Two Powerful Interventions for Reading and Math, Plus Targeted Solutions for Every Learner

Our MTSS platform offers two highly effective instructional programs for both reading and math, seamlessly integrated into an easy-to-use system. Teachers can conduct assessments, analyze results, and provide targeted interventions - all in one platform. With advanced analytics, educators can quickly identify students in need of intervention and deliver personalized instruction for optimal growth.

In addition to our built-in interventions, iSTEEP helps districts pinpoint specific student needs through detailed diagnostics. This data can be used to connect students with either iSTEEP interventions or third-party programs already in use within the district, ensuring every learner receives the precise support they need.

The interventions provide structured practice specifically designed to build fluency. These programs help students strengthen their skills, moving from basic understanding to automaticity—the ability to perform tasks quickly and effortlessly. By focusing on fluency-building exercises, students practice until they master essential reading and math skills, allowing them to work more efficiently and confidently.

This targeted practice ensures that students not only improve their foundational skills but also develop the fluency necessary to progress to more advanced skills. In math, fluency allows students to confidently tackle higher-level concepts and applications, while in reading, fluency facilitates comprehension rather than decoding individual words, enabling deeper understanding and more complex analysis of texts.

Components of the Reading Center:

Listening Passage Preview: Students listen as a skilled adult models fluent reading of a passage. Research
demonstrates that Listening Passage Preview significantly
improves reading fluency by offering a model of fluent reading for students to mimic. Early studies like Rashotte & Torgesen (1985) laid the groundwork for this strategy, and more recent research continues to support its effectiveness (Hawkins et al., 2011; Therrien, 2004).
Repeated Readings: Students silently practice reading the same passage twice. This strategy, originally researched by Samuels (1979), is widely recognized for improving fluency by helping students develop familiarity with the text. Contemporary studies, including a meta-analysis by Therrien (2004), show that Repeated Readings lead to gains in both reading fluency and comprehension.
Novel/Tricky Word Practice: Students are quizzed on unfamiliar or challenging words from the passage, reinforcing vocabulary and word recognition skills. This approach is supported by research on incremental and word recognition strategies (Burns, 2005; Eckert et al., 2002), which shows that targeted word practice improves fluency and vocabulary retention.
Reading Comprehension Test: After reading, students complete multiple-choice comprehension questions to ensure understanding. This requires students to focus on meaning rather than just word-calling, helping to reinforce comprehension. Studies have shown that comprehension monitoring improves both fluency and the ability to retain information (Fuchs et al., 1994).

By combining these proven strategies, the Reading Center offers a comprehensive approach to improving reading fluency and comprehension, grounded in decades of educational research.

Implementing the Reading Center

Step 1: Placement Assessment. The process begins with a diagnostic assessment (if needed) within our MTSS Platform to accurately place students at their appropriate reading level.

Step 2: Independent Practice Students log into their portal to start the independent practice on the computer. Each grade level includes 12 structured lessons, divided into three parts, focusing on core words and ideas. The 20-30 minute sessions utilize repeated readings, listening passage previews, and novel/tricky word practice. Sessions are designed to be completed in one sitting but can be paused and resumed if needed.

Step 3: Hot Timing After completing a lesson, students perform a "hot timing" exercise by reading a new passage containing familiar words aloud for one minute. This tests their fluency on the recently practiced concepts. Success leads to advancing to the next lesson; otherwise, they repeat the lesson for additional practice.

Step 4: Progress Monitoring As part of the integrated MTSS platform, weekly "cold timing" sessions allow students to read a new passage they haven't practiced for one minute. This process assesses their ongoing development in reading fluency and ensures that their fluency skills are being generalized to unfamiliar texts, reflecting true progress within the curriculum framework.

The Importance of Practice

Let's face it—practice can often feel repetitive and boring. While some systems use video games to maintain student interest, research shows that "edutainment" or "gamification" doesn't necessarily improve learning outcomes. Although these methods engage students, they often devote over 70% of their content to entertainment, with minimal focus on learning.

Evidence-Based Motivation Strategies

Instead of relying on entertainment, over 100 research studies have demonstrated that presenting students with a combination of easy and difficult problems is a more effective strategy to keep them motivated. This technique, often referred to as behavioral momentum (Mace et al. 1988; and Nevin, (1992), uses approaches like problem interspersal Cates & Rhymer (2006) or incremental rehearsal (Burns 2005; Nist & Joseph 2008). By blending problems students can solve easily with more challenging ones, students are more likely to stay motivated because they experience frequent success, which boosts confidence. This method encourages high rates of practice without the need for excessive games or distractions, keeping the focus squarely on learning and skill development.

