A Word From the Director

What is Tier Time? (Grades K-6 edition)



You may have heard your child talking about “tier time.” Multi-tiered support systems (MTSS) are one way to approach teaching. Instruction can be broken down into three tiers: Tier 1 (whole group), Tier 2 (first layer of small group intervention), and Tier 3 (more intensive layer of small group instruction for a smaller population not showing sufficient growth). Tier 2 time at Curé is a time set aside in the day for all students to practice skills in math and ELA to either reinforce skills that they are currently learning, remediate skills that haven’t been mastered yet, or to extend their learning opportunities if they have already mastered certain skills. Teachers use their fall testing data, spring Kansas Assessment data, and classroom performance to help determine which skills each student needs to focus on. This is a safe time to hone these skills as grades are not assigned to the work being done. It is truly a time to practice. All the grade level teachers along with resource teachers help facilitate tier 2 time. In some grades, the resource teachers push-in to the classroom to help in small group instruction. In other grades, the students break out into small groups focused on specific skills needed. Because students grow at different rates and mastery of skills can happen at different times, tier groups can change throughout the quarter, semester, or year. Students who have demonstrated that they need to extend their learning instead of reinforcing or remediating skills go to Mrs. Eichholz for enrichment during this tier 2 time. Students that show an additional need for intervention on top of their whole group instruction and tier 2 intervention time will attend tier 3 time. The resource teachers run these very targeted small groups, and grade level teachers contact the parents of students who will be receiving this level of interventions.

What Does “Benchmark” Mean?

Benchmark testing evaluates students against grade level standards and allows parents to see where their student falls compared to their peers. If the test is nationally normed, then the percentile will compare the student to their peers on a national level. When a student is described as “at benchmark” or “meeting benchmark” that means that they are meeting grade level expectations. A student performing below or above benchmark is performing below or above grade level expectations. When looking at the percentile on a nationally normed, standardized test, like MAPs or Acadience, you want to look for scores between 25-75% to show meeting grade level expectations. All students within that range are considered to be achieving at grade level. A student scoring at 50% percentile is actually exactly in the middle of their peers and where we would anticipate a typically achieving student would be for that grade level. 

Curé’s Fall MAPs Benchmark Story 

Students in grades 3-8 took MAPs (Measure of Academic Progress) tests in the fall in both reading and math. From the NWEA website for testing, the MAPs test in reading is described as a “computerized, adaptive test which maps a student's academic growth and proficiency in reading. The test is adaptive, meaning the questions' difficulty level changes according to the student's previous answers. This ensures that the test is uniquely tailored to each student to show his or her individual academic progress.” The same is true for the math test.

Looking at our school-wide fall MAPs data in both reading and math, we should be proud of our students, because they are achieving at very high levels! Across 3rd-8th grade, 98.8% of our students are achieving on or above benchmark in reading and 96.8% are achieving on or above benchmark in math. 

What does this mean? This means that the strategies and interventions we have in place to support our students are working to help them achieve at high levels. Our next challenge is to make sure that all of our students are growing. We do this by exposing them to new and challenging curriculum throughout the year. We will re-administer the MAPs tests again towards the end of the school year to check for growth and share those results with you in May.

Upcoming Newsletter Topics: 

Meet the Counselors & Nurses

Meet the Aids in the Resource Department

Acadience Tests Explained

What is Enrichment?

Have other questions that you would like to have answered? Just email bryn.timme@cureofars.com!