Examining Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) Implementation in Great Plains Schools

Purpose: This article describes the development and initial validation of the Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) Involvement in Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) Questionnaire. It was developed to measure the extent to which SLPs are involved in MTSS at their school site(s).Method: A total of 567 SLPs practicing in the United States responded to up to 39 Likert-type items meant to reflect six domains: scope of practice, professional development, leadership, consulting/collaborating, assessment and analysis, and intervention. Measurement quality was evaluated in terms of score reliability and validity. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted to evaluate the internal structure of the questionnaire responses. A three-factor model with the following dimensions of Carrying out Roles and Responsibilities, Leading, and Planning and Providing Interventions was supported. Loadings for retained factors ranged from .35 to .87. Internal consistency estimates ranged from .87 to .92. Descriptive statistics summarized the overall involvement of SLPs in MTSS, and responses to questions to assess the feasibility and acceptability of this questionnaire were analyzed.Results: Questionnaire responses indicated that SLPs infrequently engage in MTSS activities. The item with the highest mean was related to SLPs collaborating with teachers to help them address students’ speech and language disorders in their classrooms. Most of the SLPs who took the questionnaire found it easy to complete, but only some found the information to be useful.Conclusions: The infrequent involvement of SLPs in MTSS indicates a need to disseminate information on the potentially valuable roles SLPs can play in MTSS implementation. This tool may be used by SLPs to better understand contributions they can make within an MTSS framework and self-reflect on their current levels of involvement.Supplemental Material S1. SLP Involvement in MTSS Questionnaire.McKenna, M., Castillo, J., Dedrick, R. F., Cheng, K., & Goldstein, H. (2021). Speech-Language Pathologist Involvement in Multi-Tiered System of Supports Questionnaire: Advances in interprofessional practice. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_LSHSS-20-00084

We live in a world where preschool and even kindergarten are optional years in schooling, only perpetuating the problem of incoming kindergartener students systemically lacking foundational skills necessary to successfully begin their academic careers. Access to quality preschool is an equity problem that needs to be discussed and researched. Preparing a student to enter kindergarten with the appropriate foundational academic skills does not just set them up for kindergarten success, but also for success in future grade levels. Therefore, a co-design team focused a problem of practice at an elementary school to provide the kindergarten teacher with additional support by using a team-based approach in planning and implementing the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) Framework with fidelity in order to increase kindergarten students’ reading scores. This mixed-method study included 19 kindergarten students at a Midwest K-5th elementary school where three research questions were examined: 1) What was the effect of the team-based MTSS intervention planning process on the kindergarten students’ MAP reading scores?; 2)What was the effect of the team-based MTSS intervention planning process on the kindergarten students’ FastBridge Early Reading Screener Scores?; 3) What were the co-design team’s perceptions of the team-based MTSS intervention planning process? Utilizing the quantitative measures of the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) Measures of Academic Progress MAP) assessment and the FastBridge Early Reading Screener and the qualitative measure of a six-question open-ended educator survey, the co-design team examined growth in kindergarten students’ reading scores and the co-design team’s perception of utilizing the team-based approach to implement the MTSS Framework with fidelity. Upon the conclusion of the 90-day cycle of inquiry, 84% of the 19 kindergarten students showed an increase on their MAP reading assessment from fall to winter. Additionally, there was an observed growth from 21% of students falling in the “low risk” range on the fall FastBridge Early Reading Screener to 53% of students falling in the “low risk” range in the winter. Lastly, the survey results showed three themes: collaboration, instruction, and time. The three co-design team educators who completed the six-question open-ended survey unanimously recommended the team-based approach to implementing the MTSS Framework with fidelity. As practical implications in an elementary school are considered, the co-design team wonders what this team-based approach to planning and implementing the MTSS Framework with fidelity could look like when done with multiple teachers. If this intervention proved to be successful with the co-design team for this

