Reading difficulties impact students' achievement across all subject areas and can cause increasing challenges at higher grade levels. Recognizing when students are struggling with reading in the early grades allows teachers to provide the necessary support that will help them succeed in the long run. 

Response to Intervention (RtI) is a formal system of detection, prevention, and support designed to help struggling elementary school students before they fall behind. RtI begins with high-quality classroom instruction and provides targeted, intensive interventions to students who struggle with specific skills or concepts.

In order to be effective, RtI in reading requires universal screening at the beginning and middle of the school year to identify potential reading problems, organized instruction that allows for progress monitoring and differentiated lessons based on students' skills and needs, and systemic skill instruction for students receiving intensive interventions. The training and support for proper engagement of these strategies needs to come from a systemwide RtI Implementation framework.

To learn more about the research underlying these practices, view the IES Practice Guide, Assisting Students Struggling With Reading: Response to Intervention (RtI) and Multi-Tier Intervention in the Primary Grades.