8/8/2019 Annotated List of Articles Relevant to SRBI at the Secondary Level (R. Abraitis 6-09)

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Annotated List of Articles Relevant to SRBI at the Secondary Level (R. Abraitis 6-09)

1.  Implementation

“Response to Intervention in Secondary Schools: Is it on your Radar Screen?”, Barbara Ehrens, RTI

Action Network

The author discusses each of the following questions:

  How does the rationale for RTI relate to secondary education?  What myths have to be dispelled to make RTI viable at secondary levels?

  What opportunities does RTI afford middle, junior and senior high schools?

  What challenges exist with RTI at secondary levels?

What questions should you be asking? (including some things we should be looking for in the

answers!)

“Response-to-Intervention: SLP’s as Linchpins in Secondary Schools” Barbara Ehren, The ASHA

Leader, 14(6), 10-13

This article focuses on how to integrate speech-language pathologists into middle and high school RtI

models. Attention is given to how they can support the staff and students using the Content Literacy

Continuum as a framework.

“RtI Gets Promoted to Secondary Schools”, NCLD Talks, Barbara Ehren and Kathleen Whitmire

This is a script consisting of questions and responses from an online chat on Oct. 22, 2007 discussing

challenges and potential solutions. The questions, from educators and parents, deal with such issues

as student burnout, tracking, role of general educators and scheduling.

2.  Multi-Tiered Interventions

Alliance for Excellent Education offers a variety of resources specifically geared to increase student

achievement and attainment for the most at-risk secondary students. Among others, these resources

include: 

Literacy Instruction in the Content Areas: Getting to the Core of Middle and High School

Improvement 

“Even as their schools help them to catch up in the basics, students also must be taught the

advanced literacy skills that will enable them to succeed in the academic content areas—particularly

the core content areas of math, science, English, and history.” 

Writing Next: Effective Strategies to Improve Writing of Adolescents in Middle and High Schools 

“This report discusses eleven specific teaching techniques that research suggests will help improve

the writing abilities of the country’s 4th- to 12th-grade students.” 

The Center for Comprehensive School Reform and ImprovementMiddle-to-High-School Transition: Practical Strategies to Consider (Also available in PDF format)

The May 2009 newsletter draws from several recent reports to discuss the issue of middle-to-high

school transition and provide examples of successful transition practices.

Stuck in the Middle: Strategies to Engage Middle-Level Learners (Also available in PDF format)

The May 2008 newsletter examines strategies to keep middle school students focused and engaged

in the classroom.

8/8/2019 Annotated List of Articles Relevant to SRBI at the Secondary Level (R. Abraitis 6-09)

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”Response to Intervention and Project CRISS at the Secondary Level” 

Project CRISS (CReating Independence through Student-owned Strategies) is a professional

development program designed to help all students read, write, and learn more effectively. This brief 

article provides a short overview of RTI at the secondary level and the connection between the CRISS

Strategies and RTI. It incorporates information from the Center for Comprehensive School Reform and

Improvement.

“The Secondary Literacy Instruction and Intervention Guide” from the Stupski Foundation This extensive (76 page) document s based on the University of Kansas’ Content Literacy Continuum

(CLC) model which outlines five levels of literacy at the secondary level. The guide provides evidence-

based and research-validated literacy resources to meet the differentiated needs of struggling

adolescents.

Center on Instruction provides cutting-edge collection of scientifically based research and information

on K-12 instruction in reading, math, science, special education, and English language learning. It

contains a wealth of information for secondary educators, including the following:

“Effective Instruction for Adolescent Struggling Readers” 

There are 9 resources connected with this topic including a meta-analysis of the research that

provides guidance for intervening with adolescent struggling readers and major implications for

practice; a professional development module facilitator’s guide; and a PowerPoint presentation that

specifically details what and how to teach.

“Adolescent Literacy Walk-Throughs for Principals”  is designed to help principals monitor and

support adolescent literacy instruction in their schools more effectively. It provides a scaffold to

build principals' understanding of scientifically based reading instruction, aids administrators in

gathering information about the quality of literacy and reading intervention instruction in a school,

and serves as a data collection guide for planning targeted professional development and resource

allocation. It includes examples of what a principal might expect to see in a classroom as well as

templates that states, districts, and schools may use or adapt.

