The use of informal and formal assessment to continuously monitor progress and identify the skill level and needs of students. Teachers should monitor accuracy and skill mastery before moving on to more complex concepts.

Data-based decision-making is critical to building a strong multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) framework. 

• Assessment types and purposes vary. Choosing the right tool for the right purpose is critical to a strong MTSS framework. 
• A healthy MTSS framework needs universal screeners, diagnostic assessments, and progress monitoring measures.
• Universal screeners are administered to all students. Screening tools are designed to support educators in identifying which students are on track or at risk for meeting grade-level learning outcomes. 
  • Screeners provide assessors with benchmark scores for determining the level of risk based on large-scale data sets for establishing norms. These norms rely on percentiles to understand whether scores place a student within the norms of typical progress, above the norms for accelerated progress, or below the norms for targeted intervention.
  • These data can also provide valuable information about the overall system’s health by identifying school-wide, grade-level, or classroom trends.
• Diagnostic assessments are administered when students display instructional concerns or a lack of progress. 
  • Diagnostic tools provide a more detailed profile of student performance levels and are essential for planning and implementing effective interventions.
  • They support the identification of skill strengths and weaknesses.
• Progress monitoring measures are administered when information about the effectiveness of instruction is needed. The form, content, and frequency of progress monitoring measures vary by skill and degree of concern.

Source: Article: Evidence-Based Assessment in the Science of Reading

Resource: Evidence-Based Assessment in the Science of Reading: Cheat sheet.

Implementation considerations

A structured assessment system is an essential component of a proactive, preventative, and prescriptive instruction model. Schools should consider the importance of anchoring their assessment system to their MTSS framework to ensure the right data is collected for the right purpose.