Tier one focuses on establishing rules, boundaries, and expectations throughout the entire school and then reinforcing those ideas to prevent the unacceptable behavior that will require additional intervention.
Tier two focuses on helping the students who need additional support beyond tier one, identified as "at-risk." Tier two behavior interventions include small groups and counseling, where behavior problems can be addressed with several students at once. Some students who did not respond to tier one will do well with tier two, while others will need further intervention.
Tier three is reserved for children who need the most support to achieve positive behavior in school, which is usually 5 percent to 10 percent of students. Tier three focuses on the individual needs of the child and specific strategies that will help. At this tier, educators and parents should take a team approach and work together to help the child succeed by introducing intervention strategies that can be implemented in the school and the home.
About 80 percent of children should be successful at tier one. One-half to three-quarters of children who are identified as "at-risk" should be successful at tier two. There is no tier four, so the goal is to have 100 percent of children successful at tier three.