What have we been doing up till now?

Here's my take (or take-away) on RTI:
The goal in Response to Intervention (RTI) is to maximize the number of students making adequate progress in the general classroom. The goal appears to be around 80 percent: 15 percent may need some targeted support, and 5 percent may need intensive support. RTI is a structured method for assessing and identifying students who are beginning to fall behind. The theory seems to be that if the slipping is caught soon enough, and if the entire resources of the school are available to help, then the goal can be met.
This begs the question: We haven't been doing this? It seems so obvious! Have we been doing it kinda, but just not formally?
Here's my take on performance evaluation:
You mean we're NOT paying for performance? In actuality, the private sector often provides for pay raises tied to age: every year, you might get a raise. But every year, you might also be taking on more responsibility, or be doing more. For instance, you might be managing bigger projects, or have more people under you. In the classroom, a 25-year old teacher may be teaching 20 third-graders, and 20 years later, still be teaching 20 third graders. Where's the change in responsibility? If we are going to pay a teacher more, shouldn't they be doing more? Perhaps they have more students, or more administrative duties, or mentor responsibilities.