Promoting Academic Success with English Language Learners Best Practices for RTI

Educators and school psychologists throughout the country are working with growing numbers of English language learners (ELLs), but often feel unprepared to help these students excel. This highly informative book presents evidence-based strategies for promoting proficiency in academic English and improving outcomes in a response-to-intervention (RTI) framework. Illustrated with a detailed case example, the book describes best practices for working with K-5 ELLs in all stages of RTI: universal screening, progress monitoring, data collection, decision making, and intensifying instruction. In a large-size format for easy photocopying, the book includes more than two dozen reproducible worksheets. Purchasers get access to a Web page where they can download and print the reproducible materials.

This book is in The Guilford Practical Intervention in the Schools Series, edited by Sandra M. Chafouleas.

Craig A. Albers, PhD, is Associate Professor of Educational Psychology in the School Psychology Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW). He is also Chair of the interdisciplinary Prevention and Intervention Sciences program at UW and an Associate Editor of the Journal of School Psychology. His research focuses on universal screening, prevention, and early intervention services; the provision of school psychological services to English language learners (ELLs); and the measurement and resulting intervention implications of English language proficiency assessment. He is the author of Alternate ACCESS for ELLs, an English language proficiency measure designed for use with ELLs with significant disabilities; it is currently administered in 34 states.

Rebecca S. Martinez, PhD, is Associate Professor in the School Psychology Program at Indiana University. A native Spanish speaker, she was a bilingual education teacher on the Texas-Mexico border prior to obtaining her doctorate in school psychology. Her research and practice focus on the prevention of and intervention for children’s academic failure, particularly for ELLs, and how to improve educational practices for students failing or at-risk for academic failure. She has published a number of book chapters and peer-reviewed empirical articles.

1. Introduction
2. Who Are These ELLs? Foundations, Demographics, and Outcomes
3. Understanding RTI and How It Will Help Your ELLs Succeed
4. The Critical Variable: Academic Language Proficiency and Its Impact on Students Learning English as a Second Language
5. Best Practices in Assessment and Interaction for ELLs at Tier 1
6. Monitoring Progress, Determining Growth Rates, and Intensifying Instruction for ELLs at Tiers 2 and 3
7. Special Education Referral and Evaluation Consideration for ELLs Who Have Not Responded to Instruction and Intervention
8. Next Steps: Conclusion and Directions for the Future