optimizing resource allocation for maximum impact

In this three part series I’ve shared three big ideas for why fidelity assessments are important for all schools implementing MTSS. In Part 1 (here) I gave an example from one school I worked with who had students in one grade level who were receiving different amounts of instruction from the same curriculum because there was a lack of consistently and fidelity between the teachers at the same grade level using the same curriculum. While it’s true that each teacher had students with different needs in their classroom and so had to differentiate in various ways and some teachers require more time and support from instructional aids and interventionist to keep their class learning at a rate that would ensure that they had access to the grade level content needed to successfully prepare them for the next grade level. Without tracking the pacing aspect of fidelity this school would have unknowingly contributed to students being months behind when entering the next grade level.

In Part 2 (here) I talk about how school leaders are limited in their decision making ability if they’re not confident in the data that they’re basing their decisions on. This provides a strong rationale for collecting universal data and training all teachers and assessors on the standardized procedures so that you are confident in each student’s data no matter who administered the test.

Fidelity data enables leaders to move resources to where they are needed most.

Although there are many good reasons to collect and review fidelity data, the final one I’ll outline in this series is the review of fidelity data allows leaders to reflect on and make decisions about resource allocation. When I say resource allocation I’m talking about people, time, and materials. For example, one school I was working with had a Tier 2 intervention set-up called Check-In Check Out and that intervention was at capacity when it hit 30 students. When we reviewed the enrollment numbers and reviewed the fidelity data we saw that all the students in CICO were succeeding, the implementation checklists we had teachers complete looked good, and there were only 21 students currently enrolled in the program. Fidelity data was high and enrollment was not at capacity. For this reason the Tier 2 coordination team decided to proactively recruit more students for this particular Tier 2 intervention. In this way the school was using their resources more efficiently and potentially preventing more several and costly interventions from being needed in the future. They were also able to identify several students who were doing well enough for a long enough period of time where the students Tier 2 participation could begin to be scaffolded off of the Tier 2 supports to just Tier 1 supports. This dat review and resulting changes triggered the occasion for celebration on multiple levels - students, parents of those students, Tier 2 team, and teachers who had been contributing to the CICO of those students being moved back to Tier 1 supports only.

Review of fidelity data also allows school leaders to see when teachers and interventionist need additional support. If all but one interventionist are making progress with their students and the fidelity for that group is low then the leader knows that more supports are needed, whether that be training, materials, or a change in the number of students in their group. This review of fidelity data allows for an instructional coach or administrator to offer mentorship so that the interventionist has the skills and tools needed to support their students. All in all spending time on fidelity assessments is worth the extra effort because in the long run it will allow you to act more efficiently thereby saving time and money.