The Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) process is a three-tiered strategy that aims to give quality education to all students through giving quality instruction that meets the needs of the students (Gamm, 2012). The three-tiered system aims at combining a standard system of evaluation with exceptional instructions to ensure that the needs of all students have been addressed. The system also understands that students are not the same and the level of understanding is also not the same. Therefore, they come up with implementations of different levels of intervention as well as services to the struggling students. In other words, the implementation is there to help the struggling and low learning students to cope well and be in line with high learners. The levels of intervention are called tiers of instruction, and they are three in total, tier 1, 2 and 3. These tiers are flexible and are in line with the level of support needed by the student. In addition, the levels are dependent on a careful evaluation and analysis of the student’s data provided by the class teacher, or any other team member who may help in providing useful information about the student. Again, MTSS helps teachers to easily identify those students who need extra programs for unison performance. The basic goal of MTSS is to provide and implement additional instructions, the support system, as well as settings that may help students to meet their needs, before even thinking about special programs for them. The discussion hereunder will focus on MTSS intervention in the States of Colorado, Georgia and Maryland.
Response to Intervention (RTI) (Fuchs & Fuchs, 2006)
Positive Behavioral Interventions and supports (PBIS) (Pitchford et al., 2010)
The principle objective of every school in Colorado was to provide a fair and efficient learning environment for every student as well as instructions of high quality, and that was the reason it adopted the system of MTSS. The shift to a Multi-Tiered system was as a result of lessons learned in schools and districts because it was viewed as the best and affordable continuum of behavioral instruction that would comfortably accommodate every student.
MTSS components in Colorado
Colorado first implemented PBIS and later RTI which was triggered by Individuals with Disability Education Act (IDEA) (Yell et al., 2006). The principle objective of RTI was to understand diverse needs of the student and then implement strategies to meet those needs. From RTI, other models have developed that focus on multiple tiers of intervention delivery services, a process that solves problems and use of data collection and data assessment to implement decision at every tier of delivery services. IDEA also came up with strategies for giving funds to the disabled persons to ensure that their educational needs were taken care of.
Basically, response to intervention involves a close examination of the needs of the student, the school curriculum, as well as the learning environment that that determines the success of a student in school. MTSS in Colorado is well defined as a prevention framework based on whole school that leads to the improvement of a student’s learning capabilities. MTSS uses interventions and assessments to ensure that the needs of every student are meant for tremendous success and competition with other student. MTSS therefore, ensures that the problem assessed is the principle cause of student failure, and once addressed through the recommended strategies, it will change the learning strategy of the student.
A Multi-Tiered system helps districts and schools in the preparation of resources that will propel the performance of each student accomplish their proficiency. In Colorado, MTSS contains the following components;
Shared leadership
Data-Based Problem Solving and Decision Making
Layered Continuum of Supports
Evidence-Based instruction, intervention and Assessment practices
Universal Screening and Progress Monitoring
Family, School and Community Partnering
When schools and districts implement these strategies, they achieve a continuous and systematic improvement established on data and problem solving and decision making to all levels that will meet the needs of every student. MTSS succeeds after a fruitful cooperation and interaction of the data used for decision making, evidence-based practices distinguished by the needs of the students as well as systems that helps in the execution of adult practices, all of which help in improving the outcomes of the students, both in social life and academic life.
Colorado MTSS has hierarchical tiers that contain instructions and support meant to meet the needs of the students. These tiers are;
Tier 1 contains of universal support and instructions that helps students to develop their skills, promoting personal growth, and forfeits problems from arising
Tier 2 contains targeted intervention and support a small number of student who encounter various problems in their education
Tier 3 contains intensive intervention and support meant to cater extensively to those students who require special attention of the teacher
The order signifies the easiness to differentiate students with special needs from other students. The order shows that Tier 1 must be implemented before implementing Tier 2, and Tier 3 is implemented after implementing Tier 2. In other words, they are used to differentiate the academic needs of the students in schools and districts, after a realization that students are different and require different attention. Tier 1 is universal meaning that it can meet the needs of majority of the student, but those who show some difficulty are exposed to the Tier 2. Those who still have some difficulties in Tier 2 are students with special needs, and they must be addressed individually in Tier 3.
Implementation of MTSS in Georgia
The State of Georgia has shown its commitment to the federal district court by electing Student Support Team (SST) in every public school to provide a problem solving team that prevents unnecessary removal of students in education system, as well as inappropriate referrals to special education. Georgia focused on research of high quality, intervention as well as collecting the data that will be helpful in the quench of quality education to all students. Therefore, Georgia implemented Response to Intervention (RTI) and SST was part of it to ensure that all the needs of the students are met for them to succeed in the general education curriculum. The RTI has been helpful in the State of Georgia to reach those students who may feel that they cannot make it in education. This is because, it provides support and intervention techniques that helps low learning students catch up with other students and increase their desire to perform better, after becoming aware that they can make it in education.
The State of Georgia has therefore implemented a four-tier RTI to help in the identifying and addressing the behavioral and academic needs of the students. The four-tier is well known as The Georgia Student Achievement Pyramid of Interventions meant to give assessment to students with purposeful instruction, to ensure that all the needs of the students are addressed. Normally, RTI is established on general classroom environment, because teachers must assess all students in general before identifying those with special needs, something that calls for Common Core Georgia Performance Standards (CCGPS) (Lanier, Taylor & Darley, 2012).
