Special Report
Every Student Succeeds Act

What Are Multitiered Systems of Supports?

By Christina A. Samuels — December 13, 2016 3 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Response to intervention, multitiered systems of supports, positive behavioral supports and interventions.

Proponents of an educational framework aimed at systematically supporting struggling students throw around those terms all the time, but what do they really mean? This glossary helps cut through the fog.

What is response to intervention?

Response to intervention is an instructional framework that focuses on addressing problems early with students who show signs of academic weakness. Among its essential components: high-quality education for all students; universal screening so that teachers can spot children who are struggling; targeted, research-based “interventions” of increasing intensity designed to help students improve in problem areas; frequent progress monitoring so that teachers can see how well students are responding to the targeted interventions, and data-based decisionmaking based on the information gathered from that monitoring.

Where did response to intervention come from?

The elements that make up what we call response to intervention have been around for decades, but the term first showed up in federal law in 2004, when the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act was last reauthorized. In the special education law, the RTI process was put forward as an alternative method of identifying students with learning disabilities. Congress’ intent was to make sure that students diagnosed with disabilities weren’t just the victims of poor teaching.

Over the years, the educational framework has grown beyond the special education field. It is now seen as a method of improving instruction and academic results for all students.

What are the “tiers” in RTI?

Response to intervention is generally conceptualized as different levels of instruction. Tier 1 is the strong instruction that every student in a school should be receiving. Tier 2 includes students who are receiving extra academic support, often provided in small groups. Tier 3 is for students who have severe or persistent needs who require individualized help.

RTI proponents have said that movement among those tiers should be fluid: A student with acute needs doesn’t need to progress through the tiers to get individualized support, for example. And a student who needs some extra support should not miss out on the general instruction that is provided on Tier 1.

What are positive behavioral interventions and supports?

PBIS predates RTI in its inclusion in federal law; it was first introduced in the 1997 reauthorization of the IDEA as a research-based framework for supporting children with behavior disorders. As with RTI, PBIS operates on tiers. All students are taught certain behavioral expectations and rewarded for following them, and students with more needs are provided increasingly intensive interventions.

What are multitiered systems of supports?

Districts differ in how they use this term. Some use RTI and MTSS as synonyms, for example. But usually, “multitiered systems of supports” is used as an umbrella term that encompasses both response to intervention and positive behavioral interventions and supports. Schools implementing MTSS are usually trying to tackle both behavioral and academic concerns at the same time, recognizing that they often go hand in hand: A student who can’t understand what’s going on in the classroom is more likely to act out, and a student who is grappling with behavior problems is not going to be able to focus on academics.

How are schools using RTI and PBIS?

School districts have largely adopted the multitiered framework as a schoolwide improvement process because of its focus on screening all children, improving overall instruction, and making decisions based on data. RTI has a stronger research base for early reading, however. District leaders say that setting up a multitiered framework for older children and in different subject areas has been more challenging because there are fewer research-based interventions in those areas and because it becomes more challenging with older students to create time for interventions during the school day.

What does the Every Student Succeeds Act say about MTSS?

The text of the law mentions multitiered systems of supports only briefly, in the context of helping students with disabilities and English-language learners access challenging academic standards. State leaders may choose to use multitiered frameworks as a way to organize school improvement efforts in the improvement plans they must submit to the U.S. Department of Education next year.

Sources: RTI Action Network; Center for Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports
A version of this article appeared in the December 14, 2016 edition of Education Week as What Are Multitiered Systems of Supports?

Events

Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Privacy & Security Webinar
Navigating Cybersecurity: Securing District Documents and Data
Learn how K-12 districts are addressing the challenges of maintaining a secure tech environment, managing documents and data, automating critical processes, and doing it all with limited resources.
Content provided by Softdocs

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Every Student Succeeds Act Biden Education Department Approves One Request to Cancel State Tests But Rejects Others
Officials will allow D.C. to cancel tests. They denied similar requests from two other states and approved less extensive waiver requests.
6 min read
Image of students taking a test.
smolaw11/iStock/Getty
Every Student Succeeds Act Republicans Tell Miguel Cardona His Plan for ESSA Waivers Seems to Violate the Law
The Every Student Succeeds Act doesn't permit the education secretary to seek certain data he's asking for, the two GOP lawmakers say.
4 min read
White House press secretary Jen Psaki, left, listens as Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, center, speaks during a press briefing at the White House on March 17, 2021.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki, left, listens as Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, center, speaks during a press briefing at the White House on March 17, 2021.
Andrew Harnik/AP
Every Student Succeeds Act How Will ESSA Hold Up During COVID-19? Pandemic Tests the Law's Resilience
Lawmakers designed ESSA to limit mandates covering issues like how tests are used. Will that affect how well the law survives the pandemic?
6 min read
Every Student Succeeds Act Betsy DeVos Tells States Not to Expect Waivers From Annual Tests
The tests required by federal law are crucial to helping schools respond to the coronavirus pandemic and help vulnerable students, the education secretary said in a letter to chief state school officers.
3 min read