The MTSS teams at both the district and the school levels are charged with reviewing data regularly to guide decision-making and problem solving. One type of data that should be reviewed is implementation and fidelity data.
Implementation data tells us how well we're doing what we set out to do. Similarly, fidelity data lets us know if we're doing it the way that we are supposed to, i.e., the way that has been proven to be effective. For example, a Tier 2 team is implementing a targeted group intervention for math. That team will want to review data to ask themselves "Are most students responding to the intervention?" as well as fidelity data, such as an intervention checklist that lays out the necessary components for success, such as duration, frequency, and group size. If the team finds that they are implementing the intervention with fidelity (i.e., as intended) and most students are successful with the intervention, they know that they're on the right track, and can use this information to scale up the intervention. We must consider how we'll measure implementation, because without this information, determining the true student response is not feasible.
Data should be used in regular cycles across the tiers and reviewed at predetermined times of the year using consistent routines.
Tier 1
Tier 1 data, such as screening, attendance, and behavioral referrals, should be reviewed without student names to determine the effectiveness of core academics, behavior, and social-emotional learning for all students as well as disaggregated subgroups, such as multilingual learners and students with IEPs. The core is considered to be effective when at least 80% of students are meeting with success with Tier 1 supports alone.
Tiers 2 & 3
Tiers 2 & 3 implementation data involves reviewing progress monitoring data from a specific intervention and determining if most students are responding to the intervention. Fidelity data, such a checklists or information from intervention guides, should be considered to determine whether the intervention is being delivered as intended.
Additionally, the MTSS Rhode Island team utilizes a variety of measures to guide teams in their implementation of MTSS. Validated and normed measures include the School-Wide Evaluation Tool (SET) and the Tiered Fidelity Inventory (TFI) to measure effectiveness of the school-wide behavioral core. The Center on PBIS has published a practice brief to help educators conduct the TFI and Walkthrough remotely. We also utilize the Implementation and Infrastructure Rubric (IIR) at all tiers to help teams identify areas of strength and growth in their MTSS implementation.