This study examined the implementation of Response to Intervention (RTI) in an urban New Jersey school district and its impact on teacher efficacy. Interviews with 15 teachers found that RTI enhanced their ability to understand and meet student needs, improved collaboration between general and special education teachers, and had a positive impact on school climate. Implementation of RTI was associated with a 36% decrease in special education referrals. Teachers reported being more effective in helping struggling readers after receiving professional development in RTI strategies.

1. A CASE STUDY OF THE
IMPLEMENTATION OF
RESPONSE TO INTERVENTION
AND ITS IMPACT ON TEACHER
EFFICACY
TRACEY I. MACCIA

2. INTRODUCTION
• An achievement gaps exists in our nation’s
schools
• Research suggests that early identification
and intervention is the most effective
method for helping academically struggling
students
• Reauthorized IDEA of 2004 introduced
Response to Intervention (RTI) as a model
requiring general educators to be more
responsive to academically struggling
students

3. Statement of Problem
• Nationally, an upward trends exists for students
who are being identified with a specific learning
disability
• RTI has been implemented as state wide/local
educational agency initiatives in several states
yet it still remains unclear to what extent it has
had on the effect of teachers’ efficacy
• This study takes place in an urban northern
New Jersey school district where over 20% of
student population are identified as having a
disability in comparison to the state average of
14%

4. Problem-cont.
District Policy:
• (1) Wait and See toward struggling readers
• (2) Refer struggling readers for special
education services
School district was being monitored for special
education services due to a high percentage
of students with disabilities placed in separate
public and private settings

5. What is RTI?

6. PURPOSE OF STUDY
• Understand both general and special
education teachers’ experiences and
perception of RTI implementation
• Teacher efficacy as it relates to
implementation of RTI

7. RESEARCH
QUESTIONS
• 1. How do teachers perceive that RTI enhanced
their efficacy in understanding and meeting the
needs of their academically struggling
students?
• 2. How do teachers perceive that RTI had an
impact on their efficacy in the collaboration
between general and special education
teachers?
• 3. How do teachers perceive that RTI had
influenced the school climate in a way that
promoted or impeded teacher efficacy in
meeting the needs of academically struggling
students?

8. THEORIES
IMPLEMENTERS AS LEARNERS
• Review of literature reveals that well-planned professional development programs address
learning transfer. After professional development, it is imperative to create opportunities for
teachers to utilize an intervention and test out the change in practices and share knowledge with
their colleagues
SOCIAL INVENTION
• The concept that there are real disabilities, and they are part of the nature of things, is depicted
as a discovery narrative. This narrative may be a social invention narrative, where truth is only
seen in terms of what people find useful. The problem with categorization is that it cements in
place these unproductive qualities to our students rather than responding to our students in
authentic and respectful ways
CRITICAL CULTURAL CONSCIOUSNESS
• When implementing RTI in an urban school district, it is imperative to become a culturally
responsive educator. When differences are no longer viewed as deficits, teachers develop an
affirming attitude toward students from lower socio-economic status

9. LITERATURE REVIEW
• RTI and Prevention-Wanzek and Vaughn (2009)
conducted a research study on a school based model to
prevent reading disabilities
• Six elementary schools were more than 80% minority
students and more than 80% received free and reduced
lunch
• A comparison of control and experimental groups
indicated that the three tier model improved reading
outcomes of students participating
• The value of brief intervention is of considerable
importance to teachers in determining success
compared to special education services

10. LITERATURE REVIEW
• RTI and Problem Solving-Minneapolis Public
School (1992) study and the Heartland Area
Education study (1990).
• Conclusion: problem solving methods to
improve assessment and decision making
regarding eligibility for special education
• Askew et al (2002) found that provision of
instructional interventions at tier one level can
change educational outcomes and reduce the
number of students requiring special education
services

11. LITERATURE REVIEW
• RTI AND Referral Rate-Tilly (2003) conducted a
study over a four year time-span on 120 schools in
Iowa who were using a tiered problem solving
program.
• Tilly’s studied acknowledged RTI as having the
demonstrated ability to reduce the number of
special education referrals and placements for
participating students
• Tilly’s study recorded a decrease in the number of
special education referrals by: 39% for
kindergartners, 32% for first graders, 21% for
second graders and 19% for third graders