About 5 million Emergent Bilingual (EB) students are enrolled in public elementary and secondary schools across the United States. Spanish-speaking EBs constituted 76 percent of the EB population in the U.S. educational system (Office of English Language Acquisition, 2019). Although not all EBs are at risk for falling behind grade level proficiency in literacy, examination of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reveals that EBs, on average, demonstrate significantly lower levels of literacy proficiency than their non-EB peers in Grades 4 and 8 (McFarland et al., 2018). Schools support the literacy development of Spanishspeaking EBs through multitiered systems of support (MTSS), which encourages early identification and intervention for those students needing support. A fundamental aspect of MTSS is Tier 1, which consists of high-quality core instruction and universal screening of all children in general education classrooms. Despite the school policies and practices to close or reduce the academic opportunity gap for EBs by implementing MTSS, it has not fulfilled its promise for Spanish-speaking EBs. One aspect is that few programs do not address EB's home language as well as English language development and provide culturally and linguistically responsive instruction. This dissertation aims to examine the effects of an abbreviated peer- mediated academic intervention on literacy and language performance among 64 Spanish-Speaking EB students in a rural school district and to further examine the extent to which home language exposure affects literacy outcomes. A randomized cluster design was used to examine the effects of an abbreviated peer-mediated literacy intervention. Hierarchical linear regression analysis was used to examine the effect of home language exposure on literacy measures. Results indicated the treatment condition outperformed students in the control condition in Spanish oral reading fluency, bilingual receptive vocabulary, and English reading comprehension measures. Home language exposure did not affect literacy measures. This study addresses an important gap in the literature on providing abbreviated peer-mediated academic interventions for emergent bilingual students.

The Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) framework is pivotal in educational settings, designed to enhance student outcomes through structured support systems that address academic, behavioral, and social-emotional needs. This scoping review explores the complexities of implementing MTSS, identifies effective strategies, and assesses its impact on students' social-emotional development. The review analyzed articles source from Google Scholar, PubMed, and ScienceDirect as a database with a range of publications between 2019-2023 using the keywords: Adolescents, Multi-Tiered Systems of Support, Education and adolescents. There were 18 articles that met the inclusion criteria. The findings suggest that when effectively implemented, MTSS significantly improves social-emotional development. This involves strategic planning, interdisciplinary collaboration, culturally responsive practices, and active participation of families and communities. School leadership plays a vital role in coordinating these efforts, while culturally relevant practices and teacher self-assessment tools help address the diverse needs of students. Additionally, family involvement is a crucial factor in enhancing academic performance and reducing behavioral issues, contributing to the overall social-emotional development of students. A well-coordinated strategy is necessary to optimize the effectiveness of MTSS and improve student outcomes.

Multi-tiered system of supports in early childhood: identifying gaps, considerations for application, and solutions

Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS), as a fully integrated set of practices and interventions directed to academics and behavior, with emerging applications to social and emotional learning in the teaching/learning process, is very much in its ascendency in schools across the United States and elsewhere. As a result, there is an emerging need to prepare teacher and administrator educators to enter the rapidly expanding number of implementing schools and districts. Requisite dispositions, skills, and knowledge germane to ensuring successful applications, sustainability, and resultant student outcomes from MTSS introduction into systems praxis are increasingly required. In this position paper, we discuss the origins of MTSS, its expansion into various areas of education in the United States, and its emerging contribution to the thorny issue of inclusion. We conclude with examination of Innovation Configuration, a heuristic to assist teacher and administrator educators in the development of course syllabi and other professional learning vehicles addressed to MTSS.

With the advent of a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) in schools, counselor preparation programs are once again challenged to further extend the education and training of pre-service and in-service school counselors. To introduce and contextualize this special issue, an MTSS's intent and foci, as well as its theoretical and research underpinnings, are elucidated. Next, this article aligns MTSS with current professional school counselor standards of the American School Counselor Association's (ASCA) School Counselor Competencies, the 2016 Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) Standards for School Counselors and the ASCA National Model. Using Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and Response to Intervention (RTI) models as exemplars, recommendations for integrating MTSS into school counselor preparation curriculum and pedagogy are discussed.

A large body of research supports the efficacy of small group reading interventions for students in Grades K through 3. However, there are few studies evaluating the effects of supplemental Tier-2 intervention implemented within a response to intervention (RTI) or multitiered systems of support (MTSS) framework. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of providing Tier-2 supplemental intervention to students in Grades 1 through 3 identified as experiencing reading difficulties ( n = 318) in four elementary schools across four different school districts that were selected to participate in a state MTSS initiative. The supplemental intervention was evaluated using a regression discontinuity design, and results indicated statistically significant overall effects on measures of phonemic awareness and word decoding and no discernable effects on reading fluency and comprehension. Results suggest that supplemental reading intervention implemented within MTSS frameworks can impact key reading outcomes when intervention significantly increases instructional intensity.

