STEEP RTI - Response to Intervention
RTI is a framework that uses screening, intervention and
progress monitoring to provide multi-tiered intervention and
instructional services for students school wide. Most
schools are formally or informally using a 3-tiered model.
At the fist tier is core instruction which is the basic
curriculum that is delivered routinely to all students in the
school. In most cases, the core curriculum will not be
successful with all students in the school. For
students who are not successful, supplemental instruction is
provided. This is the second tier. For the few
students who are not responsive to both the core instruction and
supplemental instruction, those students are prescribed an
intensive individual intervention. Research tells us
that the some students will need supplemental instruction and a
very few will need intensive individual intervention. The question is which students need what type of service at
which particular point in time? For students who
need assistance, what type of assistance do they need?
Finally, for students receiving help, is it working or not?
First Generation RTI Models
STEEP is a particular method of implementing RTI in a standardized
integrated way. Most RTI models are not standardized. Within
a district RTI is conducted differently at different schools. In
fact, the process is different for each student. Unlike
STEEP, these models rely on what is called the "problem-solving" approach. In this
approach a school team is
responsible for implementing RTI. Hence
the team opts to implement the process a little bit differently for each
student. These early first generation RTI models
provide only assessment and data management tools and offer no
assistance to the team in determining what needs to be done to correct
student or instructional issues. In most schools, the same types
of achievement problems occur year after year. For example,
teachers frequently raise concerns with the school team about students
in grades 2-10 who are 1-3 years behind in reading. With the
problem solving approach, the team takes time to go through the problem
solving process with each student and brainstorms strategies for
improving achievement. The process is neither time efficient nor is the
process effective. Research has clearly shown that, for this sort of
student concern, there are two common causes for low reading
achievement. Hence, it is relatively easy to determine what a
student needs and to use proven strategies that are effective for the
students specific problems. However the problem-solving team may
or may not know how to design an effective intervention for this type of
student. There has been no published research showing better outcomes
for students as result of a problem solving process. In
fact, D. Fuchs at Vanderbilt published a review of some well known
problem solving models indicating an increased need for special
education following the implementation of problem solving. The
first generation RTI models provide only assessment and data management
to support team problem-solving. These models offer no assistance to
teams about how to solve particular problems in ways that are effective.
STEEP is a Second
Generation RTI Model: Standard Protocol RTI
STEEP is a second generation RTI process that builds on the
problem-solving tradition. It includes the assessment and data
management tools present in first generation models and, in addition,
provides a standard process for implementing RTI. This helps teams
to be more efficient in solving problems and more accurate in determine
the students needs. The process is based on years of research and
field testing.
A standard protocol is a step by step process for identifying student
problems and determining an appropriate intervention. It helps
professionals to efficiently perform all the basic RTI tasks correctly.
The STEEP process begins by quickly screening all students.
Screening is available for grades K-12 in reading (phonemic awareness,
reading fluency and reading comprehension), math (math concepts, math
computation, math focal points), and other subjects. The oral reading
assessment for elementary reading is approximately 67% faster than
comparable assessments (e.g., Aimsweb, DIBELS) with published studies
indicating equivalent reliability and validity. The screening is
used to identify students who are in need of intervention. STEEP
includes a process for determining which specific intervention a
students needs. Students receiving intervention receive regular
progress monitoring. The system includes several evidenced based
tools which can be used together or separately. These tools are
described below.
Universal Screening
Universal screening which involves proactively screening all students in
a school to determine who is at risk, has been advocated by No Child
Left Behind, by the President’s Commission on Excellence in Special
Education, and by the National Research Council’s report on improving
achievement. Within the STEEP process, universal screening
is conducted using curriculum-based measurement (CBM) probes in reading
and/or math. The screening data can be used immediately for
instructional planning by teachers, administrators and school-based
teams. Universal screening is a powerful tool for finding and
helping low performing students.
Can’t Do/Won’t Do Assessment
Students who perform at the bottom of the class during the screening
assessment are given a “can't do--won't do” assessment. There are
only two reasons why a student would perform an academic task lower than
expected: either they can’t do the exercise or they won’t do the
exercise. The can't do--won't do assessment consists of repeating
the same assessment used in the classroom but this time the child is
offered an incentive to improve his or her score. If the child’s
performance improves markedly, then the child is hypothesized to exhibit
a motivation problem in the classroom.
