Multi-tiered systems of supports—or, MTSS. 

Alright. So first off, think of a 3-tiered pyramid.  

This is the MTSS pyramid: it’s short for Multi-Tiered System of Supports, and it’s a diagram that educational theory uses to depict the levels of a common strategic learning and intervention system. It helps to think of it looking a bit like this:

The MTSS pyramid has become a foundational teaching framework for schools and districts in most U.S. states because it strategically supports the academic success of every learner and prioritizes equity of access to learning. 

🔵 At the broad base of the MTSS pyramid is Tier 1, where every student receives high-quality core instruction. 

🟢 Tier 2 sits just above, focused on targeted interventions for students who need a boost beyond the universal classroom experience. This group includes many mainstream students, not just those formally identified with IEPs or 504 accommodations. 

🟡 Finally, Tier 3 comprises intensive, individualized support for those students with the most significant needs. Typically for 3–5% of students facing persistent challenges. 

What sets the MTSS pyramid apart as a classroom learning model is its flexibility and focus on targeted, early intervention. You’ll find countless references to the MTSS pyramid in school policy, state guidelines, and likely in your school’s on-the-ground classroom practice, too.   

Why we need MTSS pyramid-style interventions more than ever post-Covid  

The focus of the MTSS pyramid is a simple need for approaches that help every learner thrive.  

Each classroom is full of students with unique strengths, backgrounds, and learning styles, and since pandemic school closures and skill slippage, the polarities of high achievers and low achievers are likely to have become more distant. Some student demographics have suffered more than most: those with neurodiversities, those with SpLD, and those who come to the classroom to learn in English from other language backgrounds (ELLs). But it’s crucial to remember that no two cases will be the same: support needs to be targeted, as well as prioritized. 

The MTSS pyramid’s core strength as a model lies in that it replaces the old one-size-fits-all thinking with a responsive approach where universal supports are the starting point, but layered interventions step in and bolster confidence and access where they’re needed.   

Spotlight on Tier 2: The forgotten center of the MTSS pyramid  

Within the MTSS pyramid, Tier 2 learners deserve special focus: in many ways, it’s where the broadest base for real impact lies. 

That’s because Tier 2 learners—mainstream students struggling with reading, vocabulary, or comprehension, but not formally identified for extra services—too often miss out on the resources they need in order to succeed at the same rate as their peers, despite their being a large percentage of the average classroom’s makeup.  

Yet these students, if given the right help at the right moment, can make rapid progress and catch up before gaps widen. The MTSS pyramid is designed exactly for this: to ensure students get timely, targeted interventions, preventing small setbacks from snowballing into larger obstacles.  

But it’s not an easy fix. Tier 2 students’ needs are very real, but schools often find it challenging to deliver effective specialized tools or dedicated personnel at this level. Human support is expensive, and unsupported by 504s and IEPs, support for learners in this tier can often become compromised by other draws on available funding. There’s a skill issue, too: these learners may need more support some days than others, and excel at one side of a task and struggle with the other.  

Now, more than ever, schools need reliable, customizable support, ready for a new era in learning with more diverse student needs… that doesn’t break the bank.  

Use Reader 3 as a scalable solution for Tier 2 learners! 

To achieve real movement for Tier 2 students within the MTSS pyramid, schools and districts like yours are likely to be actively searching for resources that have a big impact, are grounded in solid evidence, and can be rolled out widely.  

That’s where C-Pen Reader 3 comes in.  

What makes Reader 3 so special?  

With C-Pen Reader 3, learners have access to a full suite of reading support tools, dedicated text-to-speech to break down the reading barrier, and the confidence they need to tackle words and unlock the whole curriculum.  

✅Reach for reading independence  

Watch reading and confidence soar as students tackle texts independently with the support of Reader 3’s clear text-to-speech voice. 

✅Instant dictionary definitions  

Expand student vocabularies and boost understanding by checking any word’s definition with built-in dictionaries. 

✅Save text and audio  

Students can save everything scanned, and record voice notes for revision in C-Pen Reader 3’s internal memory. 

✅Practise to perfection  

Improve confidence and gamify literacy skill growth with word exercises, spelling assistance, pronunciation training, and more! 

✅Read in other languages  

Scan offline for reading and pronunciation support, read in 5 embedded languages, or connect online for translation support in 40+ more! 

✅Navigate with ease  

C-Pen Reader 3’s app-based, touchscreen menu makes it as easy to navigate as a smartphone or tablet, even for young learners or those with limited English proficiency. 

