The Illinois State Board of Education launched a special education pilot project using a concept called Response to Intervention (RtI) that some experts believe could lead to a sea change in the way special education is provided. RtI places greater emphasis on early intervention and a reduced emphasis on psychological testing and other traditional tools used in responding to disabilities. The new approach focuses on classroom sharing of general and special education resources and development of educational environments that respond to all students. Experts say this is primarily a strategy to be used in the general education classroom, aimed at intervening early to aid struggling students with intensive, targeted instruction. The goal is to give such students a better chance to succeed in regular classrooms early on and avoid the need for a "special ed" label later. The system, now piloted in six school districts, focuses on an early functional assessment of student needs and providing more usable information to teachers. It also includes development of interventions by a collaborative, problem solving team. Under the RtI model, schools use three levels of intervention and monitor how students respond or progress at each level.