Implementing Math Lessons

Step 1: Math Diagnostic: The optional math diagnostic is computer-based and accessible through the student MTSS portal. The results help identify an appropriate starting point for interventions based on the student’s current skill proficiency. Specifically, it pinpoints a skill that is known but not yet mastered for fluency.

Step 2: Assign Lessons: Teachers can quickly assign lessons for individual students or for classwide math intervention via the MTSS portal.

Step 3: Begin Lessons: Students access their assigned lessons through the student portal. Each lesson session, typically lasting 10-15 minutes, focuses on practicing the designated skill. The majority of the session is dedicated to active skill practice, followed by an automated mastery test to determine readiness for advancing to the next lesson level. Additionally, a standard progress monitoring assessment is integrated weekly within the lesson framework, eliminating the need for separate progress monitoring sessions unless specifically required by the teacher.

While our math and reading fluency interventions are key components of our platform, we recognize that students have diverse instructional needs that go beyond these two areas. In the following section, we'll dive into the basics of instructional design and how you can use iSTEEP to create a wide range of targeted interventions.

We utilize two important frameworks:

Skill Sequences - These outline the progression students follow as they learn increasingly complex skills, giving a clear path from foundational to advanced abilities.
The Instructional Hierarchy (IH) - This framework guides teachers in selecting the right strategies at each stage of learning, helping students move from initial acquisition of a skill, to fluency, and finally to generalization.

With these tools, iSTEEP allows for the design of customized interventions that meet each student's unique needs and improve outcomes.

Has Your MTSS Process Led to

Significant Improvements in

Student Performance?

Since the early 2000s, MTSS has been a widely adopted framework aimed at boosting student outcomes. However, data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and other reputable sources show that over 40% of students have consistently underperformed since MTSS was introduced. Why?

The persistent underperformance of this 40% can largely be attributed to a lack of systematic, targeted instruction that addresses their specific needs. While MTSS was originally intended to support struggling students, it has become overly focused on assessing state standards and sorting students into tiers. However, assessments alone do not improve student outcomes-only quality, targeted instruction can make a real difference.

A shift from Assessment to Instruction

MTSS has, in many cases, become more about measurement than meaningful educational support. This makes it an incomplete solution for struggling students, especially those in the bottom 40%. These students often lack the foundational skills needed to engage with grade-level standards, making focused instruction vital for their success. Without directly addressing the fundamental gaps, MTSS cannot fulfill its promise to help all students.

Skill Sequences: Which Skills to Teach to First

We follow a carefully sequenced progression of skills, based on a research consensus of what should be taught first, second, and so on. These are the foundational and advanced skills that must be taught for student success.

Math Skill Sequence

A math skill sequence refers to the ordered progression of mathematical concepts, starting with foundational skills and gradually advancing to more complex operations.

Key Points:

Foundational Skills First: Basic concepts like counting, number recognition, place value, and simple operations (addition/subtraction) are taught first as they form the building blocks for more advanced math.
Progressive Complexity: As students advance, they are introduced to more complex concepts like multiplication, division, fractions, decimals, and algebra, each building upon previously learned skills.
Prior to instruction we need to identify where a student is performing within the skill sequence.

Literacy Skill Sequence

A literacy skill sequence refers to the structured progression of language-related abilities, from the most fundamental to the more complex. It begins with phonological awareness, moves through phonics and fluency, and culminates in vocabulary expansion and comprehension.

Key Points:

Foundational Skills First: Beginning with phonological awareness, students learn to recognize and manipulate sounds within spoken words, a foundational aspect crucial for reading readiness. Phonics instruction follows, where students learn the relationship between letters and sounds, enabling the decoding of written text.
Building Fluency: Once basic decoding is mastered, instruction focuses on fluency. This involves the ability to read text quickly, accurately, and with proper expression. Fluency is a bridge to comprehension, allowing students to focus less on the mechanics of reading and more on the meaning of the text.
Expanding Vocabulary and Comprehension: As students become fluent readers, the focus shifts to vocabulary development and comprehension. These skills are crucial for students to extract meaning from text and apply it to their own experiences and knowledge. Comprehension skills include summarizing, predicting, and inferring, which are vital for understanding and analyzing texts deeply.

Methods for Teaching the Skills

The skill sequences specify the skills to be taught. When it comes to how to teach these skills, we apply the most research-supported framework for matching instructional strategies to a student's level of proficiency on each skill. By connecting assessment results with the most effective teaching methods, we ensure that interventions are tailored, timely, and lead to real improvement in student outcomes.

The instructional hierarchy tells us that student learning progresses through three stages.

