1. Managing Tier 2 and Tier 3 Interventions
Developing the Intervention System
Elementary Level
miblsi.org

2. 1.0 Defining a School-wide Reading Model Within an MTSS Framework

3. Defining a School-wide Reading Model
Multi-tiered structures encompassing:
Data use and analysis
Systems to address the continuum of reading needs across the student body; and
Evidence-based practices focused on the Big Ideas of Reading designed to improve reading outcomes for all students
Trainer Notes:
The definition of the the School-wide Reading Model is taken from the Reading Tiered Fidelity Inventory (R-TFI) Elementary Level Edition.
A school-wide reading model is defined as a multi-tiered structures encompassing: (1) data use and analysis; (2) systems to address the continuum of reading needs across the student body; and (3) evidence-based practices focused on the Big Ideas of Reading designed to improve reading outcomes for all students. 
We will be coming back to this definition throughout the day today. Spend some time on this definition now so that the future references are more of a review. You may want to have the participants circle the following key words (#1) data, (#2) systems, (#3) practices and “improve reading outcomes for all students”. We will be coming back to these ideas of data, systems, and practices throughout the day.
(St. Martin, Nantais, Harms, & Huth, 2015)

4. Data Use and Analysis
What will this look like within your school at Tier 1?
Collection of DIBELS Next as a universal screening measure and as progress monitoring measures
Monthly SLT meetings monitoring school-level MTSS implementation plan and reviewing the universal screening data three times a year
Collection of Reading Tiered Fidelity Inventory – Elementary-Level Edition (R-TFI) by SLT
Grade-level problem-solving meetings that examine universal screening and progress monitoring data
Trainer Notes:
What do we mean by data use and analysis? Great question – it is an on-going process of analyzing and evaluating information to inform important instructional decisions. The data we are referring to include the DIBELS Next data collected as universal screening data three times a year along with the data for progress monitoring. DIBELS Next measures are on the approved list of initial assessments. These decisions take place at the school-wide, grade-level, classroom, and individual student problem solving and action planning. The data analysis occurs at multiple levels, including school-wide and grade-level analyses.
The data also include the Reading Tiered Fidelity Inventory, which looks at a school’s fidelity of implementation of a school-wide reading model.

5. Systems to Address Continuum of Reading Needs
Team structures
School-wide Reading Plan
Reading Assessment System organizing decisions around data collection and use
90-minute reading block for all grade levels for core instruction and additional time for intervention
Intervention Grid with entry criteria, progress monitoring, and exit criteria
Intervention System
Trainer Notes:
The systems features that make up the school-wide reading model are outlined on this slide. The intervention system and intervention grid come with the work of Tiers 2 & 3. Our focus today is on the Tier 1 portion of the school-wide reading model.

6. Evidence-Based Practices
Explicit and systematic reading instruction for all students
Focus core instruction and intervention on the big ideas of reading (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, comprehension, & vocabulary) for all students
Defined process for selection of reading programs and intervention programs and materials (at the district level)
Trainer Notes:
We want to be clear up front that when it comes to practices, we are referring to evidence-based practices focused on the big ideas or essential components of reading.

7. Quick Check: School-wide Reading Model
Multi-tiered structures encompassing:
Data u___ and a_____
S______ to address the c_______ of reading needs across the student body; and
E________-based practices focused on the B___ I_____ of Reading designed to improve reading __________ for all students
Trainer Notes:
Here is a quick check meant to be a review of the school-wide reading model definition. Have participants fill in the blanks without looking back. They can check their understanding before you provide the correct responses. The goal is to get participants working to move the information from their short term memory to their long term memory with spaced practice and review.

8. 2.0 Why Students Struggle to Understand Text

9. In Module 2.0, we will… Review the Simple View of Reading
Discuss the changing emphasis of reading instruction
Provide reasons students struggle to read and understand what they read

10. Simple View of Reading
(Gough, 1986)

11. Simple View of Reading: Defining Domains
Decoding (word-level reading): ability to transform print into spoken language
Language Comprehension: ability to understand spoken language

12. Simple View of Reading: Language Skills
Focus on the Language Comprehension Domain that is made up of Academic Language Skills: Background Knowledge: possesses general and topic-specific background knowledge, Inferential Language Skills: ability to discuss topics beyond immediate context, Narrative Language Skills: ability to clearly relate a series of events, and Academic Vocabulary: ability to comprehend and use words in formal writing.

