RTI is a way to catch students who are falling behind, give them extra help early, and check often whether the help is working. If it works, the student goes back to regular support. If it does not, the team gives stronger help or asks whether the student needs an evaluation.
Think of it as a loop with four questions:
Who needs help? Screening tests and teacher concerns point to students.
What help will we give? The team picks an intervention and writes a goal.
Is it working? Short, regular checks (progress monitoring) show growth or no growth.
What next? Keep going, change the help, step it up, or step it down.
The three tiers
- Tier 3, a few students. Intensive, individual help, added on top.
- Tier 2, some students. Targeted small-group help, added on top.
- Tier 1, all students. Good daily classroom teaching.
Help comes in three levels. Each level is added on top of the one below it. A student in Tier 3 still gets Tier 1 classroom teaching.
| Tier 1 | Tier 2 | Tier 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who | All students | Students who need more than classroom teaching | Students who are still not growing with Tier 2 |
| What | Good daily teaching and classroom support | Targeted help, usually in a small group | Intensive help, more often, in a smaller group, more individual |
| Who gives it | Classroom teacher | Teacher or interventionist | Interventionist or specialist |
| How often we check growth (common practice) | 3 times a year, at screening | Every 2 weeks | Every week |
| Parent notice required by Texas | No | Yes, when it begins | Yes, when it begins |
| Recorded in SuccessEd | Notes on what was tried | Full record | Full record |
The tier descriptions come from TEA. The checking schedule is common practice. Confirm locally: how often Edcouch-Elsa ISD expects progress checks at each tier, and how many minutes and days per week each tier requires.
What RTI is not
It is not special education, and it is not a waiting room for special education.
It is not a label. Students move up and down tiers as their needs change.
It is not only for reading and math. Behavior has tiers too.