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Multi-Tiered System of Support

What is MTSS?

A Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) is a framework of instructional design aimed to support all students in making progress toward and exceeding mastery of grade-level content standards.

In an MTSS framework, instructional supports are differentiated by levels to accelerate growth both for students who lag behind their peers, as well as those who exceed grade-level expectations. A school-wide, multi-level instructional system for preventing school failure includes screening, progress monitoring, and data-based decision making for instruction and movement within the multi-level system (MN Department of Education, 2015).

What does that really mean? It means that we are building a system that ensures students receive the help they need when they need it: one system of multiple supports – in academics and behavior.

MTSS Graph with the three tiers of MTSS
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Links and Resources

Multi-Tiered Support

Assessment Framework

  • A timely, valid, and reliable assessment framework is a critical element of MTSS (Torgesen, 2006). An assessment framework is used to collect information to make educational decisions (Burns & Gibbons, 2008).

     

    Within an assessment framework, there are four main objectives: 

    • identify students at risk for not meeting grade-level standards and need additional educational supports to meet grade-level standards,

    • monitor student progress to determine if students are progressing toward grade-level standards or have fallen behind,

    • collect information to plan instruction, and

    • assess effectiveness of supports at each tier (Torgesen, 2006, p. 1).

     

    Torgesen and Miller(2009) distinguish assessments, using common terms, as either being for learning (formative assessment) or of learning (summative assessment) (p. 5); an assessment framework includes both.

     

    There are four sub-types of assessments:

    • Benchmark

    • Diagnostic

    • Progress monitoring, and

    • Outcome.

     

    These assessment subtypes correspond to the main objectives of the assessment framework. The term benchmark was selected instead of "screening" to be inclusive of additional purposes (Barnes & Harlacher, 2008; Burns & Gibbons, 2008; Torgesen, 2006).

    Graphic showing the Assessment Framework
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