13. Simple View of Reading: Decoding Skills

14. Changing Emphasis of the Big Ideas
This graphic depicts general subskills within each area that should be emphasized as students move through the elementary grades. Additionally, though all of the big ideas need to be taught daily, the darker blue shading represents where proportionally more time should be spent on instruction. For example, in K and the first half of first grade, a larger portion of the reading block should be dedicated to phonemic awareness, letter sounds, and basic phonics, or the “learning to read skills.” But teachers will also be working on sound and word automaticity and teaching vocabulary and text comprehension right from the beginning focusing on general language skills, literal comprehension and learning basic story elements and text structures primarily through read alouds of narrative and informational text while the students are listening and engaging in classroom discussions. The shift in the big ideas changes in the middle of 1st grade through 3rd grade. Again, vocabulary and comprehension are taught daily and phonemic awareness should be incorporated into spelling instruction; however more instructional time during the reading block should be spent on the explicit and systematic instruction of advanced phonics skills, reading multisyllabic words, and fluency of connected text. Note the focus in K-3 is on the foundational reading skills of the CCSS! Finally, the emphasis shifts yet again in the 4th and 5th grades. Daily spelling dictation, multisyllabic and word study instruction, focusing on using affix and root words to help understand the meaning of words, and fluency should be taught daily. But a larger percentage of time will be spent on vocabulary and comprehension instruction (though there will be overlap between word study and vocabulary). While class discussions and oral analyzing of text should still continue in the upper elementary grades, students will be doing more of the reading independently.
Trainer Notes:
This graphic depicts general subskills within each area that should be emphasized as students move through the elementary grades. Additionally, though all of the big ideas need to be taught daily, the darker blue shading represents where proportionally more time should be spent on instruction. For example, in K and the first half of first grade, a larger portion of the reading block should be dedicated to phonemic awareness, letter sounds, and basic phonics, or the “learning to read skills.” But teachers will also be working on sound and word automaticity and teaching vocabulary and text comprehension right from the beginning focusing on general language skills, literal comprehension and learning basic story elements and text structures primarily through read alouds of narrative and informational text while the students are listening and engaging in classroom discussions. The shift in the big ideas changes in the middle of 1st grade through 3rd grade. Again, vocabulary and comprehension are taught daily and phonemic awareness should be incorporated into spelling instruction; however more instructional time during the reading block should be spent on the explicit and systematic instruction of advanced phonics skills, reading multisyllabic words, and fluency of connected text. Note the focus in K-3 is on the foundational reading skills of the CCSS! Finally, the emphasis shifts yet again in the 4th and 5th grades. Daily spelling dictation, multisyllabic and word study instruction, focusing on using affix and root words to help understand the meaning of words, and fluency should be taught daily. But a larger percentage of time will be spent on vocabulary and comprehension instruction (though there will be overlap between word study and vocabulary). While class discussions and oral analyzing of text should still continue in the upper elementary grades, students will be doing more of the reading independently.
This chart takes the Simple View of Reading a few steps further and breaks down the emphasis of reading instruction across K-5 grades. The dark blue portrays the critical skill for that grade at that point in time and that is the one that should be where we provide the most support for whole and small group instruction.
This does not mean that kindergarten and 1st grade teachers are not teaching comprehension or vocabulary skills…those are also critical skills that are modelled and practiced daily.
This chart depicts how each grade level does a “handoff” of critical skills to the next one. If the skills are not obtained, students may fall further and further behind and the teachers continually have to fill in gaps versus develop the next skill.
The darker shaded blue columns lead to successful independent reading in 4th and 5th grades. In order to reach these levels successfully, readers need the necessary decoding skills that are shaded in blue as well as the lightly shaded boxes with the language comprehension components.
The purpose of this chart is to help teachers figure out where to focus their instruction, what to monitor in order to keep kids on track for future reading success and to have an understanding of what comes before and after the critical skill.

15. Why Students Struggle?
Traditional reading approaches did not use instructional methods to allow all students to become proficient in the “code of printed English and to build a large sight vocabulary”
Whole-word approach: uses multiple exposures to words so the words are memorized
Three cueing system model: proposes unknown words are read by using context clues, understanding the structure of language (syntax), and by visually recognizing words (recall words based on their appearance)
(Kilpatrick, 2014)

16. Addressing the Needs of Struggling Students
Administer intervention-oriented assessments
Analyze assessment data and apply empirically- proven methods of reading acquisition to address reading deficits
Intervene to remediate the skill deficits (e.g., decoding of multi-syllabic words)
The first three ways to address the needs of struggling students will not be handled by you. The fourth bullet: the compensatory strategies, is why we are together today.

17. Addressing the Needs of Struggling Students (cont.)
Teach compensatory strategies to successfully engage with text in content area classes (e.g., strategies for reading unfamiliar words, understanding text features and types, extracting the most important pieces of information)
The first three ways to address the needs of struggling students will not be handled by you. The fourth bullet: the compensatory strategies, is why we are together today.

