Tier 2 Nonresponse in Second Grade
A second grader, Aaliyah, age 7 years 5 months, has received 10 weeks of Tier 2 intervention in a group of four. The intervention focused on comprehension strategies-making predictions and retelling-because her fall oral reading fluency was 14 words correct per minute and her teacher described her as 'not understanding what she reads.' Progress monitoring twice weekly shows a flat trend: 12–16 wcpm with 85–90% accuracy. The intervention was delivered with 95% fidelity, 30 minutes three times per week. A diagnostic phonics inventory shows she reads 12 of 40 single-syllable words correctly, confuses short vowels, and cannot blend three-phoneme words without support. Her listening comprehension of a grade-level story is adequate. The school's Tier 2 protocol allows one change of intervention before considering Tier 3.
1. Interpret the progress data and identify the likely problem.
Read the worked answer
The flat trend of 12–16 wcpm with 85–90% accuracy after 10 weeks of high-fidelity Tier 2 is a clear nonresponse signal. The intervention targeted comprehension, but the diagnostic data show the actual bottleneck is decoding: 12/40 single-syllable words correct is 30%, with short-vowel confusion and inability to blend three phonemes. Listening comprehension is adequate, so comprehension is not the primary deficit. The 85–90% accuracy is too low for fluency practice to be productive; she is practicing inaccurate reading. The team should not wait another 10 weeks or blame implementation, because fidelity was 95%. The mismatch between the intervention and the assessed skill explains the flat data.
2. What should the team change, and why?
Read the worked answer
The team should use its one allowed change to move to a systematic phonics intervention with phonemic awareness support: short vowels, blending, word building, and decodable text. Keep the group small, but consider increasing intensity or adding a second dose if the schedule allows. Continue progress monitoring, but switch the primary measure to a phonics inventory and wcpm on decodable passages. The justification is that intervention must match the assessed deficit; comprehension strategies cannot compensate for word-reading failure at this stage. Because listening comprehension is adequate, Aaliyah can access meaning when words are decoded. The change should be implemented immediately and documented, with a clear timeline for reviewing response before considering Tier 3.
3. What data would determine whether the new intervention is working after 6 weeks?
Read the worked answer
After 6 weeks, examine the slope on phonics probes, such as words correct per minute on short-vowel patterns, and wcpm on decodable text. A reasonable criterion is at least 1.5–2 words correct gain per week on phonics and wcpm rising from 14 to 25–30 with accuracy at or above 95%. Also check transfer to untrained words and a brief retell. If the slope is flat or accuracy remains below 90%, move to Tier 3 and consider a comprehensive evaluation. If the slope is improving, continue the intervention and gradually add fluency and comprehension work. The decision should rest on the trend across at least six data points, not a single high or low score.