12. LITERATURE REVIEW
• RTI AND Efficacy-Greenfield, Rinaldi, Proctor &
Cardarelli examined teachers’ perceptions of RTI in their
school at an urban elementary school in the Northeast
serving 310 students
• The overall findings suggest two general outcomes:
student data showed progress monitoring was present
and teachers reported that student data helped to
increase student achievement
• Francis (2009) conducted research on RTI and teacher
efficacy and found that as teachers gained more
knowledge about RTI, they also began to believe that
the school was more adequately addressing the needs
of struggling students

13. LITERATURE REVIEW
• RTI and Efficacy, cont.-Bandura (1993) &
Goddar, Hoy, Woolfolk-Hoy (2000) conducted a
study on the beliefs of teachers regarding their
instructional efficacy
• Bandura found that the single influence that
was attributed to student performance was the
belief of the faculty about their collective
efficacy to both motivate and educate the
students they served
• Goodard et al (2000) found that collective
efficacy was a significant predictor of academic
achievement

14. LITERATURE REVIEW
RTI, Supportive School Environment and
Teacher Efficacy
Lose (2008) recognized that administrators
have a distinct and potent position in
implementing a systemic change required in
implementing RTI
RAND (1970’s) studies found that not only is
administrative support critical to successful
implementation but that active support by
district leaders is also crucial to new initiatives

15. REFERRAL RATES
• Research reveals that a tiered system of
delivery of instruction like RTI has been
found to have a positive effect on lowering
the number of students referred for special
education services

16. TEACHER EFFICACY
(AS IT RELATES TO IMPLEMENTATION OF RTI)
• In schools, educators share the
responsibility for the academic performance
of students
• This interdependence is the difference
between individual (teacher) and group
(collective) efficacy
• Bandura, 2004, found that the single most
influence attributing to student performance
was the belief of the faculty about their
collective efficacy to both motivate and
educate the students they serve

17. RTI AND SUPPORT
• Researchers agree that there is a strong
relationship between teacher efficacy, a
supportive school climate, and student
performance

18. RESEARCH DESIGN
Thirty of the 75 teachers from the three participating schools were
asked to participate in a semi-structured interview process using
the strategy of maximum variation sampling
The intent in this selection was not to analyze which participants
found RTI most successful but rather to select a sample of
teachers who teach across content areas
Fifteen teachers were interviewed
• Special education teachers
• General education teachers
• Basic skills teachers

19. RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
• Semi-structured interview protocol
• Descriptive case study
• Empirical inquiry investigating RTI
implementation and its impact on teacher
efficacy
• Employed a inductive research strategy by
building themes from the data

20. CONTEXT
• Study Site: Three elementary schools K-3 in
a lower socio-economic status district in
northern New Jersey
• The borough is 2.58 miles and home to
21,000 residents of which 2,900 are
students attending the Pre-K-12 school
district
• The district is categorized a B district in the
district factor grouping category.

21. DEMOGRAPHICS
• 75% OF STUDENTS ARE AFRICAN
AMERICAN
• 25% OF STUDENTS ARE HISPANIC
• 5% OF STUDENTS ARE CAUCASIAN
• 2% OF STUDENTS ARE ASIAN

22. DATA & ANALYSIS
• Data reduction was used to condense pages of
works to their importance level
• 1st process-read transcript several times to
become familiar with its content
• 2nd process-coded the interview. Coding is
reading the transcript until themes begin to
emerge
• 3rd process-wrote a summary of the coded data
• 4th process-interpreted and tied together the
themes to translate what it all means

23. ROLE OF RESEARCHER &
BIAS
• All data was passed, interpreted and
reported through me
• My bias is that I have worked for 15 years
as a special education administrator and
feel strongly about providing early intensive
reading intervention to struggling readers
instead of referring students for special
education services

