A review of a school psychologist\u27s roles in the implementation of an RTI system

As schools continue to move into this era of accountability, they must consider system level changes that will address the needs of students as a whole. Using the problem solving model through a system of Response to Intervention (Rtl), schools can use data to monitor discrepancies between expectations of learning and actual student outcomes. Not only can individual student data be used to problem solve about students but also, aggregated data as a whole can help inform system level decision making to reach accountability goals. Moving to a system of Rtl takes many system level changes that can be daunting for school personnel. Often the system level skills and knowledge of a school psychologist are underutilized in this process. School psychologists can play a role throughout the planning, implementation, and evaluation stages of Rtl by providing guidance through professional development, data mentoring, and program evaluation. A review of the literature helps support school psychologists in these roles as well as provides guidance about how to facilitate change to an Rtl system