“Practical Guidelines for the Education of English Language Learners: Research-Based

Recommendations for Serving Adolescent Newcomers” provides practical ideas and strategies to

help newcomers master English and grade-level content in a short timeframe.Improving Literacy Instruction in Middle and High Schools: A Guide for Principals [6-12] 

“This ‘quick start’ guide for principals of both middle and high schools identifies three goals for

secondary school literacy initiatives and provides elements of instruction required to meet these

goals. It then outlines the critical elements of a school-level literacy action plan.”

What Works Clearinghouse

“Practice guides provide practical recommendations for educators to help them address the

everyday challenges they face in their classrooms and schools. Developed by a panel of nationally

recognized experts, practice guides consist of actionable recommendations, strategies for

overcoming potential roadblocks, and an indication of the strength of evidence supporting each

recommendation. IES practice guides are subjected to rigorous external peer review.”The What Works Clearinghouse contains the following practice guides:

  Structuring Out-of-School Time to Improve Academic Achievement 

  Assisting Students Struggling with Mathematics: Response to Intervention (RtI) for Elementary

and Middle Schools 

  Dropout Prevention 

  Improving Adolescent Literacy: Effective Classroom and Intervention Practices 

  Turning Around Chronically Low-Performing Schools 

  Encouraging Girls in Math and Science 

8/8/2019 Annotated List of Articles Relevant to SRBI at the Secondary Level (R. Abraitis 6-09)

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  Organizing Instruction and Study to Improve Student Learning 

3.  Assessment

“Assessments to Guide Adolescent Literacy Instruction”, Center on Instruction

“This guide, a companion volume to two other publications from the Center on Instruction, Academic

Literacy Instruction for Adolescents and Improving Literacy Instruction in Middle and High Schools: A

Guide for Principals, provides information about the key elements of a comprehensive assessment plan

to improve literacy instruction for adolescents and provides examples of assessments and assessmentsystems currently in use or under development to improve literacy instruction for students in grades 4-

12.” 

4.  Decision-Making

5.  Specific Schools

“High Schools Try Out RTI: Using the Framework with Older Students Poses Challenges, but Shows

Promise”, Christina A. Samuels, Colorado Springs CO.

Palmer High School in Colorado Springs’ District 11 is showcased in this article. Beginning in the 2005-

06 school year, the staff inventoried their current intervention resources and organized them into

tiers. Thus began their implementation of RTI. The school provides a tutoring center that is staffed

during all periods where students receive instruction and reinforcement in specific subjects. A

computerized assessment program aligned to their state standards is used to screen students entering

the high school. They have begun to see promising outcomes for students as a result of these and

other practices and structures. Leadership from teachers as well as administrators has been key.

“Meeting the Needs of Significantly Struggling Learners in High School: A Look at Approaches to Tiered

Intervention” Helen Duffy, American Institutes for Research, National High School Center

This report outlines the implementation and structural issues related to RTI at the secondary level. It

describes challenges and benefits, as well as the standard treatment protocol and problem-solving

approaches. Implementation of RTI at the high-school level in the Long Beach Unified School District in

California is highlighted, as is specific discussion about the implications of RtI for all high schools. A list

of resources is included.

Response to Intervention (RtI) as an Organizing Framework in Colorado 

This presentation gives an overview of RTI and how it has been implemented in Colorado Springs, CO.

Slides 30 -61 explore RTI implementation at 2 middle schools and 1 high school in the district, with

specifics about scheduling and interventions.

“Response to Intervention: Possibilities for Service Delivery at the Secondary Level”  June 2008

Newsletter from the Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement

After a general introduction to RTI, the article highlights both the challenges and possibilities of its

implementation at the secondary level. Thomas B. Doherty High School in Colorado Springs, CO is

used as a case study, including the challenges they faced in 1999, a pyramid of specific interventions,

assessments and other practices that led to significant improvements on multiple measures of progress by 2006.

IMPLEMENTING RESPONSE TO INTERVENTION AT THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL: EVERY STUDENT, EVERY

DAY! is a PowerPoint presentation about the work at Doherty High.

“ RTI: A Work in Progress” 

“This presentation describes the strategies used by Connersville High School in Indiana for

implementing a Response to Intervention approach whereby educators (1) provide evidence-based

instruction to all students, (2) assess progress towards academic success, (3) identify students in need

8/8/2019 Annotated List of Articles Relevant to SRBI at the Secondary Level (R. Abraitis 6-09)

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of interventions and monitor their response, (4) adjust interventions, and (5) use data at the earliest

opportunity to identify the academic needs of students.” Specific focus is on changes in Algebra and

the use of the Language Arts Lab.