TIER III
TIER III
Intensive interventions focused on closing the gap. The students need instruction that is even more explicit and intensive, and even more targeted and tailored to their individual needs.
Intensive refers to the amount of time per day, the number of days per week, number of weeks of instruction, and the number on students receiving the intervention at a given time.
TIER III interventions generally last 12-18 weeks, and usually serve no more than 5-10% of the student population. These are students who show low content area skills and/or lack of progress over time when provided with TIER I and TIER II interventions.
Tiered Reading Interventions
| TIER I | TIER II | TIER III |
| DEFINITION: | ||
Reading instruction and programs, including ongoing professional development and benchmark assessments (3 times per year) |
Instructional intervention employed to supplement, enhance, and support TIER I; takes place in small groups |
Individualized reading instruction extended beyond the time allocated for TIER I; groups of 1 to 3 students |
| FOCUS: | ||
| All students | Students identified with reading difficulties who have not responded to TIER I efforts | Students with marked difficulties in reading or reading disabilities who have not adequately responded to TIER I and TIER II efforts |
| PROGRAM: | ||
| Scientifically based reading instruction and curriculum emphasizing the critical elements |
|
Sustained, intensive, scientifically based reading instruction and curriculum highly responsive to students' needs |
| INSTRUCTION: | ||
| Sufficient opportunities to practice throughout the school day |
|
Carefully designed and implemented, explicit, systematic instruction |
| INTERVENTIONIST: | ||
|
General education teacher
|
Personnel determined by the school (classroom teacher, specialized reading teacher, other trained personnel) | Personnel determined by the school (such as the specialized reading teacher, or special education teacher) |
| SETTING: | ||
General education classroom |
Appropriate setting designated by the school | Appropriate setting designated by the school |
| GROUPING: | ||
| Flexible grouping | Homogeneous small-group instruction (with teacher to student ratios of 1:4 or 1:5) |
Homogeneous small-group instruction (with teacher to student ratios of 1:1 or 1:2) |
| TIME: | ||
| Minimum of 90 minutes per day | 20-30 minutes per day in addition to TIER I | 50-minute sessions (or longer) per day depending upon the appropriateness of TIER I |
| ASSESSMENT: | ||
| Benchmark assessments at beginning, middle, and end of academic year | Progress monitoring twice a month on target skills to ensure adequate progress and learning | Progress monitoring more than twice a month on target skills to ensure adequate progress and learning |
Educators shouldn't automatically identify students who don't respond to TIER III interventions as candidates for special education. Rather, in such cases, educators should convene Student Study Team meeting to evaluate whether the interventions are being delivered with fidelity and whether they are the right prescriptions based on the student's "learning diagnosis."
Schools should view intensive interventions as supplemental to core instruction, and classroom teachers should continue to provide the same guaranteed, viable curriculum to these students and to others who aren't receiving intensive interventions. However, when diagnostic evidence suggests that the student requires a radically redesigned curriculum that will accelerate learning to the point that the student can be returned to the core curriculum, intensive interventions may supplant the core curriculum.
Excerpts from the book "Pyramid Response to Intervention" by Austin Buffum, Mike Mattos, and Chris Weber.
