What Is Tier 2?
Tier 2 interventions provide supplemental support for students when Tier 1 alone is not sufficient, even when Tier 1 is implemented with fidelity.
In schools with strong Ci3T Tier 1 implementation, approximately 15–20% of students may still need additional support. Tier 2 is designed to provide early, targeted intervention for students demonstrating moderate challenges in one or more learning domains: academic, behavioral, and/or social and emotional well-being.
Tier 2 interventions are:
- Research-based, with evidence supporting effectiveness when implemented with fidelity
- Preventive, intended to reduce the likelihood that challenges become more intensive
- Flexible, allowing support to be delivered by a range of people in different contexts (e.g., classrooms, small groups, individually)
Tier 2 decision-making is often led by the classroom teacher, informed by multiple schoolwide data sources such as systematic screening, office discipline referrals, attendance, and academic data. Individual educators or school-site teams (e.g., Ci3T Leadership Teams or Tier 2 Teams) use their Ci3T Tier 2 Intervention Grid to determine which students need more than Tier 1 has to offer. Teams support decisions to ensure educators have the resources and guidance needed to implement interventions successfully.
All Tier 2 decisions are made with input from families. Home-school collaboration is critical for selecting interventions that are meaningful, acceptable, and feasible for everyone involved.
In Ci3T schools, Tier 2 supports are documented in the school’s Ci3T Implementation Manual through a Ci3T Tier 2 Intervention Grid, which:
- Lists available Tier 2 interventions
- Describes the focus and purpose of each intervention
- Identifies data sources and criteria for intervention matching
- Specifies information to be monitored: student progress, treatment integrity, and social validity
- Defines exit criteria for fading, intensifying, or changing supports
Looking for examples of Tier 2 Intervention Grids?
Key Components
Effective Tier 2 interventions typically include some combination of the following elements:
- Additional instruction or time to support skill acquisition
- Increased structure and predictability
- More frequent opportunities for feedback
- Increased communication with families
- Built-in flexibility to adjust interventions based on student response, community and family priorities, and social validity feedback
Examples of Tier 2 Interventions in Ci3T
Common Tier 2 interventions used in Ci3T schools include:
- Targeted academic instruction: Academic interventions address specific skill gaps using research-based approaches (e.g., science of reading), often embedding low-intensity strategies or other interventions to support engagement.
- Self-monitoring: This intervention involves teaching students to observe their own behavior, such as academic engagement, while also creating extra opportunities for educators to provide feedback and support. Self-monitoring can be embedded in academic skill instruction to promote engagement.
- Social skills instruction: Small-group interventions focused on teaching and practicing specific social skills that students are not yet performing consistently.
Important Things to Know About Tier 2
- There are no “Tier 2 students.” We use interventions to meet students where they are, not to label them.
- Tier 2 does not always mean small groups, pull-out groups, or extra personnel. Many Tier 2 interventions can be implemented within the classroom by the teacher (e.g., increased rates of behavior-specific praise for a student, behavioral contracts).
- Many Tier 2 supports are integrated, meaning multiple interventions can be combined to support students across learning domains, such as embedding self-monitoring inside targeted academic skill instruction.
- Teachers can often implement Tier 2 supports without formal committee meetings, as long as data suggest a supplemental intervention may be helpful and families are involved in decision-making.
Want to hear more about Tier 2?
Ci3T Modules on Tier 2 Interventions
Ci3T Modules offer in-depth professional learning. Explore these featured modules, or browse the full collection.
Data Tools & Templates
Effective Tier 2 implementation relies on three key data sources:
- Social validity: How do teachers, students, and families feel about the goals, procedures, and outcomes?
- Treatment integrity: Are we implementing the intervention as intended?
- Student outcomes: Is the student making meaningful progress?
Ci3T provides training and materials for many Tier 2 interventions, including:
- Implementation steps checklists
- Social validity forms
- Treatment integrity checklists
Want to see templates of these data collection forms?
Dive Deeper
Looking to learn more about Tier 2 interventions and build your skills? Explore Ci3T Modules available on many interventions.
Looking to connect with other educators through live learning events about Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions? Consider signing up for Ci3T Project EMPOWER online sessions.