Skip To Main Content

Fidelity of Implementation

Fidelity of Implementation refers to the extent to which instructional practices are consistently and accurately delivered as designed.  Instructional interventions that are selected for use with students should be validated as effective by scientific research.  Using validated practices as intended ensures maximum effectiveness for student growth.  Monitoring fidelity of implementation allows schools to proceed with confidence in these instructional practices and avoid ineffective practices and negative outcomes.  Resources for monitoring fidelity can be found at this link.

Below you will find a variety of articles, links and documents designed to support monitoring of fidelity of implementation.  In situations in which tools need to be developed the following process is recommended:

Four steps for developing a direct observation system (Gresham, 1989; Gresham et al., 2000; Lane et al., 2004):

    1. create a detailed list or task analysis of the intervention,
    2. define the components of the treatment in observational terms,
    3. rate the occurrence and nonoccurrence of each treatment component to calculate a percentage of treatment integrity,
    4. graph the integrity and outcome data over time.

Articles:

Treatment Integrity:  Ensuring the "I" in RtI
Fidelity of Implementation guide


Webpage Links:

http://www.rtinetwork.org/getstarted/evaluate/treatment-integrity-protocols - link to fidelity checklists for a variety of different interventions.


Documents:

Tier II Five Minute Direct Observation Form
Tier III Intervention Walkthrough Form
Corrective Reading Fidelity Observation Form
Reading Mastery Checklist
Lexia Reading Strategies for Older Students Integrity Checklist
Read 180 Integrity Checklist
Reading Instruction Observation Checklist
 

REFERENCES

Gresham, F. M. (1989). Assessment of treatment integrity in school consultation and prereferral intervention. School Psychology Review, 18, 37–50.

Gresham, F., MacMillan, D. L., Beebe-Frankenberger, M. B., & Bocian, K. M. (2000). Treatment integrity in learning disabilities intervention research: Do we really know how treatments are implemented? Learning Disabilities Research and Practice, 15, 198–205.

Lane, K. L., Bocian, K. M., MacMillan, D. L., & Gresham, F. M. (2004). Treatment integrity: An essential—but often forgotten—component of school-based interventions. Preventing School Failure, 48(3), 36–43.

​