Instructional Hierarchy Stages:

Acquisition:
- Students are introduced to the concept with clear, direct instruction, often using concrete examples to focus on the core idea.
Fluency:
- Students practice the skill repeatedly to improve speed and accuracy in performing the operation.
Generalization:
- Students apply the learned skill to different scenarios and problem types, demonstrating flexibility and deeper understanding.
- Students can modify and use the skill to solve complex or unfamiliar problems independently.

Example:

When learning a new math skill, the acquisition stage of instruction is used to initially establish a skill like adding fractions. This stage involves a teacher modeling and describing what needs to be done and how. This is followed by the teacher going through examples of problems and talking about how to do each step.

Once the student understands the concept, the next step is to build fluency. At this stage, the student practices by working through problems and receiving feedback to improve speed and accuracy.

Bringing it All Together: The iSTEEP Math and Reading Diagnostics

Integrating Diagnostics with Instruction: The iSTEEP Approach

At the heart of effective educational intervention lies the need to match precise instructional strategies with the specific learning needs of each student. Our iSTEEP Math and Reading Diagnostics seamlessly integrate with our MTSS framework to deliver personalized learning experiences that are not only timely but also impact-driven.

The Role of iSTEEP Diagnostics in Instructional Planning

Utilizing well-defined skill sequences, our diagnostic assessments identify critical skills that students need to master. The diagnostics are designed to determine the exact point of intervention necessary for each student, facilitating targeted instructional planning with pinpoint accuracy.

Here's How it Works:

Identifying the Student's Level on a Skills Ladder:
- Think of learning as ascending a skill ladder where each rung represents a foundational skill building upon the previous one. Our diagnostics precisely pinpoint the current rung each student occupies, providing a clear starting point for interventions.
Applying the Instructional Hierarchy for Tailored Interventions:
- Based on the results of the diagnostic assessment, we classify students’ mastery levels within the Instructional Hierarchy. This method ensures that each student receives the most effective teaching strategy tailored to their proficiency level:
  - Acquisition: Direct instruction and guided practice for students learning the skill for the first time.
  - Fluency Building: Intensive practice sessions aimed at increasing speed and accuracy for students who have grasped the basics but are not yet proficient.
  - Generalization: Strategies that encourage students to apply learned skills across different contexts and situations, enhancing adaptability and understanding.
Aligning Instruction with Diagnostic Outcomes:
- Research supports the efficacy of aligning instruction with diagnostic outcomes (Codding, VanDerHeyden, & Chehayeb, 2023). This line of research has repeatedly shown that recommended strategies derived from the instructional hierarchy work whereas interventions that are contraindicated are ineffective.
- Our system ensures that interventions are not just applicable but are highly effective. For instance, a student proficient in multiplication but struggling with speed and accuracy would be identified for fluency-building exercises tailored to enhance both precision and pace.

Comprehensive Educational Solutions using Research-backed Decisions to Match Students with an Intervention

iSTEEP offers a comprehensive suite of educational tools designed to enhance the learning journey through personalized intervention and systematic instruction. Here’s a summary of what we provide:

Math and Reading Fluency Interventions:
- Targeted programs that focus on developing fluency in fundamental math and reading skills.
Skill Sequences and Instructional Hierarchy:
- Our interventions are grounded in a methodical approach that identifies the necessary skills students need at each stage of their learning. We utilize the Instructional Hierarchy to tailor teaching strategies to students' specific proficiency levels, ensuring they receive the most appropriate type of instruction—whether they are acquiring new skills, building fluency, or applying their knowledge in various contexts.
iSTEEP Diagnostics:
- These assessments are pivotal in determining each student’s current standing within a well-defined skills ladder. By pinpointing exact skill levels, iSTEEP diagnostics guide educators in deploying the most effective instructional interventions suited to each student's needs.
Comprehensive Instructional Planning:
- Leveraging the data from our diagnostics, we help schools develop tailored instructional recommendations that span multiple problem types. This ensures that interventions are not only scientifically based but also precisely matched to improve student outcomes significantly.
Research-backed Results:
- Our approach incorporates the instructional hierarchy and is backed by 40 years of research, confirming its effectiveness in improving student performance.

Through these offerings, iSTEEP not only identifies educational needs but also provides robust, actionable solutions that drive significant improvements in student learning. By aligning diagnostic insights with targeted instructional strategies, iSTEEP enables educators to implement a more effective and efficient MTSS process.

MTSS Interventions

Reading Intervention Program: The Reading Center - A Reading Fluency Intervention

Implementing the Reading Center

Math Intervention Program: iSTEEP Math Lessons - Math Fluency Interventions Individualized for Basic and Advanced Skills

Implementing Math Lessons

Beyond our Math and Reading Fluency Interventions: Designing a Full Range of Interventions

Skill Sequences: Which Skills to Teach to First