✅Read wherever, whenever!  

One charge means enough power for an uninterrupted day of scanning, and learners can benefit from Wi-Fi-free text-to-speech support wherever the need to read arises. 

✅Set their own support level  

With customisable word pause, reading speed, accent and language options, Reader 3 can grow with learners, and support them in tackling ever more complex texts as their skills develop. 

What does that mean for teachers? 

✔ Amplified learning: Reader 3 supports developing fluency, understanding, and academic confidence. Better study habits, better comprehension, and better grades lie ahead.  

✔ Dependable, evidence-based intervention: In studies, reading pens have shown the ability to boost literacy by an average of 10 months in just 8 weeks of targeted intervention. Proven ability to boost reading scores is a cornerstone of any Tier 2 or Tier 3 intervention.  

✔ A reduced teaching workload: Students can work independently, lightening teacher workload while maximizing skill growth. 

✔ Support that’s sustainable and scalable: Reader 3 is easy to implement across groups, backed by a strong research base, and dedicated implementation support and training from Scanning Pens. It’s also the best way to make your school or district’s support budget go as far as you need it to: with no ongoing costs and a price tag that’s far lower than that of any reading support professional or reading specialist, more and more learners year on year can get access to the support they need to succeed.  

Reading pens can help teachers reach the more remote tiers of the MTSS pyramid 

Reader 3 fills a gap for those mainstream Tier 2 learners who don’t meet criteria for formal assistive technology, but need more than core classroom instruction. Because it doesn’t require labor-intensive setup or specialist input beyond what’s on offer for free from us here at Scanning Pens, it’s ready for groups and flexible for whole-class, small-group, or individual intervention the moment it’s popped out of the box.  

And because it’s a simple solution to a complex problem, it makes it far easier for teachers to roll into their existing workload and budget framework. There’s no complex software to navigate, or subscriptions to represent an ongoing cost to a cash-strapped district or school: it’s as simple as putting a reading pen in a student’s hand, conducting a little training, and monitoring that progress as students feed back, work rolls in, and grades begin to recover.    

But the MTSS pyramid in practice requires a level of need screening  

The MTSS pyramid approach begins with universal screening,to pinpoint the students who would benefit most from reading supports. In some schools, this may not take the form of a standard dyslexia assessment or SpLD diagnostic—although they’d be ideal things to have at the start of every new semester in fall, they’re simply not a financial reality for many districts.  

But we know that even in the absence of a true assessment, in order to make the MTSS pyramid approach work hardest, students do need to be allocated into the three tiers of need that make up the framework, and given the appropriate access to support. We usually see support deployment clustered around Tiers 2 and 3. 

…But that doesn’t mean that Tier 1 students can’t find a huge benefit in reading pen implementation, too. The bonus inherent in a holistic, multi-tier rollout is that as well as normalizing assistive technologies in the classroom and helping break down the stigma that surrounds reading support, it also allows learners who may not quite qualify as Tier 2, but still need some level of reading support to achieve the very best grades that they’re capable of.  

District-level benefits from using Reader 3 as part of an MTSS pyramid strategy 

But at an administrative level, the MTSS pyramid lends itself to allowing leaders to prioritize resources that benefit the largest segment of students. Investments that support Tier 2—where the need is widespread, yet resources often lag—have a uniquely broad impact, and work hard to reduce the number of students that eventually end up needing higher levels of support. 

 As well as an investment in the individual learning futures of Tier 2 students, it’s an investment in moderating future needs, and reducing the number of learners whose needs may necessitate their progression into Tier 3 (which often remains the most expensive and labor-intensive tier to resource and support).  

Applying the right reading support to Tier 2 learners goes a long way as to ensuring that the level of support that needs to be implemented at a district level stays within a financially manageable level. A reading pen like C-Pen Reader 3 offers schools and districts an opportunity to address these needs sustainably: ensuring that learners have access to the brightest possible futures, enabling teacher bandwidth to stay within acceptable, workable parameters, and securing a brighter resourcing future, where every student has comfortable access to reading. 

You can find out more about reading pens, top-tier (and middle-tier, and base tier...) support and our flagship reading tool C-Pen Reader 3  at Scanning Pens. 

But we’re a chatty bunch, and if you want to speak to one of our reading support experts about supporting the reading needs in your district, school or classroom, we’re always happy to explore in-depth solutions for your setting.  

📧 Drop us a line: usinfo@scanningpens.com 

☎️ Give us a call: +1 727 316 8101