Data-based decision making is needed to support all students from the systemic level to the individual level. This data protocol is used by grade-level teams to create an instructional plan to improve the overall impact of core instruction. 

Universal screening uses a systematic process for identifying students who may be at risk for poor learning outcomes, including academic, behavioral, social, emotional, school completion, and college and career readiness outcomes. Within this infographic, we illustrate key features of universal screening.

Sites implementing MTSS use different sources of data to answer a variety of questions. This infographics highlights four types of data and the specific questions teams can answer with each data type.

The pandemic has disrupted and, in many cases hindered, learning for all students – most particularly for our most vulnerable populations. Data literacy is key to understanding and tailoring instructional decisions to address students’ varying needs. In this webinar panelists discuss strategies and frameworks to ensure educators are data literate and understand how data literacy can help districts and schools address learning opportunity gaps.

Innovation configurations (ICs) are designed to evaluate current teacher preparation and professional development (PD) by determining the extent to which EBPs are taught, observed, and applied within teacher preparation and PD programs. This IC can serve as a foundation for strengthening existing preparation programs so that educators exit with the ability to use various forms of assessment to make data-based educational and instructional decisions within an MTSS.

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.

We know that validity, reliability, classification accuracy, statistical bias, and sample representativeness are important considerations when reviewing screening tools, but what do they actually mean? These five screening one-page documents provide a brief overview of each of these areas that are used on the NCII Screening Tools Charts. These one-pagers include a definition, examples, and information on why that particular standard is important for understanding the quality of screening tools. Companion infographics are also available.

Children with severe needs related to behavior and/or social or emotional skills may benefit from intensive intervention. Universal screening may be used to identify children who require behavior intervention, including intensive intervention. The behavior screening tools chart provides ratings of a screener's ability to identify students who may need more intensive support.

The Academic Screening Tools Chart was developed to assist educators and families in becoming informed consumers who can select academic screening tools that best meet their individual needs. The Center's Technical Review Committee (TRC) on Screening independently established a set of criteria for evaluating the scientific rigor of screening tools. The TRC rated each submitted tool against these criteria but did not compare it to other tools on the chart.

In this video developed for the Illinois Center for School Improvement, Dr. Rebecca Zumeta Edmonds discusses how screening tools can provide a more accurate measure of at-risk students within the context of a multi-tiered system of supports.