Multi-tiered Systems of Support
Manheim Township School District is currently building a K-12 Multi-tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) Framework. MTSS is a proactive prevention framework that organizes building-level resources to address each individual student’s academic and/or behavioral needs within intervention tiers that vary in intensity. MTSS allows for the early identification of learning and behavioral challenges providing timely intervention for students who are at risk for poor learning outcomes. The increasingly intense tiers (i.e., Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3), represent a continuum of supports.
MTSD’s Assessment Framework & Guidelines support MTSS as equity and consistency in assessment practices are crucial. The Assessment Framework & Guidelines are in place to ensure that all students are assessed accurately, fairly, and consistently. The guidelines are designed to reflect student achievement of the standards and concepts outlined in the curriculum.
Screening Assessments
MTSD utilizes screening assessments to identify and address the needs of students and are not administered anonymously. Examples of screening assessments that are utilized include:
- The STAR screening assessments are administered at the beginning of the school year, midyear, and end of the school year.
- STAR Early Literacy assessments help educators monitor students’ growing literacy skills and students’ progress toward becoming independent readers.
- STAR Reading Spanish assessments help educators working in bilingual and dual-language programs to inform instruction, match students to books, and monitor Spanish reading growth. In English-only programs, educators can use STAR Reading Spanish to determine the Spanish reading level of incoming English language learner students to help inform instruction.
- STAR assessments can also be used to monitor student growth throughout the year, to estimate students’ understanding of state standards, and predict students’ performance on state tests. In addition, STAR can help teachers determine appropriate instructional levels and skills that students are ready to learn.
- The SEI is a universal screening tool administered by MTSD to all students in grades 3-12 in the fall and the spring. The instrument is utilized to measure what students think and how they feel about their school. The data collected are seen only by district staff members and is utilized to inform teachers and staff about students who may benefit from tiered interventions and support and students who may be disengaged from school.
- The instrument provides insight into a grade level cohort, a class, or a student’s sense of control, motivation, and future goals and aspirations. This information can be utilized to inform classroom meeting topics (grades 3-6) and advisory lessons (grades 7-12).
- Teen Hope Mental Health Screener (9th grade) is a teen mental health program that screens for depression and suicide risk of students in Lancaster County middle and high schools. The program’s goal is to identify at-risk students who are flying below the radar before a crisis situation occurs.
- The OLSAT is a multiple-choice assessment that measures reasoning skills with several different types of verbal, non-verbal, figural, and quantitative reasoning questions. It is designed to assess a child’s performance across a wide variety of reasoning skill sets. The OLSAT is utilized as one data point to inform our gifted referral process in first and third grades.
If students and/or parents/guardians have any questions regarding MTSD’s screening assessments, please contact your student’s teacher and/or principal.