tier 3 or returns to Tier 1.
If the student moves to Tier 3, the interventions are more intensive to target the student’s academic or behavioral skill deficits for remediation of existing problems, and the student’s progress is monitored more frequently. Core academic and behavior instruction continues for students receiving Tier 3 interventions.