Intervention and Remediation
STEEP is unique among RTI systems in that it uses what is called a
standard protocol method. In the area of intervention at Tier 2,
professionals follow a standard process and conduct a brief assessment
of students who had low scores during screening. Based upon this
assessment, a specific intervention is recommended for the student.
Most teams find this helpful and prefer having an intervention that is
recommended rather than the team brainstorming intervention ideas.
The process is especially useful for busy teams because it increases the
efficiency of team meetings. Professionals can always over-ride
the recommendations provided by the STEEP system and use an alternative
intervention if unique circumstances arise.
Most other RTI methods rely on the “problem-solving” model for
intervention development. The process used by Aimsweb, for
example, is to begin with screening. Students who are “at risk” on the
screening are then referred to the school based team to determine which
intervention to use. The team discusses the appropriate
intervention. Once the team determines an intervention, then progress
monitoring can begin using Aimsweb assessment.
Although the idea of team brainstorming and discussion has been around
as long as schools have been around, there has never been a published
study showing improved outcomes for students as a result of this
process. The President’s Commission on Excellence in Special
Education found that 80% of pre-referral interventions failed, most of
which were developed with the problem solving model. Research has
indicated that the most frequent concern expressed by teams is
determining an appropriate intervention. Even for sophisticated teams,
the STEEP standard protocol markedly reduces the time between student
screening and the initiation of intervention for at risk students.
Using a standard protocol improves the accuracy and efficiency of team
decisions. Intervention planning is based upon data rather than
opinion and personalities. Using the STEEP six step process, a
brief diagnostic assessment is used to match student need with an
appropriate intervention. The process is very quick and requires
approximately 10 minutes.
Progress Monitoring and
Response to Instruction
After a student begins intervention, progress monitoring is initiated.
This involves brief assessments of the student to determine if the
intervention is improving achievement. STEEP progress monitoring
assessments are available for students K-12. All assessments are
research based. STEEP provides clear research based standards for
examining intervention data and making decisions about whether or not a
child is resistant to intervention.
STEEP includes a web-based progress monitoring system. The system
is an “intelligent” system which monitors student progress and makes
plain language recommendations to alert professionals if issues arise.
The National Center on Student Progress Monitoring reviewed and approved
STEEP progress monitoring assessments. The assessments met the
criteria established by the center in 7 out of 7 areas.
STEEP is a Validated
Practice
STEEP is research proven, not merely research based. School
professionals have an increased awareness of the way the term "research
based" is being used by publishers. It has become a completely
meaningless phrase in recent years. Every type of intervention,
assessment, or curriculum product now carries the label research based.
In particular, intervention publishers shamelessly proclaim that their
products are based upon research despite a complete absence of
scientifically based research.
Very few products have a true research base because conducting the
research and going through the peer review process can take 2-4 years.
What publishers present instead is "data" from a school here or there
that used the product and got good results and everyone "liked" the
program. The problem with this claim is the "research" complied
with no standards, the schools presented are specially selected, and it
is not known if other products were being used at the same time.
STEEP has been proven to improve important student outcomes such as
state test scores. With other RTI systems, ask for published peer
reviewed data showing improved achievement as the result of
implementation of that specific RTI model. RTI outcomes should
include improved performance on state tests and/or decreased need for
special education.
An extensive review of the research supporting STEEP can be found at
http://isteep.com/research_page.html
Benefits of STEEP
The STEEP model offers several advantages and benefits to various
groups.
1. For teachers use of the classwide
assessment for instructional planning. For example, teachers will
learn how every child in the class if performing and use this
information to plan instruction. They know if the student problem is a
lack of skill or a lack of motivation.
2. For the school team, specific
interventions are recommended based upon a standard protocol. This
greatly increases the efficiency and effectiveness of school team
meetings. STEEP provides a systematic process for responding to
teacher concerns that includes quick and effective assistance to the
teacher. Team meetings are more productive and produce improved
outcomes for students.
3. Improves state test scores.
STEEP probe scores can be benchmarked with state test scores. This
provides an early warning system for children who are likely to perform
poorly on those tests. At risk children can be placed on the
radar screen and receive targeted intervention to improve achievement.
Importantly, formative evaluation provides immediate feedback to
administrators about whether strategies are effective or ineffective.
4. STEEP has peer reviewed research
indicating reduced referrals for special education.
5. Improved achievement for all children.
STEEP has produced significant increases in achievement school wide with
demonstrable improvement in high stakes test scores.