18. Activity 2.1 Which reading domain needs immediate attention?
Kylie cannot read multisyllabic words. Read the following passage and delete the underlined words:
“When explorers from Portugal arrived in Brazil in 1500, as many as 5 million Native Americans lived there. During the 1500s, the Portuguese established large sugar cane plantations in northeastern Brazil. At first they enslaved Native Americans to work on the plantations. Soon, however, many Native Americans died of disease. The plantation owners then turned to Africa for labor. Eventually, Brazil brought over more enslaved Africans than any other North or South American country.”
(From World Cultures and Geography (2005), published by McDougal-Littell)
Which reading domain needs immediate attention?

19. Activity 2.2
Shaun can accurately read the passage on the previous slide
When asked to discuss the events leading up to why the Portuguese needed to enslave Africans, his answer was, “because they needed people to work on the plantations.”
Which reading domain and skill(s) likely need attention?

20. 3.0 Intervention System

21. Defining Intervention System
Efficient and effective process for ensuring students have access to academic and behavioral intervention supports and are making adequate progress within those supports

22. Why an Intervention System
Sense of urgency is needed to accelerate the performance of low-performing students so they can be successful students
Closing the performance gap becomes increasingly difficult as students progress through school

23. Intervention System Components
Process for identifying students needing interventions
Intervention essentials: (you started to develop an Intervention Grid that included this information during your Tier 2 Behavior Systems session)
Description
Skills designed to address
Entrance criteria
Progress monitoring guidelines
Exit criteria

24. Intervention System Components (cont.)
Placement and grouping procedures
Interventionist training and implementation supports
Fidelity
Intensifying interventions
Data use and analysis
Communication protocols

25. Format for the Two Days
Structured time for your team to fully develop six of the intervention system components:
Identifying Students
Continuing to develop your Intervention Grid to include essential information
Intervention placement (determining who)
Interventionist Training and Implementation Supports
Intervention Data Use and Analysis
Communication Protocols

26. Format for the Two Days (cont.)
We will discuss why each component is critical for a well-developed intervention system
The documents for each of the components are accessible electronically for your team to contextualize today
Time will be allocated for your teams to work on one component at a time

27. 4.0 Process for Identifying Students
Intervention System: Component 1

28. Identifying Students
Emphasis is on data to identify students in need of intervention and data to appropriately place them into intervention
Example: multi-gated approach
EWI data and incoming risk indicator data indicates students that are in need of intervention
Additional data are gathered if it is unknown what grade level the student is reading
Intervention placement assessments are administered to appropriately place students into programs

29. Identifying Students (cont.)
The process for identifying students is for current and new students (new to the district and new from feeder schools)
Gathering data from feeder schools can (and should) begin in the winter / early spring so you can begin to determine intervention needs / classes

30. Activity 4.1 You have been shared an Intervention System Google Folder
Access Part 1: Identifying Students
The Google document titled, “Part 1: Identifying Students outlines what you are expected to do
The “Reading Assessment System” document is where you will:
Outline the data the various data sources that will be used to flag students in need of intervention
Document logistics for things like administration, scoring, data entry

31. 5.0 Intervention Essentials
Intervention System: Component 2

32. Intervention Essentials
Documented in an Intervention Grid
Provides an “at-a-glance” view of the interventions accessible to students within the school
Outlines critical decision rules for each intervention:
Entrance criteria
Progress monitoring guidelines
Exit criteria
You started your Intervention Grid during Tier 2 Behavior Systems and framed it around CICO

33. Activity 5.1
There are pre-populated categories of skill deficits any intervention system should address
Access the Intervention Grid in your Google Folder (Part 2: Intervention Essentials)
You have an example of the reading portions of an Intervention Grid
Consider what interventions you currently have for students to access
Start to develop the reading components of your Intervention Grid

34. 6.0 Intervention Placement
Intervention System: Component 3

35. Intervention Placement Testing
Intervention programs should have a mechanisms to appropriately place students
Some may only include a pre / post test; however, it is critical to ensure they meet the minimum pre-requisite skills for the program
People will need to be designated to administer the placement tests and then use the data to group students accordingly

36. Intervention Grouping
Predicated on student’s performance in the placement tests
Contingent on how many intervention grouping options available

37. Activity 6.1
Access Part 3: Intervention Placement in your Google Folder
Identify people that will be responsible for administering intervention placement tests and document in your action plan training of those individuals
Access the example flow chart for developing intervention groups
Outline your process for determining intervention groupings

38. 7.0 Interventionists Training and Implementation Supports
Intervention System: Component 4

39. Successful Use of Interventions
Interventionists need to access high-quality professional learning that includes:
Overview of the program components
Modeling of components
Practice opportunities
Error correction procedures and strategies to “firm-up” student’s automaticity of the skills
Interventionists need support in their initial use of the interventions

40. Implementation Supports
Materials needed to use the program (teacher displays, mastery assessment copies, etc.)
Fluency building opportunities:
Modeling lesson components in front of students (as needed)
Co-teaching lesson segments
Feedback
Goal is to support interventionists until they can successfully deliver the program independentl

