The evidence is in: The children who we hoped would be "late bloomers" in reading rarely are. Their early and modest reading weakness impedes enjoyment and deters practice. Soon, their small reading problems spiral into devastating ones. But with new easy-to-use tools, we can identify children headed toward failure—and prevent it—as early as kindergarten.

This publication is the latest EIE report on the changing face of public education, both nationally and in Minnesota. The report describes and provides a review of the research on an alternative learning model called Response to Intervention (RTI). This model may be used for any student experiencing difficulty in school, but has particular application in the Special Education environment.