Push in vs. pull out reading intervention research

Teacher question: My district is looking to improve our current intervention model. Currently, our reading interventionists operate on a pull-out model. However, we have heard that a push-in model can be be more effective so are interested in moving in that direction. What does the research say about the effectiveness of pull-out versus push-in for reading intervention? If one is more effective than the other, what would that entail?

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By Amanda Morin
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About the author
About the author
Reviewed by
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How do you differentiate between when to provide pull
What is the pull
What does push in intervention look like?
How is push in and push out remedial education is provided?

Shanahan's response:

When people tell you that you should adopt a model or approach that they like because it is more “effective” you should ask to see their evidence.

I went looking for research on “push-in” interventions. There is, of course, a lot of research data showing that various pull out interventions have worked at improving reading achievement. However, I could find only one study on push in interventions and it was carried out 15 years ago. It was very small and preliminary study that did no more than “suggest the possibility” that such an approach could be beneficial. Too little to go on.

(If your colleagues have found any such studies, please send them along).

There seem to be two different versions of push-in reading.

One is the idea of the teacher who essentially “shadows” certain students providing them with assistance as necessary (e.g., keeping them attentive, adding explanation when needed, closely monitoring student seatwork, etc.). The point of this kind of push-in teacher is to ensure that the struggling students fully participate in and benefit from the regular classroom teaching. (This model seems to be most common with physical handicaps and severe cognitive difficulties, but I’ve seen it with minimal disabilities as well. More on this in a minute,)

Another, version relegates the is the push-in teacher to the role of parallel teaching. This teacher works with a small group of students in their classroom, providing them with alternative instruction. While, the classroom teacher works with the more advantaged small groups, the push-in teacher is dealing with the more challenged teachers. With this approach kids don’t lose time walking down the hall to the intervention teacher, and they don’t suffer the discomfort and disconnect from classmates common with pull-out programs.

I’ve personally only seen any push-in model in practice once in my career … and it was one of the worst observational experiences of my life. The problems were so stark as to be the stuff of goofball comedy.

The push-in teacher instead of helping her charges to better understand and learn from the classroom instruction, seemed to be in competition with the general education teacher. At one point she literally got up and erased what the teacher had written on the chalkboard! Obviously, a horrible example, so horrible that I can’t imagine that it could go any worse in your district. In any event, if you decide to go the push-in route, you’d better make sure the teachers can work well together and that they have a shared vision of what’s needed to advance children’s learning.

For reading instruction, the alternative teaching approach makes the greatest sense. If the classroom teacher is devoting an hour to small group teaching, then each of the three groups might get about 20 minutes of attention per day. With the push-in model, perhaps the two more advantaged groups could get 30 minutes each, and the strugglers could receive a full hour of actual teaching. That could be terrific.

With the neediest kids, I usually advise going with approaches that have done especially well in the research studies. Given the dearth of evidence on this approach — and the large amount of positive support for various kinds of pull-out efforts — I’d not argue for push-in. My hunch is that if I could pull out a small group and teach them separately, I could do more successful job of teaching these kids effectively and could build better upon the classroom teaching.

However, if your colleague carried the day, I’d insist that the alternative teaching route be taken, and make sure that the children served by the push-in teacher receive substantially more instruction than would usually be possible.

Maybe push-in can work even better than pull-out, but I will need at least a small amount of research that actually supports this alternative. Until then, I’d recommend using any approach that maximizes the amount of teaching that the children are going to receive.

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By Amanda Morin

At your child’s IEP meeting, the IEP team (which includes you) has to make a number of decisions. For instance, the team has to agree on services and supports for your child. But there’s another step to consider after that. You have to decide if the services will be “push-in” or “pull-out.”

What does that mean, and what’s the difference between the two options? It’s not the services that are different — it’s the way your child receives them. This chart compares push-in and pull-out services side-by-side.

	Push-in services	Pull-out services
What they are	Specialists work closely with students in the general education classroom. Instructional support, differentiated instruction, or related services are provided in the classroom.	Specialists work closely with students outside of the general education classroom. Instructional support or related services are provided in small groups or one-on-one in a separate setting.
How it works	Push-in services happen in the general education classroom. The general education teacher, special education teacher, and others (like speech therapists or occupational therapists) work collaboratively. This is called inclusive education. The push-in provider brings the instruction and any necessary materials to the student. A reading specialist, for example, may come into the class to work with a student during language arts.	Pull-out services typically happen in a setting outside the general education classroom. While the general education teacher is an important resource, she’s rarely involved in pull-out services. Instead, the specialist provides the instruction, and it doesn’t have to be integrated with the general education curriculum. It really depends on a student’s needs. The student goes to the pull-out provider’s classroom to work one-on-one or in a small group setting.
How kids get them	Services can be provided through IEPs, response to intervention (RTI), informal supports, and other instructional interventions.	Services can be provided through IEPs, RTI, informal supports, and other instructional interventions.
Pros and cons	Pros: Students miss less instructional time because they’re not spending as much time moving between classrooms. There’s less disruption to a student’s daily schedule. There’s more direct interaction between all of a student’s providers. Students get to learn and practice skills in the general education classroom, which keeps them in the least restrictive environment. Cons: There are fewer opportunities for students to receive tailored and explicit instruction to help them gain skills they need to keep up with the curriculum. Co-planning instruction and working around differences in teaching styles can create obstacles for teachers. There are often more distractions for students in the general education classroom, which can be especially hard for students with attention issues like ADHD.	Pros: Students get more direct instruction that’s tailored to their unique needs. There are typically fewer distractions for students outside the general education classroom. Students have more personalized interaction with providers, which helps students build trust and gives them extra emotional support. Teachers and specialists don’t have to spend as much time grounding a lesson for the entire classroom. Cons: There’s less opportunity for specialists and teachers to collaborate and to determine whether pull-out instruction is helping students access the general education curriculum. Students may feel “different” or uncomfortable because they have to leave the general classroom for services. There can be more scheduling difficulties, so a student may miss other subjects or specials like art, music, or PE.

Tell us what interests you

About the author

Amanda Morin is the director of thought leadership at Understood and author of “The Everything Parent’s Guide to Special Education.” She worked as a classroom teacher and early intervention specialist for more than a decade.

Reviewed by

Melody Musgrove, EdD served as director of the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) in the U.S. Department of Education.

How do you differentiate between when to provide pull

The push-in provider brings the instruction and any necessary materials to the student. A reading specialist, for example, may come into the class to work with a student during language arts. Pull-out services typically happen in a setting outside the general education classroom.

What is the pull

What it is: Pull-out/pull-in groups are small group strategies. In pull-out groups students usually leave the regular classroom to work with other students of similar ability or interest. Traditionally, a gifted specialist or other resource teacher provides the instruction.

What does push in intervention look like?

With push-in, ESL students tend to be isolated and served as more of an intervention rather than supports and scaffolds being put into place for them to be able to access the content and be successful in the classroom when the specialist isn't there.”

How is push in and push out remedial education is provided?

Push in remediation is provided by the remedial teacher coming into the classroom to provide support to the students who need it during a lesson. This type of instruction is helpful when the student only needs minimal support and can also focus well in a whole group setting.