41. Activity 7.1 Access Part 4 of your Google Folder
Identify your interventionists
Note if they need to access training in intervention programs
Identify who from your staff will be responsible for providing on-going supports (e.g., organizing materials for interventionists, fluency building opportunities)

42. 8.0 Intervention Fidelity
Intervention System: Component 5

43. Importance of “Fidelity”
“Many educators spend a great deal of time focusing on selecting the right intervention. Intervention selection is important, no doubt. However, most interventions fail because they are not implemented well.” (VanDerHeyden & Tilly, 2010, p. 20.)
Reasons for why interventions are not implemented well are typically related to the quality of the initial training and a lack of implementation supports

44. Fidelity: Easiest Variable to Eliminate
If students are not making adequate progress, the easiest, least intrusive variable to rule-out is fidelity to the use of the intervention
Other variables to consider after fidelity include:
Appropriate placement
Use of error correction procedures
Strategies to intensify the instruction within the program
Analysis and use of intervention program assessment data
Group size (Is the size of the group preventing the teacher from being able to monitor, provided the needed feedback, and adjust instruction in the intervention program accordingly?)

45. Activity 8.1 Access Part 5 of your Google Folder
You have a generic fidelity tool that can be used with a variety of intervention programs
If your current intervention programs provide a fidelity tool then use it
Identify who from your staff will be responsible for conducting fidelity checks for interventions and note their training needs on your action plan

46. 9.0 Intensifying Interventions
Intervention System: Component 6

47. Variables to Intensify
Enablers
Core Features
Time
Grouping
Instructor / Interventionist
Precision
Engagement
Feedback
Practice
Enablers
Variables that are not sufficient on their own to improve student outcomes, but are the “conditions under which” we can intensify intervention. Enablers set the stage for intensification to happen. The enablers we consider are:
Time
Grouping
Instructor/Interventionist
We can increase time spent on instruction but if we do not do something different with the increase time more time will not be enough to make a difference.
We can put the student in smaller and smaller groups, but if we do not do something different within the groups it will not be enough to make a difference.
We can provide a more skilled instructor or interventionist but if they do not do something different with instruction it will not be enough to make a difference.
Core Features
Core features are necessary to intensifying interventions, critical to improving outcomes for students, and are enhanced by enablers. The core features we consider are:
Precision
Engagement
Feedback
Practice

48. Reconciling Fidelity with Intensification Strategies
“Fidelity Plus” (Archer, 2017)
Student accuracy trumps lesson completion
Non-example: rushing through a lesson to get one done a day regardless of the accuracy of student responses
Fidelity to the instructional routines, skills, error correction procedures, use of mastery assessments are critical
Adjusting things like teacher modeling and practice opportunities are based on student responses

49. Activity 9.1 Access Part 6 of your Google Folder
Locate the Intensifying Supports document
Review the Core Features rows
Discuss as a team the following:
“What do you notice about the movement of increased intensity?”
“What about this information should be communicated with individuals providing interventions within your school?”

50. 10.0 Intervention Data Analysis and Use
Intervention System: Component 7

51. Necessity of Data Analysis and Use
The key is to accelerate student progress
Analyzing data at multiple levels will make acceleration more of a possibility

52. Levels of Data Analysis
School-wide intervention access: percentages of students who need intervention are able to access interventions
Intervention in-program assessment data analysis: student mastery assessment data are entered for interventionists to analyze
Intervention effectiveness across groupings

53. Data Tool “Intervention Access and Effectiveness Monitoring Tool”
Access: reviewed quarterly
Effectiveness reviewed every 2-4 weeks
We have provided you with data analysis questions for each of these levels

54. Activity 10.1 Access Part 7 of your Google Folder
You will need to do three things:
Note the quarterly meetings your School Leadership Team will be reviewing school-wide intervention access data
List dates for when interventionists can come together to learn how to review their intervention mastery assessment data to develop strategies to intensify the intervention
Review the Intervention Access and Effectiveness Tool

55. 11.0 Communication Protocols
Intervention System: Component 8

56. Intervention System Communication Protocols
Groups / Teams, Staff to communicate:
School leadership team (if you have a separate Intervention System Team)
Grade / cross-department teams
All staff
Central office
Parents
Other?

57. Communication Protocols
Include the following:
Protocol (process) for what information needs to be gathered and disseminated to each group / team, in what format, and in a pre-determined timeframe
Designees from each group / team that are assigned the task of gathering and disseminating information

58. Activity 11.1 Access Part 8 of your Google Folder
Identify / confirm the groups / teams, staff that need intentional communication in the intervention system
Based on everything you have outlined over the two sessions, start to developing your communication
Anything that is not finished should be added to your action plan