Response to Intervention (RtI) is a comprehensive early detection and prevention strategy that identifies struggling students and assists them before they fall behind. RtI systems combine universal screening and high-quality instruction for all students with interventions targeted at struggling students.

Why the growth in popularity of RtI? The 2004 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), strongly encourages states to use RtI to help prevent reading difficulties and to identify students with learning disabilities.

RtI strategies are used in both reading and math instruction. For reading instruction in the primary grades (K–2), schools screen students at least once a year to identify students at risk for future reading failure. Students whose screening scores indicate potential difficulties with learning to read are provided with more intensive reading interventions. Student responses to the interventions are then measured to determine whether they have made adequate progress and either:

1. no longer need the intervention,
2. continue to need some intervention, or
3. need even more intensive intervention.