Tier 2 is Often the Missing or Forgotten Tier in MTSS

As a school psychologist, I often found myself in special education meetings reviewing evaluation reports for students who had been struggling for years. These students had real needs, yet they had never received targeted support in general education before being referred for special education testing. The referral was often made not because they required special education, but because there was no system in place for early, structured intervention within general education. Special education had become the default safety net rather than a last resort.

This is what’s known as the refer-test-place model, where struggling students are immediately tested and placed in special education instead of receiving timely intervention. This leads to what is commonly referred to as the wait-to-fail model, in which students’ difficulties escalate over time until special education becomes the only viable option. But there is a better way: Tier 2 within an MTSS framework.

Tier 2: The Critical Middle Tier in MTSS

Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) is built on the principle of early intervention—ensuring students receive precise, targeted support before their challenges become long-term barriers to success. Tier 2 is the bridge between universal (Tier 1) supports and intensive (Tier 3) interventions, providing structured help for students with mild to moderate needs in academics, behavior, social-emotional learning, and attendance.

For Tier 2 to be effective, schools need three essential components:

1. Identifying Students Who Need Additional Support
   • Using data from universal screeners, progress monitoring, and teacher referrals to proactively flag students in need of extra support.
2. A Menu of Evidence-Based Interventions
   • Academic Supports: Small-group skill-building that target precise skills need to promote literacy, math, or writing.
   • Behavioral Supports: Performance-based behavior plans, Check-In Check-Out, Class Pass Intervention.
   • Social-Emotional Supports: Small-group instruction targeting self-regulation, executive functioning, and social skills relationships.
   • Attendance Supports: Personalized intervention plans to improve student engagement and attendance.
3. A Coordinated, Team-Driven Problem-Solving Process
   • A dedicated Tier 2 team that meets regularly to analyze student data, match students to interventions, and monitor progress over time.
   • A structured system to ensure students don’t remain in Tier 2 indefinitely—but either successfully exit or receive more intensive support if needed.

Getting Tier 2 Right: A Clear, Actionable Process

A strong Tier 2 system involves five key steps:

1. Proactive Detection & Triage
   1. Identify students before they fall too far behind by using screeners, teacher referrals, and data tracking.
2. Define the Need & Conduct Root Cause Analysis
   Why is the student struggling? Is it a skill gap, lack of opportunity, social-emotional challenges, behavior patterns, or attendance issues?
   • CharacterStrong provides a root cause analysis tool that helps teams pinpoint the "why" behind a student’s struggles.
   • Once the root cause is clear, students are matched to a targeted intervention from CharacterStrong’s menu of evidence-based small-group supports, behavioral interventions, and attendance strategies.
3. Develop a Plan for High-Fidelity Implementation that clearly outlines who will deliver the intervention, when, and how.
   • Ensure staff have the training and resources needed to implement the intervention correctly.
4. Implement the Intervention & Gather Data
   • Track student progress and intervention fidelity using clear data collection tools.
5. Reconvene & Make Data-Based Decisions
   
   • The Tier 2 team reviews progress data, determines next steps, and adjusts support as needed.
   • If progress is strong, the student may exit Tier 2. If challenges persist, they may receive a different intervention or more intensive support.

The Path Forward: Bringing Tier 2 to Life in Schools

Schools don’t need to reinvent the wheel—there is a clear, replicable process to build an effective Tier 2 system. Early intervention reduces the need for special education referrals, improves student outcomes, and ensures struggling students get help before they fall too far behind.

At CharacterStrong, we provide:
1. Tier 2 Certification Training to equip educators with the knowledge and skills to build a robust Tier 2 system.
2. A Tier 2 Solution that includes root cause analysis tools, intervention menus, and progress monitoring resources to streamline Tier 2 implementation.
3. Expert Consultation—book a call with our team members who have real-world experience in implementing successful Tier 2 systems.

Tier 2 doesn’t have to be the missing or forgotten tier—it can be the proactive, effective layer of support that helps students thrive. Let’s build it together.