Components
4-tier delivery model meant to provide support to the students in according to their levels of needs depicted from implementation of standards-based classrooms
Evidence-based instructions as the center of classroom teaching
Evidence-based intervention meant to improve strength depicted from the close monitoring of the students
Use of data to determine which student does not meet the educational and behavioral standards set by the school
Provision of data teams to give instructions based on decision making
Allocating instructional resources depending on the need of the student signaled by the collected data
Basically, all students are enrolled in general education learning, but because they have various behavioral and educational needs, a 4-tier intervention approach is established, to ensure that the needs of every student have been addressed independently. The order of these components include is as follows;
Tier 1: Uses universal screening which is general for all the students. In this category, classroom teachers are the best person to take the assessment as they know each student in an extensive way, and they determine the necessary criteria for the success, and use the data they have for every student to discuss viable approaches to instructional approaches. They also allocate learning opportunities to ensure that the needs of every student are well addressed. Teachers also give monitoring data to both the students and the teachers, so as to evaluate whether they are doing what is required and what they have to do to achieve their goals
Tier 2: Students are examined to determine their level of understanding as well as the transfer of learning, meaning that an extensive monitoring of each student progress is very crucial. Targets towards the expected progress are made, and then the student is assessed on how far they are to the targets. The data is recorded to signal the kind of implementation to put in place, in order to meet the needs of all students
Tier 3: At this level, students to intervene are those students highlighted by SST (student support team) during their problem solving process, and documents are needed for close monitoring of individual student to focus on their needs
Tier 4: Students at this level require deep, systematic and formalized monitoring based on the data collected and the instructions on target. At this level, the needs of every students have been highlighted, and this is the point where each need is addressed individually, to ensure that the student has been helps
Application of the 4-tier approach is the best thing to implement MTSS to every student. This approach ensures that every student is examined, and their needs are examined as well. This means that only the critical issues are addressed, and this helps in the success of all the students. One critical thing lacking in this State is how to address people with special needs and disability. It should be noted that people with special needs require extra attention that any other people, and therefore, they should come up with strategies to address their needs.
The components of MTSS in Maryland
In Maryland, MTSS is a focus on identification of students with special needs, assess them and address what they do not understand or what they seem to have a problem with, so as to ensure a universal way of academic and behavioral behaviors. Therefore, it focuses on narrower focus as well as broader focus. The narrower focuses on universal, target as well as intensive assessment, meant to ensure that all the needs of the students are meant in uniformity. In this section, students are addressed in a similar way assuming that they have the same rate of understanding, as well as the same way of academic behaviors (Coffee, Ray-Subramanian & Feeney-Kettler, 2013).
Broader focus is dependent coaching, academics, as well as behavioral. In this section, all the students meet the performance indicator, and all the staff collaborate to ensure that every student get what they have to get in their performance. Some of the student requires a supplemental target intervention (Tier-1), meaning that a few students will be distinguished from the rest of the students according to their performance. The students on target have a special attention by the teachers (Tier-2), because they want to ensure they are provided with all they need to be in line with other students. If students are found to be slow learners, they are given extra work and assignment, to ensure that they understand each and every part as much as other students do. Besides, few students require intensive intervention (Tier-3), in that, they have an extra care and attention from the students who seem to have an extensive problem in academic as well as behavioral performance. In this section, students who have been realized to be weak in their studies are given extra attention by their teachers, for instance by extra educational programs to ensure that all the areas they seem to have problem with have been addressed. In other words, the multi tiers are simplified as Tier-1 for all, Tier-2 for some and Tier-3 for few.
Maryland implementation is based on social emotional learning (SEL), Mental health, as well as Positive behavioral Interventions and support (PBIS) (Maryland State Department of Education), with the following components;
Strong system support
Continuous assessment
Responsive learning environment
Professional development (Coaching)
Collaboration
These components include all that may affect the student’s life both in school and at home. For instance, it may staff must be committed to see that they address all the areas needed for the development of every student. There must be supportive systems such as Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation to ensure that the student is mentally fit and if they are not, there must be plans on how students with special needs can be helped. Family is equally important to help in the development of the student, to ensure that there is no family issue distracting the student to give their all in education. Raining and coaching must be done to low performing students, to ensure that they understand what they do not understand. By doing so, the State of Maryland attains a successful program that leads to tremendous performance of every student both in academic and behavioral. What has missed in the State of Maryland is the address of student with disability as well as those with special needs. It should be included because students with special needs require education just like any other student.
References
Coffee, G., Ray-Subramanian, C. E., & Feeney-Kettler, K. A. (2013). Early Childhood Education: A Practical Guide to Evidence-based, Multi-tiered Service Delivery. Routledge.
Gamm, S., Elliott, J., Halbert, J. W., Price-Baugh, R., Hall, R., Walston, D., & Casserly, M. (2012). Common Core State Standards and Diverse Urban Students: Using Multi-Tiered Systems of Support. Council of the Great City Schools.
Lanier, S. M., Taylor, S., & Darley, J. (2012). How Common Core/Georgia Performance Standards (CCGPS) is Changing What We Teach at Georgia Southern.
Maryland State Department of Education. Retrieved from. https://theinstitute.umaryland.edu/sefel/docs/highlights/Early%20MTSS%20Presentation%20SEFEL.pdf
Fuchs, D., & Fuchs, L. S. (2006). Introduction to Response to Intervention: What, why, and how valid is it?. Reading Research Quarterly, 41(1), 93-99.
Pitchford, J., Lever, N., & Bradshaw, C. P. (2010). Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS). Encyclopedia of Cross-Cultural School Psychology, 734-735.
Yell, M. L., Shriner, J. G., & Katsiyannis, A. (2006). Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 and IDEA Regulations of 2006: Implications for Educators, Administrators, and Teacher Trainers. Focus on exceptional children, 39(1), 1-24.
