RTI Assessment Essentials for Struggling Learners

"This book uses a practical approach to early intervention for struggling learners, while keeping in mind the cultural and linguistic considerations for English language learners. Applying the RTI strategies in this book takes the guesswork out of educating students and reduces referrals to special education due to lack of instruction."
—Robert Raymond, Senior School Improvement Instruction Specialist
Office of Special Education Initiatives, New York City Department of Education

Assess students accurately to make informed instructional and eligibility decisions!

Effective and ongoing assessment processes are crucial for making important decisions about the education of at-risk and struggling students. This practical book presents K–12 educators with a comprehensive overview of the three primary types of assessment within multitiered Response to Intervention (RTI) models: universal screening, progress monitoring, and diagnostic assessment for special education.

This resource establishes the foundation for assessment in RTI and provides practical suggestions for implementing universal screening and progress monitoring to make informed instructional decisions. The author identifies the role of RTI in determining student eligibility for special education services and discusses effective assessment decision-making processes, including roles and responsibilities of different team members. This book also:

• Provides detailed coverage of specific assessment methods and practices, including Curriculum-Based Measurement
• Addresses important topics related to RTI, including fidelity of implementation
• Presents RTI assessment needs of culturally and linguistically diverse learners
• Includes tables, figures, and reproducible forms and PowerPoint slides to facilitate training and implementation

RTI Assessment Essentials for Struggling Learners is a valuable guide for members of RTI teams looking to expand their expertise in meeting the needs of all students.

John J. Hoover is Associate Research Professor at the University of Colorado Boulder and a former K–12 special educator, teaching diverse students representing multiple languages and cultures in western, southwestern, and mid-western states. He earned a BA in Elementary and Special Education (Intellectual Disabilities), an MA in Learning Disabilities and Emotional Disorders with an emphasis in Reading, and a PhD in Curriculum specializing in Special Education. His research agenda for the past two decades has focused on the topic of culturally and linguistically responsive special education referral and assessment of English language and other diverse learners. He is currently PI on a multi-year grant funded project addressing ELs and multi-tiered supports, special education referral and assessment of culturally and linguistically diverse learners, and graduate level teacher preparation for teaching English language and other diverse learners with and without disabilities. Select recent coauthored/coedited books include: Why do English learners struggle with reading: Distinguishing language acquisition from learning disabilities (Pearson); Linking assessment to instruction in multi-tiered models: A teacher’s guide to selecting reading, writing and mathematics interventions (Pearson); Differentiating learning differences from learning and behavioral disabilities: Teaching diverse learners through multi-tiered response to intervention (Allyn & Bacon); and Methods for teaching culturally and linguistically diverse exceptional learners (Pearson Merrill). He also is co-author of a nationally normed reading test, Early Reading Assessment (Pro-Ed), and of a research-based educator self-assessment and professional development tool, Core ESL Instructional Practices (CEIP) Guide. Recent referred journal publications include: Increasing usage of ESL instructional practices in a rural county elementary school, Rural Educator (2015); Culturally responsive special education referrals of English learners in one rural county school district: Pilot project, Rural Special Education Quarterly (2015), and Reducing unnecessary referrals: Guidelines for teachers of diverse learners, Teaching Exceptional Children (2012).