Teacher Formative Assessment: The Missing Link in Response to Intervention

Abstract

Response to intervention (RTI) focuses on the assessment, intervention, and progress monitoring of student academic performance and social behavior. Despite requiring highly qualified personnel for successful implementation, the implementation of RTI has not focused on applying its foundational principles towards promoting teacher effectiveness through assessment, intervention, and progress monitoring of teacher classroom practice. Compounding this problem is the lack of availability of reliable and valid teacher assessments to apply in an RTI model for teacher professional development. This chapter provides a rationale for applying RTI principles to teacher professional development and how teacher formative assessment can improve educator effectiveness, student learning, and social behaviors. The Classroom Strategies Scale (CSS), a new multidimensional assessment of instructional and behavioral management practices, is discussed as an example of one promising tool for promoting teachers’ professional development within an RTI model. We offer a synthesis of the theory, research, and evidence of reliability and validity of the CSS. The application of teacher formative assessment in job-embedded professional development/coaching models for schools is discussed. Finally, implications for practice and research are outlined.