Middle school English teachers report that an increasing number of students who are entering sixth grade are reading below grade level and are having difficulty in engaging with grade level standards as well as the prescribed curricula. Teachers are trying their best to support students who are struggling in their classrooms by providing additional support and differentiation. Based on available Intervention and Referral Services (I&RS) data, the I&RS team decides to review additional pieces of data to address the increasing numbers of 6^th grade students that are being referred to the I&RS Team requesting additional reading support. The I&RS team reviews data including attendance data (both student and teacher), Start Strong Assessment data, common classroom assessments, and anecdotal data provided by teachers to determine next steps for both programming and student needs. The LEA decides to conduct a comprehensive analysis of its I&RS processes to determine the best evidence-based learning acceleration intervention to serve students as they transition grades.

*The list of data sources above is not intended to be an exhaustive list. Every school community will have unique data they will need to consider to inform their best course of action.

• Are there wide discrepancies in the demographic characteristics of the students referred to I&RS teams (e.g., are higher percentages of boys referred than girls, multilingual learners, students with an individualized education plan)?
• Are professional development plans for educators (teachers, school counselors, and interventionists) inclusive of LEA and school I&RS goals?
• Are educators aware that interventions provided through any coordinated intervention system (I&RS, response to Intervention, or multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS)) are available to general education students, multi-lingual students, and students with disabilities?
• When reviewing LEA level data including students’ past performance in grade levels Kindergarten through five, is there longitudinal data demonstrating when students begin to have increased difficulty meeting grade-level expectations?
• Do teachers know how to effectively differentiate the prescribed curriculum to deliver instruction to students reading below grade level? Can the local education agency (LEA) offer teachers support or training, for example from a reading coach or supervisor, to improve pedagogy and provide instructional support?
• What does the student performance data show? Are there particular reading skills students who are identified in middle school struggled with in elementary?  How do you know? (e.g., universal screening data with evidence-based screener, diagnostic and or progress monitoring data from previously delivered interventions, etc.)
• Is there a systematic screening and diagnostic process utilized by all schools in the school district/LEA to identify students who are not meeting grade-level reading standards, which will inform the supports provided to students by educators?
• Is there a process in place for both schools and LEA to continuously improve the instruction and intervention provided to students with consideration to the larger educational system? (e.g., are there pre-scheduled times in the year, to evaluate the effectiveness of curricula and potential supplements to the curricula?)

The LEA’s comprehensive analysis of its I&RS processes identified that students will best be served by transitioning to a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) approach. This approach will allow them to target resources to the sixth-grade students demonstrating intensive needs, while also evaluating their instructional systems including core curricula being delivered to fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students. The MTSS approach will allow the school to more efficiently deliver targeted and intensive interventions to students demonstrating more significant needs.

The LEA may consider spending the funds below for implementing its MTSS strategy to address its students' disproportionate needs and create target partnerships for their success.

An LEA plans to evaluate I&RS programming and transition to MTSS to improve processes for supporting instruction and intervention for all students. The total cost of the effort will be $200,000 (Table 1), which the LEA initially covers with ESSER funds (Table 2), and later, after ESSER ends, with various other federal funding streams (Table 3).

Table 1: Estimated costs of reviewing I&RS process

Table 2: Funding allocation in 2023 and 2024

Table 3: Braiding of fund allocations for 2025 and beyond, based on the estimated percentage of students in LEA*

*Numbers are for representative purposes only. Costs would not necessarily be the same in later years; costs such as purchase of screening assessment would not be recurring, but training would be ongoing. Additional staff may also need to be hired in later years.