24. RTI & TEACHER
EFFICACY
Research Question #1: How do urban teacher
perceive that RTI enhanced their efficacy in
understanding & meeting the needs of their
academically struggling students?
• All interviewees responded in a positive and
enthusiastic manner about the effects of RTI
enhancing their efficacy in understanding
and meeting the needs of their academically
struggling readers

25. PAST PRACTICES
• Both general and special education teachers
seemed to experience difficulties in
understanding students’ needs prior to
implementation of RTI
• The majority of teachers stated they would
search online or conduct their own research
because nothing was in place for reading
interventions

26. EFFECTIVE
PRACTICES AFTER
RTI
• RTI implementation changed the general
education teaching practices
• The majority of teachers stated that their
practices of teaching struggling readers
became more effective after implementing
RTI
• Teachers stated the data from RTI helped
identify students strengths and weaknesses

27. COLLABORATION AND
TEACHER EFFICACY
Research Question #2: How do urban teachers
perceive RTI has impact on their efficacy in the
collaboration between general and special
education teachers?
• The majority of teachers reported that they felt
more collaborative after implementing RTI
• Teachers reported a positive change in
instructional practices through collaboration
between general and special education
teachers

28. SCHOOL CLIMATE
AND TEACHER
EFFICACY
Research Question #3: How do urban
teachers perceive that RTI had influenced the
school climate in a way that promoted or
impeded teacher efficacy in meeting the needs
of academically struggling students?
• Teachers reported that RTI had a positive
impact on school climate after implementing
RTI. Teachers reported that they took a
more problem-solving approach to assist
struggling readers

29. RTI & REFERRAL
RATES
Problem: High referral rate for special education services in the district
under study
• General education teachers were referring struggling readers for
special education services instead of assisting them with reading
interventions
Referral Data:
2009-2010-96 students were referred for special education services
Year of RTI Implementation
2010-2011-61 students were referred for special education services
This indicates a 36% decrease in referrals for special education
services

30. CONCLUSIONS
Teacher Efficacy & RTI:
A teacher commented, “For myself, I think I have more patience with children that are
struggling, more tolerance and more willingness to use different program and strategies
and more open to different ideas and suggestions”(after implementing RTI)
• All teachers commented that they were more effective in assisting their struggling
readers after implementation of RTI
• A major component of the success of RTI implementation was the professional
development component
• When teachers receive quality training, they have the ability to create an
atmosphere where students are successful
• This conclusion is in agreement with the theory of implementers as learners

31. CONCLUSIONS
Collaboration & RTI
• Results are compelling due to the fact that general and special
education teachers were working in isolated settings prior to
implementation of RTI
• The RTI initiative weaved together the delivery of instruction in
general and special education like a tapestry of art
• Both general and special education teachers worked
collaboratively to problem solve and assist all struggling
readers
• The majority of teachers felt that without collaboration between
general and special education teachers, RTI implementation
would be impossible to implement

32. CONCLUSIONS
School Climate & RTI
• Overall, teachers reported a positive impact
on school climate while implementing RTI
• They developed a sense of trust in their
colleagues
• In general, teachers were more prone to
problem solve together while assisting
struggling readers

33. LIMITATIONS OF
STUDY
• The school district was developing a RTI model
during the project. The initiative was in its first year
in the district and not followed up. Therefore, the
results cannot be generalized to models that are
fully developed
• Because of the small number of teachers in the
sample, one cannot assume that results represent
all possible perspectives
• I was a district administrator in the district two years
prior to this study. It is possible that teacher
responses were affected by the fact that I was a
past supervisor

34. POLICY
IMPLICATIONS
• A major message for policy makers and
school administrators is to provide high-quality
professional development in
research based intervention strategies prior
to implementing RTI
• Follow-up is equally important for teachers
to feel more competent in utilizing an
intervention strategy.

35. SUGGESTIONS FOR
FUTURE RESEARCH
• Examine the impact of RTI on literacy
achievement especially the achievement of
urban students
• Impact of RTI over time
• Long term results of RTI
• Features of Professional Development or
successful implementation of RTI

36. Thank-You
SUGGESTIONS
INPUT