Articles | Center on Multi-Tiered Systems of Support

Lesson Plans to Support High-Quality Middle School Math Instruction

High-quality core math instruction is the foundation of a successful multilevel prevention system within a multi-tiered system of supports framework. As noted in Infusing EBPs to Improve Middle School Math Instruction, when schools and teachers fail to focus on delivering high-quality core instruction, delivering supplemental math support is not enough to address the needs of middle school students with math difficulty. Developing high-quality middle school math instruction starts with good preparation.

Infusing EBPs to Improve Middle School Math Instruction

To be successful in mathematics across grade levels, students must establish foundational mathematics skills because most newly acquired mathematics skills require the use and understanding of prerequisite skills. Longitudinal studies show that students who fall behind in as early as Grade 4 are likely to remain behind their peers as measured in Grade 8 (New Classrooms, 2019). In middle school, students with math difficulty or chronically low math achievement often have large gaps in mastery of prerequisite skills or unfinished learning.

Leveraging MTSS to Ensure Equitable Outcomes

This brief describes how MTSS can facilitate equitable outcomes for all students, particularly those who have been historically underserved. It highlights how MTSS can address equity, describes the importance of MTSS as a systemic approach, and describes how data-driven decisions and tiers of support provide opportunities for change. State examples are also included.

MTSS: A Research-based System to Ensure Equity and Access for Learning

Written in collaboration with leaders of the International MTSS Summit, this article shares the research support for MTSS and describes its benefits and application to international schools. The article appeared in the EARCOS Triannual Journal. View the article in the full journal below on pages 36-38.

How Can Educators Balance Academics and Trauma Sensitivity During a Pandemic-Era Back To School?

As schools plan for fall 2021, this is our chance to re-examine school through a trauma-sensitive lens with a focus on creating a safe, supportive, equitable, and engaging learning environment. A trauma-sensitive school is one in which all students feel safe, welcomed, and supported (Cole, Eisner, Gregory, & Ristuccia, 2013). In a trauma-sensitive school, all aspects of the educational environment center on universal support and care for all students. So how can educators incorporate trauma sensitivity into their practice—whether remote or in person? In this article, Dr.

The Early Warning Intervention and Monitoring System: Reducing Chronic Absenteeism and Improving Student Achievement

With the Early Warning Intervention and Monitoring System (EWIMS) process, developed by American Institutes for Research (AIR), a school can use the data it already has to help students achieve key educational milestones. This brief outlines how the 7 steps of the EWIMS process can help educators reduce chronic absenteeism.

Brief of Early Warning Intervention and Monitoring System (EWIMS) Impact Study

The brief by Regional Education Laboratory (REL) Midwest shares the results of a randomized controlled trial – the most rigorous study design – to examine the impact of EWIMS on students and schools.

Promoting Success for Teachers of English Learners Through Structured Observations

This document reports on a three-year collaboration among the American Institutes for Research (AIR), Education Northwest, and the Council of Chief State School Officers
(CCSSO) English Language Learner State Collaborative on Assessment and Student Standards (ELL SCASS). It provides considerations for evaluating teachers of English learners.

Brief: School Climate and Conditions for Learning

This brief describes how school climate and SEL can and should be integrated in future research and practice for healthy schools, allowing the two previously separate concepts to work hand-in-hand.

Teaching the Whole Child: Instructional Practices That Support Social-Emotional Learning in Three Teacher Evaluation Frameworks

This Research-to-Practice Brief is the first of its kind to 1) identify the instructional practices that promote student social-emotional learning, which in turn are critical for student academic learning. 2) showcase how three popular teacher evaluation frameworks embed practices that influence not only student academic learning but also student social and emotional competencies.

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