This article presents information on the development and initial validation of the 16-item Response to Intervention (RTI) BeliefsScale. The scale is designed to measure the extent to which educators working in schools hold beliefs consistent with the tenets of RTI. The authors administered the instrument to 2,430 educators in 62 elementary schools in the fall of 2007 and 2,443 educators in 68 elementary schools in the spring of 2008. Exploratory, single-level confirmatory, and multilevel confirmatory factor analysis procedures were used to examine construct validity. Results supported a correlated 3-factor model (Academic Abilities and Performance of Students with Disabilities, Data-Based Decision Making, and Functions of Core and Supplemental Instruction) at both the school and educator levels of analysis. Furthermore, the factor scores derived from the model demonstrated significant, positive relations to RTI implementation. Reliability estimates for two of the three factor scores exceeded .70. Implications for research on educator beliefs and implementation of RTI as well as implications for school psychologists supporting RTI implementation are discussed.KEYWORDS response to intervention, educator beliefs, multilevel confirmatory factor analysis, professional development, data-based decision making Accountability for student outcomes has been a central topic in education throughout the past decade. Through the reauthorizations of the No Child

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The Perceptions of RtI Skills Survey is a self-report measure that assesses educators’ perceptions of their data-based problem-solving skills—a critical element of many Response-to-Intervention (RtI) models. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to evaluate the underlying factor structure of this tool. Educators from 68 (n = 2,397) and 60 (n = 1,961) schools in a southeastern state participated during the spring of 2008 and spring of 2010, respectively. Results supported a correlated three-factor model with the following dimensions: Perceptions of RtI Skills Applied to Academic Content, Perceptions of RtI Skills Applied to Behavior Content, and Perceptions of Data Display Skills. Internal consistency estimates for all factors exceeded .90. In addition, significant associations between factor scores and data-based problem-solving fidelity at Tiers I and II were found. Implications for educators facilitating RtI implementation are discussed.

Widespread adoption of Response to Intervention (RtI) requires large numbers of educators to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to implement the model with fidelity. This study examined relationships between large‐scale professional development on RtI and educators’ perceived skills. Elementary educators (n = 4,283) from 34 pilot and 27 comparison schools in a southeastern state participated. Leadership teams composed of subsets of educators from pilot schools who were responsible for leading RtI implementation participated in 13 days of training across a 3‐year period. Additionally, job‐embedded coaching was provided to pilot school instructional educators. Results from multilevel models indicated that leadership team membership related to increases in educators’ perceptions of RtI skills applied to academics (π = .05; SE = .02; t[6,726] = 2.60; p < .05) and of data display skills (π = .07; SE = .03; t[6,678] = 2.45, p < .05). Educator participation at pilot schools that received job‐embedded coaching related to increases in perceptions of RtI skills applied to academics (β = .07; SE = .02; t[6,726] = 2.77, p < .05). Implications for future research on RtI implementation and the practice of providing large‐scale professional development focused on RtI are discussed.

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