Creating Readiness for Response to Intervention: An Evaluation of Readiness Assessment Tools

Response to Intervention (RtI) is a promising approach for meeting the needs of all students in our nation’s schools. However, attempts to shift to an RtI model are likely to be ineffective if the unique features of a school as a system are not considered prior to implementation. Therefore, it is important that school teams assess readiness for initial implementation in order to foster a school climate receptive to change. In light of this need, the primary goals of the present study were to describe the components of readiness for implementation of RtI and to evaluate the alignment of commonly used RtI readiness assessment tools to these components. From a comprehensive literature review, the authors identify six interrelated components of RtI readiness: stakeholder readiness, resource readiness, systems readiness, data readiness, evaluation readiness, and student supports readiness. From content analyses of 21 RtI readiness assessment tools, the authors identify five tools that most effectively assess readiness across these six domains. Initial recommendations for school professionals on the selection and use of readiness tools and a call for development of research-validated practices in RtI readiness assessment are also presented.