The three tiers

How MTSS organises support: universal, targeted, intensive.

Support as a continuum

One of the central features of tiered support systems is the organisation of support in tiers (tiered system). Each tier involves different types of help and interventions, increasing in intensity from Tier 1 to Tier 3.

Student needs fall along a continuum of support levels. MTSS responds to this continuum: a student may, for example, be at Tier 1 in mathematics while receiving Tier 3 support for behaviour. A tier assignment is always temporary and needs-based — not a label, but a data-driven support decision.

The commonly cited distribution — roughly 80 % at Tier 1, 10–15 % at Tier 2 and 1–5 % at Tier 3 — should be understood as approximate descriptive benchmarks based on prevalence rates, not rigid targets.

Tier 1 — Universal prevention

For all students

What happens at Tier 1?

Tier 1 forms the foundation of every MTSS. All students receive high-quality, evidence-based instruction and effective classroom management. In the behavioural domain, this includes establishing and teaching social expectations (e.g. respect, responsibility, safety) and systematically reinforcing expected behaviour.

Aim

To prevent learning and behavioural difficulties before they emerge, and to use universal screening to identify early those who need additional support.

Examples of Tier 1 measures

School-wide behavioural rules and routines
Evidence-based classroom management
Group contingency procedures such as the Good Behavior Game (GBG)
Universal screening (e.g. teacher behaviour ratings, curriculum-based measurement)
Recognition systems for appropriate behaviour

When Tier 1 is well implemented, it is sufficient for the large majority of students. The quality of the universal level largely determines how many children need further support at all.

Tier 2 — Targeted prevention

Roughly 10–15 % of students

What happens at Tier 2?

Tier 2 supplements regular instruction with targeted, mostly small-group interventions for students who are not making sufficient progress despite good universal provision. The measures are time-limited, clearly structured and closely monitored for effectiveness.

Aim

To prevent early difficulties from becoming entrenched through focused support — and thereby reduce the need for intensive Tier 3 provision.

Examples of Tier 2 measures

Daily Behavior Report Cards (DBRC) — daily, individualised behaviour feedback
Check-in / Check-out (CICO) — structured daily briefings
Small-group social skills training
Mentoring programmes

Typical: several sessions per week, approximately 20–40 minutes, over a period of roughly 6–12 weeks.

Research shows that Tier 2 interventions are broadly effective, particularly in the areas of behaviour and reading skills — provided the right students are identified through appropriate screening procedures.

Tier 3 — Intensive prevention

Roughly 1–5 % of students

What happens at Tier 3?

Tier 3 is for students with persistent, complex needs who are not making sufficient progress even with Tier 2 interventions. Support is intensive, individualised and based on in-depth diagnostics — typically a functional behaviour assessment (FBA).

Aim

To address the specific needs of individual students through tailored interventions and thereby ensure their participation in school learning.

Examples of Tier 3 measures

Functional behaviour assessment (FBA) as the basis for support planning
Individualised behaviour intervention plans
Individual case coaching for teachers (e.g. using the SCEP approach)
Therapeutic education programmes and multimodal interventions

Typical: intensive, sometimes daily support, individually planned, with frequent progress monitoring.

At Tier 3, multiprofessional collaboration is particularly important: class teachers, special education professionals, school psychologists and, where appropriate, external therapists work together on support planning.

How are support decisions made?

MTSS relies on data-based decision making: support decisions are not made on the basis of intuition or single observations, but systematically on the basis of screening and progress data.

Universal screenings, e.g. teacher behaviour ratings or standardised tests, identify several times a year which students need additional support.

Progress monitoring checks at frequent intervals whether the interventions in place are working. In the U.S. context, a period of roughly six weeks is commonly recommended as a basis for decision making.

Problem-solving teams, comprising class teachers, special education professionals and school counsellors, analyse the data together and adjust support accordingly. This multiprofessional collaboration relieves the burden on individual teachers and raises the quality of decisions.

No rigid boundaries

The tiers are permeable. Students move between levels on the basis of data — in both directions. No single MTSS fits every school or school type perfectly: the specific design of the tiers is always guided by the resources, protective factors, risk factors and context of the school in question.

Interventions should not be seen as fixed and final, but as flexibly adaptable for each child. An MTSS is a living system: the ongoing development of the measures it employs is an integral part of the concept. → Research findings on the tiers

Sources

Batsche, G. M. (2014). Multi-tiered system of supports for inclusive schools. In J. McLeskey et al. (Eds.), Handbook of effective inclusive schools. Routledge.
Goodman-Scott, E., Betters-Bubon, J., & Donohue, P. (2023). The school counselor's guide to multi-tiered systems of support. Routledge.
Grosche, M., & Volpe, R. J. (2013). Response-to-intervention (RTI) as a model to facilitate inclusion for students with learning and behaviour problems. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 28(3), 254–269, doi:10.1080/08856257.2013.768452.
Nitz, J. (2024). Mehrstufige Förderung im Kontext externalisierenden Verhaltens in der Grundschule. Inauguraldissertation, Universität zu Köln.