What is a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS)?

Written By Sarah Brown
“My school is starting an MTSS initiative. I know it has something to do with how we refer students to receive special education services but I’m not sure what it is or what it means for me. What is an MTSS and how does it impact me, a classroom teacher?”
 

I can tell that you have seen new educational initiatives come and go! I hope your experience with the MTSS framework results in you having more support in your classroom and that you see improved outcomes for your learners.

A multi-tiered system of support, or MTSS, is a framework designed to support schools to use data to allocate local resources to equitably meet the educational needs of all students. It is depicted through a tiered infrastructure, often shown with a pyramid, highlighting the resources provided to all, some, and a few students. The pyramid represents all the resources in your school. These can then be used to support students with the variety of needs they come to the building with.

Many schools and educators first think of MTSS as interventions and sometimes information from these interventions can be used as part of a Child Find process. However, MTSS is not intended to be a referral program for special education services. The proactive approach used within an MTSS allows for students who may have slipped through the cracks and not qualified for a specific program in more traditional models to receive the appropriate level of intervention they need. MTSS is based on the belief that all students can achieve at high levels and that if we put systems in place to support educators and students, we’ll see improved learning outcomes.

Let’s explore the MTSS Pyramid you've probably seen as part of your MTSS Googling.

Tier 1

The foundation of the MTSS pyramid is tier 1. This part of the pyramid represents the resources that are provided to all students in your grade. It is designed to meet the needs of the majority of students. This includes supports like your standards and the instruction and curriculum provided to help students meet those standards, including differentiation. It also includes any common formative and universal screening assessment you use with all students. Other important components of tier 1 include your grade level team meetings, professional learning, and any instructional coaching resources. Tier 1 is essential because it’s the first instruction all students receive and it has the most resources in the school.

Tier 2

Supplemental intervention is provided through tier 2 resources. This is targeted instruction that is provided to students who are not meeting expectations with Tier 1 resources alone. Interventions are typically more intensive than Tier 1 instruction and may be provided in small groups or individually. The goal of tier 2 interventions is to close learning gaps before they become large.

Tier 3

Intensive intervention is provided to students who need more intervention time and/or individualized services. Many times students receiving tier 3 intervention have received tier 2 resources first, but not always. These are our most individualized and time-intensive interventions.

In addition to interventions, other critical components are necessary to implement a successful MTSS. Your leaders need to ensure you have access to data to make effective decisions, that curriculum and instruction for both universal instruction and interventions is evidence-based, and that the infrastructure is supportive of your work. That means that you need plenty of time to meet with grade level or content area colleagues, professional learning time, and a schedule that supports your MTSS implementation.

While there are some common components in every MTSS, it will be customized to meet your specific building’s context and needs. You mentioned that it’s an initiative impacting how you refer students for special education evaluation. While MTSS is not a special education practice, it can support child find efforts in multiple ways, including:

  • Ensuring strong universal instruction,

  • Allowing for data review comparing uniqueness,

  • Providing data to evaluate growth, and

  • Identifying needs that can be addressed with special education services.

Potential Next Step

I encourage you to volunteer to serve on your building leadership team or grade level team to help design and implement your MTSS. If you're interested in learning more or have specific questions you’d like to see addressed here, message me. To keep up with all new System Savvy articles and resources, join our MTSS Squad.

Want to learn more?

If you want to read more about this topic, here are some recommended books that can help you continue to learn about MTSS. The first two provide practical information for implementing an MTSS and the third is an amazing resource to support using MTSS processes as part of a school’s Child Find efforts.

Sarah Brown https://www.systemimpactconsulting.com
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