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Beginning of the year school wide screeners
At the beginning of each school year there are several school wide screeners that are used to determine where all of the kids are academically in ELA and Math compared to their same aged peers. Moore County Schools in North Carolina uses mClass, STAR, SRI, and state wide math assessments for these BOY tests. -
Curriculum based screeners
Teachers will also use curriculum based and informal classroom assessments. This can be something as simple as pre and post lesson testing to also inform the teacher of where an issue may lie. It is very important for the teacher to collect as much data as possible. -
Progress monitoring
Once a teacher has determined there is an academic deficit he or she will need to make sure to diligently progress monitor the child carefully -
Tier 1 Interventions
This is where teachers and staff at the school really dig in and get in good early interventions to try and prevent special education services from being needed. In this tier, students are receiving core instruction that has been differentiated to meet their needs. The teacher is monitoring their progress diligently to see if they are making progress or not. If they are not making adequate progress then they will most likely be referred for Tier 2 interventions. -
Types of Tier 1 Interventions
Universal screeners given 3 times a year. These are screeners hooked to core curriculum and are given at the beginning, middle, and end of the year. The results of these screeners help inform teachers which children are struggling. Whole group instruction with some individual support strategies like preferred seating, extra time to complete assignments. -
Period: to
Elementary School Year
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Types of Tier 2 Interventions
Reward systems, non-verbal cues, self-monitoring, check in/out, visual schedule on student's desk. Daily monitoring of what is and is not working is important for the teacher to know if interventions are working to help the child. Small groups for direct instruction, chinked assignments, and structured breaks can also be used during this time. -
Types of Tier 3 interventions
At this level of intervention one would see things like 1:1 instruction, alternative assessments and curriculum. These interventions are delivered by a special education teacher. -
Tier 2 Interventions
Once children have been recommended for Tier 2 they will begin receiving small group instruction that involves evidence based intervention programs that will be done to fidelity. These are programs like Reading Mastery, SPIRE, Connecting Math Concepts. These kids are pulled for specialized instruction in order to try and help them get up to grade level. Most schools have a Tier 2 staff group to help make sure all kids recommended for this level of intervention are being adequately serviced. -
Tier 3 Interventions
If Tier 1 and 2 have proven ineffective and a child still has serious deficits academically then moving on to more intensive instruction in Tier 3 is warranted. A referral to special education screening is imminent in this tier because the child is typically a couple of years behind their peers and the school or parent will want more in depth assessments done in order to develop a good plan of attack and write good goals for the child's IEP.
