What are Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 interventions in education?

You can’t create an entire painting with a broad brush. Well, you could, but it would be a pretty lousy painting. Some parts are done just fine with the broad strokes, but the details and the tricky parts are often dealt with using a finer tip and edge. Some of the more intricate parts may even require some etching, some penciling – far different tools for specific jobs.

Education is much the same in that different approaches are required to fulfill the different needs of students. Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 are parts of an educational model that allows teachers and students to use different instructional methods, or a variety of brushes, if you will, to paint the picture each individual student needs to make progress with instruction.

Tier 1 Interventions

In this model, Tier 1 is sort of like our big paintbrush. The methods used in this tier allow most, if not all, of the students to be given large amounts of information and instruction rather quickly because it’s all uniform and instructed at the same time.

Tier 1 is instruction that all students get, day in and day out, through regular classroom practice throughout the school. Tier 1 includes the typical math class with instructions and examples on the board or a large class reading discussion. And this works for many students, but a lot still need a little help getting some of the finer points from time to time.

Tier 2 Interventions

Let’s say they need to join a special study group or go to an extra intensive class regularly for a subject. Maybe they spend some time each week in a reading group to improve pronunciation or reading speed. These interventions are done consistently and using evidence-based teaching methods.

This would be Tier 2, and here we’re getting to the more detailed and specialized help for students.

Tier 3 Interventions

But what about students who don’t quite respond to either strategy? Students who are still struggling, even with extra study groups and intensive smaller classes? Do these students have a disability, or do they need to go to a specialized school?

At Skooli, we’ve found that is only rarely the case. More frequently, what is needed is a more precise tool; that fine-tip brush that can really illustrate the details that student needs to see. This is where Tier 3 comes in.

Tier 3 is a component of instruction that allows instructors and other educators to work with a struggling student one on one. This level of instruction is especially intensive in that it requires additional staff and time, both for the student and the staff.

Tier 3 may be used for students for whom all other methods of intervention have not been effective. Students in Tier 3 type tutoring and instruction should be closely monitored.

The goal for most of these students may be to taper back to Tier 2 instruction when possible.

Skooli supports students with Tier 2 and Tier 3 targeted intervention programs

We believe that a balanced education is often in flux. This can be challenging for institutions, but Skooli can help provide support and monitoring for students who require more intensive educational intervention such as Tier 3.

The success of your institution, after all, is not measured as a group, but by the success of each individual student. When their needs are met, your school has succeeded, over and over again.