RTI stands for Response to Intervention, which is an educational strategy used in schools to identify struggling students early on and provide them with the support they need to thrive in school. The goal of RTI is to intervene, or step in, and start helping before a student falls really far behind. RTI uses targeted teaching, called interventions, to help struggling students catch up. An important part of the RTI process involves closely monitoring student progress, so the school can see which students need more support. RTI is a tiered approach, meaning there are various levels of support that students move through depending on how much support they need. The approach aims to reduce referrals for special education and increase the use of research-based and evidence-based practices in classrooms. RTI can be considered an early intervention tool that is designed to quickly identify students who need extra help, thereby preventing long-term failure.