The Impacts of a Systematic Response to Intervention

Abstract

Abstract The purpose of this project was to study how a systematic approach to intervention impacts students who have been identified as not meeting reading benchmarks and/or identified as at-risk in the area of reading. This action research project examined how an individual school designed a systematic procedure used by a team of teachers to gather quantitative data to address the effectiveness of a systematic approach to intervention and determine its impact on student achievement. Universal Assessments were administered to identify students not meeting grade level benchmarks in the area of reading. Teachers worked in a collective and collaborative manner to develop specific targeted instructional plans based on each individual student’s need. Student progress was monitored in an ongoing timely manner and data was analyzed to determine appropriate actions of interventions and support for each struggling student. Implementing a systematic approach to intervention had positive impacts on students struggling in the areas of reading in grades kindergarten through sixth. In a period of three months, there was a 42% decrease in the number of students identified as not meeting reading benchmarks and/or identified as at-risk in the area of reading. Students demonstrated adequate growth in the area of reading, met reading intervention goals, and achieved success on specific individual SMART goals. The results of this project demonstrated how creating a framework and intervention system that monitored student learning on a timely, ongoing basis using common methods of assessments and providing a plan for struggling students had a positive impact on student achievement in the area of reading.