A Formative Evaluation of Rti/Mtss in Two Illinois Schools

The researchers conducted a formative evaluation of the Response-to-Intervention (RtI)/Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) frameworks at one elementary school and one junior high school. The purpose of this evaluation was to identify strengths and areas of improvement of the RtI/MTSS programs as well as to provide relevant recommendations. The researchers first conducted interviews with relevant RtI/MTSS stakeholders (e.g., principals, school psychologists, academic interventionists). The information gathered in these interviews assisted in the creation of two surveys, which assessed staff and parent perceptions of the efficacy of various components of the RtI/MTSS process. Staff ratings of the efficacy of academic (i.e. reading, writing, and mathematics) and social-emotional/behavioral interventions indicated that staff at both school found the reading intervention process is a strength at both schools, while writing and social-emotional/behavioral interventions were identified as areas of improvement. Additionally, Tier 1 interventions were generally rated as more efficacious than Tier 2 and 3 interventions at both schools. The researchers also assessed staff perceptions of the data days and assessment process. Staff at the two schools differed in their perceptions of the efficacy of the data days process. Staff at the junior high school reported that data days was a useful part of the process. Additionally, staff at the junior high reported that the benchmarking assessment data discussed at data days was a useful for identifying students in need of intervention while the elementary school staff did not rate the district\u27s benchmarking assessment as useful