Response to Intervention: How Involved are School Psychologists?
Gordon E. Taub, Ph.D.
Abstract
With the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDE-IA) school districts are given the opportunity to use the response to intervention (RTI) model in the identification of individuals with disabilities. RTI is an intervention model which provides students with progressively more intense interventions, across three tiers. The implementation of interventions, using the RTI model, prior to formal assessment provides the opportunity for the student’s academic outcomes to improve and possibly not need special education services. Regular education and special education teachers may be involved in RTI activities, as well a school psychologists. This study investigates the amount of time school psychologists spend in response to intervention activities. Participants include over 170 school psychologists from 39 states who completed a questionnaire investigating percentage of time spent in RTI activities. The results indicate that school psychologists spend on average only 22% of their time in RTI activities. The results also suggest that although IDE-IA provides an intervention option using the RTI model in the identification of students with disabilities, school psychologist spend more time in traditional activities (e.g., assessment, consultation, and eligibility activities).