Longitudinal effects of RtI implementation on reading achievement outcomes

Because several studies have investigated student outcomes in schools implementing Response to Intervention (RtI), relatively little research has investigated the impact of implementation on students’ long-term achievement outcomes (i.e., several years after exposure). The purpose of this study was to describe one elementary school's RtI implementation process and to examine students’ long-term reading comprehension outcomes following their exposure to various phases of implementation. Four cohorts of students who experienced different implementation phases (i.e., a baseline condition or Phases I, II, or III of implementation) during Grade 2 were subsequently followed across Grades 3, 4, and 5 to examine their outcomes on two reading comprehension measures. Results indicated that students who experienced the early phases of RtI implementation (i.e., Phases I and II) during Grade 2 generally had higher mean comprehension scores in Grades 4 and 5 than students in the baseline condition. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.