Tier 2 supports refers to the practices and systems that enable targeted interventions for students who are not successful with Tier 1 supports alone. The focus at Tier 2 is supporting students who are at risk for developing more serious unwanted behaviors before they start. Essentially, intervention at this level is more targeted than Tier 1 but less intensive than Tier 3.
The support provided at Tier 2 often involve group interventions with ten or more students participating. Specific Tier 2 interventions include practices such as social skills groups, self-management, and academic supports. Targeted interventions like these, implemented by typical school personnel, are likely to have positive effects for up to 67% of referred students.
Multi-tiered systems of support stem from having a strong foundation of Tier 1 support. With schoolwide systems in place, schools can readily identify students for whom Tier 1 alone has not met their needs. If effective Tier 1 supports are missing, many students will be identified as needing Tier 2 interventions and supports, which may require extensive resources and reduce the effectiveness of Tier 1 and Tier 3 systems.
Some teams may try to use Tier 2 systems to address inequities in schoolwide outcomes. If there are Tier 1 inequities, teams should focus on improving equity in their Tier 1 systems. At Tier 2, teams can review the racial and disability status makeup of the group of students receiving Tier 2 supports to make decisions:
Nearly all schools and districts will need some level of Tier 2 support. The types of Tier 2 interventions will match the needs of the students as well as the effectiveness of the existing Tier 1 and 3 systems. Before beginning Tier 2 work, some necessary conversations are needed to engage with partners. These conversations are meant to increase buy-in to the new systems and practices selected for the school. The specific interventions selected for a school or district will be based on the identified issues of students, what questions are you trying to answer, or what outcomes you are hoping to achieve.
The Tier 2 team meets regularly to design and refine Tier 2 interventions within the building to meet the needs of their students. The team is responsible for the student referral process related to interventions. The team also provides training to families, school personnel, and students regarding interventions. TheTier 2 Team may include someone to coordinate each Tier 2 intervention, a school administrator, a behavior specialist, and classroom teachers. Schools are also encouraged to consider community and family members.
Team members also may serve in a coaching role to support implementation of Tier 2 practices among staff. Coaching practices include:
Team members will also connect to district teams or personnel for Tier 2 Systems support (policy support, personnel recruitment and development, data systems) and to the school’s Tier 1 and 3 teams for continuity of supports.
Finally, the team will want to attend to the frequency and quality of communications with both staff and families during Tier 2 implementation. Many Tier 2 interventions will include a critical family/school connection component. Many teachers supporting students with Tier 2 interventions will want clear, specific, and timely responses to questions and feedback on student’s performance
When identifying specific Tier 2 interventions, the school and district teams should certainly consider evidence-based interventions, but will also want to consider whether the interventions:
Some examples of Tier 2 interventions include:
Learn more about how to Select Tier 2 interventions in the presentation Improving the Effectiveness of Tier 2 Interventions.
When getting started at a school it is essential to clarify and prepare the available administrative supports, professional development, personnel organization, and coaching activities necessary to meet the needs of your targeted population.
Students should be considered for Tier 2 supports if they are not responding appropriately to your Tier 1 system. It is important to ensure that the Tier 1 system is being implemented as planned and that the students being considered have come into contact with your Tier 1 system (clearly taught expectations, recognized for meeting expectations, etc.) There are many ways to identify students in need; including teacher referrals, periodic screeners or use of existing data. It is unlikely that one Tier 2 intervention will meet the needs of all students, so it will be necessary for the team to match students to various interventions. The team should consider the possible functions of the student’s behavior during this matching process. (Function-based support materials). The team will also need to utilize decision rules for when a student “qualifies” for an intervention as well as when they “graduate” out of the formal intervention to less intensive supports. The team will also want to consider how variations of their selected interventions may work at the elementary or secondary level.
Progress monitoring Tier 2 supports should occur more frequently than monitoring student behavior at Tier 1. The intervention should result in some clear student behavior change relatively quickly if it is effective. As such, reviewing student behavioral data at Tier 2 occurs more frequently through reductions in office referrals or through the use of a daily progress report card that can used for multiple types of Tier 2 interventions.
In addition to measuring student success, the team will also need to measure at least two types of intervention fidelity. First, the team will want to measure whether each specific Tier 2 intervention was delivered accurately and as frequently as planned. Many good Tier 2 interventions already have “fidelity checks” built into them that the team can use. The team will also want to measure their school's implementation of the entire Tier 2 system. The Center on PBIS has developed a tool just for that purpose: the Tiered Fidelity Inventory measures system implementation across all three tiers and supports the team’s assessment of strengths and needs of the Tier 2 system, as well as, planning for Tier 2 enhancements.
Attending to student progress and implementation fidelity is the first step towards sustainability as it will prevent intervention “drift” and ensure continued student success. However the district and school team should regularly review data and problem-solve when needed to support the sustainability and growth of the system. The Center on PBIS has developed the Team Initiated Problem Solving (TIPS) approach, a research-based process to guide teams through high-quality decision-making to achieve better outcomes for students
At its foundation, PBIS is a framework supported by research spanning decades. Study after study confirms the positive impact Tier 2 systems and practices have on improving student outcomes. Here are links to some articles and presentations that discuss the research supporting Tier 2 systems and interventions.
Sometimes it is helpful for schools and districts to see model demonstrations of Tier 2 systems and practices. Here are some examples to schools and districts that are implementing Tier 2 systems and practices.
