Using Data to Make Decisions within Trauma-Responsive MTSS

Data-based decision making is an essential component of an MTSS model. To support MTSS's fluid process, reliable and valid sources of screening, diagnostic, progress monitoring, and outcome data are utilized to inform instruction and intervention relative to social-emotional, behavioral, and academic needs of all students (Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network, 2020). This decision-making process begins with universal screening, the systematic assessment of all students in a given population in order to identify students who are at risk for behavioral, emotional, or related difficulties (Dever et al., 2012). Universal screening measures consist of short questionnaires that students, parents, or teachers complete to determine risk level (Dowdy et al., 2010). These measures can be predictors of future diagnoses of behavioral and emotional problems such as anxiety, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and other mental health concerns. Universal screeners can be completed by students, parents, or teachers. One benefit of universal screening is the screener's ability to detect internalizing behaviors. In fact, research has shown that screening is successful in identifying previously undetected cases of behavioral/emotional problems (Vander Stoep et al., 2005). Self-report instruments may be especially useful in the identification of students who need intervention for less visible difficulties and allow for the identification of students with risk for internalizing disorders that may be missed by the standard teacher referral process (Dever et al., 2018).

The results of these screeners can be used to inform instructional practices and ultimately change outcomes earlier rather than later, especially for the most vulnerable students. Ideally, all students are screened a minimum of three times per year to assess: (1) whether the Tier 1 supports are meeting the needs for most students in the schools and (2) which students are at-risk for social-emotional, behavioral, and academic problems and in need of more targeted (Tier 2) or intensive (Tier 3) supports within the trauma-responsive MTSS system. Screening measures should brief, have standardized administration and scoring rules, predict student performance on established benchmarks and are considered to be technically adequate. Screening data should be shared with stakeholders in a timely manner and maintained in a database that generates user-friendly reports. Despite the benefits of universal screening, school personnel are often uncertain where to begin when it comes to locating screening measures that are appropriate for the needs and goals of their schools. The following table summarizes key facts about several popular universal screening measures:

Identifying students exhibiting internalizing behaviors is a much larger challenge, especially without a universal screener. It is important that teachers and other school personnel keep these all of these behaviors in mind in order to most effectively identifying all students. Coupled with pre-existing school data (e.g., ODRs, absences, and grades), MTSS teams can make effective decisions about which students may need more supports within the tiered system.