Impact Evaluation of Training in Multi-Tiered Systems of Support for Reading in Early Elementary School

With a third of US students failing to develop foundational reading skills by 4th grade, calls have grown to renew the focus on this critical learning and to use scientifically-based teaching methods. Many elementary schools are seeking to adopt a more strategic approach to improve the quality of reading instruction and the ways struggling students are identified and provided with extra help. These efforts, often under the umbrella term multi-tiered systems of support for reading (MTSS-R), rely on outside training and technical assistance to strengthen core reading instruction for all students (Tier I) and the systematic and targeted use of supplemental supports for those who need it (Tier II). The U.S. Department of Education has promoted MTSS-R as a broad approach to school improvement, but through this study sought more evidence about its effectiveness on a large scale. The study would have evaluated two promising strategies that differ in the way they help teachers with instruction of the core curriculum and in how closely that curriculum is linked to the supplemental support. They also differ on whether the supplemental support pre-teaches the core curriculum or uses an alternative curriculum with lessons tailored to student needs.