1. Tier III Tier II Tier I A THREE TIERED APPROACH TO
ADDRESSING LEARNING NEEDS
Tier III
Refer for Special Education assessment with
a focus on processing weaknesses
Continued lack of response to intervention
Tier II
Continue to monitor and record academic growth
Provide intensive, research based interventions focused on weaknesses
Focused academic assessment for students
showing minimal response to intervention
Tier I
Monitor and record academic growth
Provide additional instruction for “at risk students”
Early screening for indictors of processing weakness

2. Tier I Early Screening Measures:
Dynamic Indicators of Early Basic Literacy Skills (DIBELS)
Test of Phomemic Awareness (TOPA)
Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP)
Subtests Measuring Phonemic Awareness, Rapid Automatic
Naming, Graphomotor Fluency, Vocabulary
e.g. WJ-III, WIAT-II, NEPSY, DAS, WISC-III
Tier I
Monitor and record academic growth
Provide additional instruction for “at risk students
Early screening for indictors of processing weakness

3. Tier II Focused Academic Assessment Measures:
WJIII (Academic Scales)
WIAT II
Process Assessment of the Learner (PAL)
Continue to monitor and record academic growth
Provide intensive, high quality interventions
focused on weaknesses
Tier II
Focused academic assessment for students
showing minimal response to intervention
Measures to record and monitor
academic growth:
Fox in a Box

4. Tier III Special Education Assessment:
Refer for Special Education Assessment
with a Focus on Processing Weaknesses
Continued Lack of Response to intervention
Special Education Assessment:
Verify that student is significantly sub-average
in academic performance
Rule out other diagnoses, e.g.
Not Sensory Impairment, Not MR, Not ED
Rule out exclusionary factors
(attendance, cultural, linguistic)
Identify areas of significant processing weakness
Verify link between academic weaknesses and processing weakness