How Leaders Use MTSS Data to Drive School Improvement

It’s your job to pull all the pieces together—and WOW are there a lot of pieces! From curriculum planning and enrollment management, to staffing and addressing the diverse needs of students and teachers, to connecting with the community and advocating for your campus. Underneath it all is a well of data that can inform your next steps. Using data effectively is a crucial leadership skill.  Academic assessments, intervention monitoring, attendance and behavioral data help you make informed decisions that drive school improvement and boost student success …. IF you know what to look at, how, and when. 

Turning Data Into Action

To kickstart your year effectively, here are some best practices and essential questions:

Reflection and Performance Insights

You are diving headlong into a new school year, but some of the most valuable data you can spend time with right now is last year’s EOY data! A look in that rear-view mirror can guide your decision-making, ensuring alignment with the school’s vision, facilitating targeted improvements, sharpening your strategic focus, and enhancing accountability for the year ahead.

💡Key questions to consider:

→ What insights did we gain from last year’s performance data, and how will 
these insights shape our strategies for this year?
→ What are our primary instructional goals and priorities for this year, and how do they align with the school’s overall vision?

The tiering system from the Universal Screeners has been invaluable.  We are able to just in a click of a button have an entire tiered system of the kids that we need to be really looking at on a tiered level. It's taking the cognitive load off of us to do the data work. 

- Jenn Maichin, High School Principal, NY

Set Up and Measurement of MTSS Practice

A Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) is most effective when approached as a practice of continuous improvement. Regular monitoring of implementation helps you set clear, measurable goals, track progress through relevant metrics, and promote staff collaboration. 

💡Key questions to consider: 

→ What are our goals for MTSS implementation, and how will we measure success?
→ What metrics and data points will we use to track progress and inform decision-making?
→ How will we support staff in collaborating and sharing best practices?

Tips for Success:

To promote collaboration and regular sharing of best practices among staff to make MTSS a school-wide effort, consider these strategies:

• Schedule collaboration time for staff to meet, review MTSS data, and plan strategies and interventions together.
• Offer ongoing professional development, workshops, and digital resources focused on MTSS. Encourage staff to engage in and share findings from MTSS-related research.
• Recognize and showcase effective MTSS practices and their impact. 
• Facilitate peer observations or feedback on MTSS practices to understand learnings and scope for improvements. 
• Pair experienced staff with newcomers for support and guidance.

Core Instruction and Differentiation 

Another key step is to evaluate the quality of core instruction and ensure it is differentiated to support diverse learners. Addressing these questions helps evaluate and improve Tier 1 supports, choose the right assessment tools, and identify necessary professional development to enhance instructional quality:

💡Key questions to consider:

→ Are our Tier 1 supports effectively meeting the needs of all students?
→ Which assessment tools and strategies will we use to evaluate student learning and progress effectively?
→ What professional development is needed to enhance Tier 1 instruction and support? 

Student Assessment and Intervention 

Two best practices include a regular screening processes for early identification of students requiring Tier 2 or Tier 3 interventions and clear protocols for record-keeping and monitoring.

💡Key questions to consider:

→ How will we screen and assess students to identify those who need additional support?
→ How will we address and manage student behavior to promote a positive and productive learning environment?

Educators love how Branching Minds provides an integrated behavioral screener, the Student Risk Screening Scale - Internalizing and Externalizing (SRSS-IE), that helps you proactively identify possible behavioral needs and take action to develop targeted behavior plans and group students with similar skill gaps for intervention.

Sustainability 

Finally, assess your MTSS implementation with an eye to sustainability.  

💡Key questions to consider:

→How will we evaluate and refine our MTSS practices based on feedback and outcomes?→What is our plan for sustaining MTSS practices over the long term?

Closing

“We want to make sure that student is achieving their success. The intervention, collecting that data, looking at the growth or if a student is not making that growth, being able to look at all the data, piece it all together, and looking at letters that have been sent home that we've included in the student's file, looking at the graphs, looking at the parent communication, that all plays a role in supporting that student.” -- Bob Biedke, Principal, Ilinois

Can you see all those puzzle pieces coming together and forming a complete picture? Data alone isn’t enough, you need to know when and how to gather insight from the data and then take action.