Dynamic RTI versus Typical RTI: two models for timing assignment to multi-tier reading intervention

Design · All designs
Evidence · 3 claims (3 for) · 1 study (1 causal), q3 · 1 of 1 report an effect size · 3 claims rest on one study

Description

The article contrasts two assignment models for multi-tier reading intervention. Dynamic RTI "immediately refers grade 1 students with the weakest skills to the most intensive intervention supports (Tier 2 or Tier 3)", whereas Typical RTI "starts all students in Tier 1 and after 8 weeks, decides whether students who did not respond to general instruction in Tier 1 should move to Tier 2". The experiment randomly assigned matched pairs of students within classrooms to one of the two models, holding everything else constant except the timing of supplemental intervention.

Design Implications

Context

Requirements

• Initial screening in September using teacher reports and multiple screeners with local-norm cut points (below the 40th percentile at the school level)
• Periodic progress monitoring allowing movement across tiers every 8 weeks

Constraints

• Studied in seven schools in a mid-size southeastern city during their first year of RTI implementation, with less than 3% Limited English Proficient students

Target Learners

• First-grade struggling readers

Learning Goals

• Word reading, decoding, and reading comprehension growth in first grade

Claims

• Dynamic Rti Beats Typical Rti Spring Reading [+M]
• Students initially eligible for Tier 2 in Dynamic RTI had significantly higher reading outcomes than Tier 2-eligible students in Typical RTI who had to wait [+W]
• Students initially eligible for Tier 3 who received Tier 3 intervention immediately achieved higher Brief Reading scores than Tier 3-eligible students who waited until Session 3 [+W]

Related Designs

• Eight-week tier movement cycles with fast-tracking and exit rules aligned to report card periods

Examples

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Key Sources

• Al Otaiba, S., Connor, C. M., Folsom, J. S., Wanzek, J., Greulich, L., Schatschneider, C., & Wagner, R. K. (2015). To Wait in Tier 1 or Intervene Immediately: A Randomized Experiment Examining First Grade Response to Intervention (RTI) in Reading. SREE Spring 2015 Conference. https://www.sree.org

Page metadata

Field	Value
type	design
id	dynamic-vs-typical-rti-assignment-models
title	Dynamic RTI versus Typical RTI: two models for timing assignment to multi-tier reading intervention
description	The article contrasts two assignment models for multi-tier reading intervention.
status	review
generated	by process:settle-candidates on 2026-11-01
trust	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
sources	1 — al-otaiba-2015

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