Screening is a powerful tool of knowing students need and being able to plan for them. Staff at Reece High School (TAS), Parafield Gardens High School (SA), East Loddon P-12 (VIC), Craigmore High School (SA), Como Secondary College (WA) and Mount Rowan Secondary College (VIC) discuss how they identify students in need of literacy and numeracy intervention within an MTSS framework aligned with AERO’s guidance.

Data based decision making is a core part of an effective I-MTSS framework. When implementing MTSS it is essential that decisions are made regarding what data is going to be collected, how often and how the data will be used. I really like the notion of shared data across a school in this illustration of practice. Teachers are aware of what programs and interventions students have had and there is a shared ownership of the progress of all students.

The decision to move students from an intervention is based on progress data collected within both formative sessions – noting how students are progressing and summative assessments – their performance within a more formal assessment at the conclusion of a program. The formative assessment informs teachers and those leading intervention if they need to slow down and cover skills or content again. Pre-testing can also be useful in determining where the points of need are.