In this chapter, we explore Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) as a system-wide means to achieve both equity and excellence in school education. To understand the purpose and defining characteristics of MTSS, it is important to know the history and circumstances that led to its development in school education, and the equity issues it has been designed to address. In the sections that follow, we explain how reforms in policy and research created scalable systems and how, over time, an integrated MTSS evolved from two key frameworks that focused on academics and behaviour: Response to Intervention (RTI) and Positive Behaviour Intervention and Supports (PBIS). We provide an overview of the key characteristics of MTSS, as well as the evidence underpinning it, and conclude with a checklist to guide implementation.

Attention is crucial for academic success, as well as social and emotional growth and development. In this article, the authors discuss models of attention and ways attention influences social and emotional learning and academic success. Additionally, they describe interventions that address attention concerns and discuss implications of using the Multitiered System of Supports (MTSS).

Within multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS), screening assessments play an important role in identifying students who are in need of supplemental support strategies. In this chapter, the authors review the tools and methods commonly used in MTSS for academic skills screening, identify limitations with these practices, and highlight potential areas of improvement regarding assessment methods and content of screening tools, decision-making processes used to identify students in need of support, and methods used for evaluating screening tools. A set of recommendations and directions for future work are offered for advancing screening assessment and improving decision-making processes in schools with MTSS.

The Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS), also known as Response to Intervention (RTI), is an educational reform initiative aimed at providing quality education and evidence-based treatments for all students. The main objective of the study was to investigate how teachers perceive the beliefs and practices regarding the RTI/MTSS process. The quantitative survey design was used to achieve the main goal for this study. Primary school teachers of these two districts (Multan and Jehlum) were considered a population regardless of their gender. 700 teachers were selected using a stratified random sampling method. A 34-item self-developed questionnaire was used to collect data. Inferential data analysis was used to compare the teachers' beliefs and practices about the RTI/MTSS process with demographic characteristics like location, gender, district, and teaching experiences. The study's results show that teachers had stable and clear ideas about the RTI/MTSS process. Although the teachers saw a moderate and small improvement in their practices, this suggests that their beliefs and actions did not match. The study also established that there were statistical differences in perceived norms between the male and female teachers, the teachers from the different districts, and the teachers with different experience in teaching, but no difference in vignette practices. Further research may attempt to investigate the commonality of the intervention process that has been effective at increasing rates and establish potentially teachable strategies in independent practice.

This article reviews Check-In, Check-Out (CICO; Hawken & Horner, 2003) as an intervention within a multitiered system of support. Although literature has emerged demonstrating successful intervention outcomes for a wide range of students (e.g., Campbell & Anderson, 2011; Hawken & Horner, 2003), insufficient attention has focused on the administrative and organizational systems needed for high-fidelity, sustained adoption of these practices to maximize student outcomes. We address this need by demonstrating how to explicitly and systematically embed CICO into the multitiered system of supports by reviewing data, systems, and practices needed to sustain high-quality Tier 2 interventions such as CICO. One school district's systems implementation data and student outcome data are shared highlighting lessons learned during training, initial implementation, and follow-up related to CICO systems in schools. The article emphasizes the roles of school psychologists as well as the importance of collaboration with other educators in CICO implementation.

The 2004 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act led to an era of educational reform that called for scientifically based curriculum and data-driven decision-making when devising instructional strategies. Response to intervention was subsequently endorsed. Because students with disabilities were being included within the general education setting during this time, many states like Florida, made use of the multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS). This process was used to plan and problem-solve effective teaching strategies to improve student performance in reading and in mathematics. This chapter explores how Florida has used MTSS to narrow achievement gaps and create educational opportunities for all students.

COVID-19 has transformed the K-12 education system. Many students, faculty, and staff have been required to transition from a traditional in-person school environment to a strictly virtual or hybrid setting, with little to no preparation or training. This drastic and sudden change has left students, families, faculty, and staff to navigate new or altered responsibilities related to virtual/hybrid learning. In turn, many students who are accustomed to learning in-person have experienced new stressors related to virtual/hybrid learning. Additionally, school counselors find themselves having to provide virtual/hybrid social, emotional, and academic support for their various student populations. Leading the Journal of Human Services special issue’s third section, Youth and Schools in the Current Context, we discuss in this article how school counselors can support students during and after COVID-19 using the Multi Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) framework—employing virtual interventions that will be useful beyond the pandemic’s duration.