Too Much, Too Soon? Unanswered Questions from National Response to Intervention Evaluation

The report of the national response to intervention (RTI) evaluation study, conducted during 2011-2012, was released in November 2015. Anyone who has read the lengthy report can attest to its complexity and the design used in the study. Both these factors can influence the interpretation of the results from this evaluation. In this commentary, we (a) explain what the national RTI evaluation examined and highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the design, (b) clarify the results of the evaluation and highlight some key implementation issues, (c) describe how rigorous efficacy trials on reading interventions can supplement several issues left unanswered by the national evaluation, and (d) discuss implications for future research and practice based on the findings of the national evaluation and reading intervention research.