Best Practices on Interpreting Student Assessment Data in MTSS

Types of Assessments Used in MTSS

Roles of Assessments in MTSS 

The data we gain from the variety of assessments we utilize during our MTSS process guides our decisions on best serving our students. By referring to the chart above, we can see that each assessment has a specific place in MTSS and allows us the opportunity to make amendments to our instruction and intervention plans. Let’s break down this chart further to add some clarity.

Universal Screeners and Diagnostic Assessments 

A universal screener is a nationally or state-normed assessment. It is administered to all students two/three times per year to proactively and objectively identify which students are potentially in need of educational support/enhancement to supplement the core curriculum. This is the data utilized to determine which level of MTSS tier support a student will require.

Universal screener data can also evaluate whether the core curriculum results in success for a sufficient percentage of students. For example, suppose the data from a universal screener shows that a more significant percentage of students need intervention or support than is typical in the MTSS pyramid. In that case, educators can use that data to assess the fidelity of the core instruction. If data shows that more than 20% of students require Tier 2 or Tier 3 support, this data can drive a reassessment and adaptation of the core instruction.

Such adaptations can include the inclusion of high-quality instructional materials, ongoing professional development for Tier 1 instruction, and the implementation of an accelerated learning framework. 

However, a universal screener does not take the place of a diagnostic assessment. These assessments can be informal or standardized and take place after a universal screener has occurred. Diagnostic assessments help educators identify a student’s specific area of need. Universal screeners only identify which students require more support, but they do not dive deeper into where specifically a student needs support. 

Diagnostic data is used to create SMART goals that will be the foundation of the student’s intervention plan. SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Results-Oriented, Time-Bound) goals identify a specific skill and timeline that will be used to assess whether or not a student is on track to reach grade-level mastery.

Educators can accurately measure a student’s progress with an identified skill area. For example, if educators need help selecting a diagnostic assessment, the National Center of Intensive Intervention has compiled a list of diagnostic tools that can be used in MTSS.

Curious how MTSS data connects to special education eligibility? Check out our resource center on connecting MTSS, RTI, and Special Education for a deeper look at how these systems work together.

Progress Monitors and Intervention-Embedded Assessments 

Throughout intervention plans, progress monitors are utilized to assess whether or not a student is making progress towards an intervention plan’s SMART goal. Since most intervention plans span six weeks, progress monitors should be administered every week or two weeks, depending on the student’s needs. 

Progress monitors should be valid and reliable and accurately assess the targeted area of need. This data provides a student’s rate of improvement, the data points required to determine whether an intervention will successfully reach a student’s goal. In addition, educators used progress monitoring data to determine if intervention time should be increased or if the intervention should be changed entirely. 

Many intervention programs offer their own form of progress monitors. These assessments have been labeled “intervention-embedded assessments” in the table above. While it’s easy to get these assessments confused with progress monitors, these assessments provide two very different types of data—and one does not replace the other.

For example, while a progress monitor measures a student’s progress towards their SMART goal, an intervention-embedded assessment measures their progress within the intervention. Hopefully, this is the same area as the student’s SMART goal, but this is not always the case. However, these assessments will not provide data specific to the student’s goal but only general data about the student’s progress in the program.

Summative and Class-Based Formative Assessments 

Lastly, educators have access to summative and class-based formative assessments. These are the pillars of traditional teaching, and most likely, familiar territory for all teachers. These assessments provide data that assess the efficacy of Tier 1 core instruction during the instructional period. Summative assessments gauge a student’s mastery of a set of standards after the standards were taught in a specific unit. 

Class-based formative assessments are the quick “check-in” assessments teachers incorporate during units to gauge whether or not students are mastering the standards. My favorite “pop quizzes” were part of these formative assessments.

Exit tickets and bellringers also fit the bill. Summative and class-based assessments provide educators with data that can be used to adjust their instruction during the instructional period to ensure all students are benefitting from their Tier 1 core instruction. 

Making Assessment Data Work for You

Assessments are an invaluable tool that is instrumental to the MTSS cycle. They drive our instruction, interventions, and evaluations on the efficacy of our MTSS practice. While it may come across as test, test, test, these tools are important indicators of where to proceed with our students. This allows us the opportunity to maximize interventions and ensure our instruction is targeted to the current needs of our students.

With a clear understanding of the role of each assessment and how the data should be used, we can continuously improve and adapt—providing our students with data-driven instruction and support. 

While this article provided a brief overview of the various types of assessments and practices in interpreting assessment data, there is much more to learn. Branching Minds offers an abundance of free resources to help educators learn more about specific assessment topics, such as measuring rate of improvement (ROI), progress monitoring, interventions, and more. 

Sources: 

Bailey, T. R., Colpo, A. & Foley, A. (2020). Assessment Practices Within a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (Document No. IC-18). Retrieved from University of Florida, Collaboration for Effective Educator, Development, Accountability, and Reform Center website: http://ceedar.education.ufl.edu/tools/innovation-configurations/