The Assisting Students with Reading: Response to Intervention and Multi-Tier Intervention in the Primary Grades practice guide was developed by the What Works Clearinghouse to help schools implement evidence-based reading supports for elementary students. The recommendations are grounded in research and are designed to help educators identify students at risk for reading difficulties early and provide increasingly intensive instruction based on student need.
One of the guide’s central recommendations is the importance of universal screening. Schools should screen all students at the beginning and middle of the school year using reliable and efficient measures that identify students who may be at risk for poor reading outcomes. The guide emphasizes that screening systems should not operate in isolation. Schools are encouraged to create building-level teams that support implementation, interpret data, and make instructional decisions using benchmark goals and student growth data.
The guide also stresses the importance of differentiated instruction within core reading instruction. Students enter classrooms with varying reading skills and instructional needs, and educators should use assessment data to adjust instruction accordingly. Differentiation may involve changing instructional time, level of support, grouping structures, pacing, or instructional content. To support effective implementation, teachers need training in how to collect, interpret, and use reading data reliably and efficiently.
For students identified as below benchmark, the guide recommends providing explicit, systematic small-group intervention focused on foundational reading skills. Instruction should target skills such as phonemic awareness, phonics, decoding, recognition of common spelling patterns and word parts, and accurate reading of connected text. The guide also highlights the importance of teaching both regular and irregular high-frequency words to automaticity. Students benefit from opportunities to practice reading words in isolation and within meaningful text.
Another key recommendation is ongoing progress monitoring. Students receiving Tier 2 intervention should have their reading progress monitored regularly, at least monthly, to determine whether instruction is effective. Educators should use this data to adjust intervention intensity or instructional focus as needed. Effective intervention also includes modeling, scaffolding, corrective feedback, and opportunities for repeated oral reading practice to improve fluency and accuracy.
Finally, the guide emphasizes that students who demonstrate minimal progress in Tier 2 instruction may require more intensive daily intervention at Tier 3. These interventions should continue to focus on foundational reading skills while increasing instructional intensity, opportunities for practice, and individualized support. Overall, the practice guide reinforces a core principle of effective literacy instruction: schools should use data to provide timely, targeted, and increasingly intensive reading support so that students receive the instruction they need before reading difficulties become more significant.
