Tier 3 Intervention (or Intensive Individualized Support)

Tier 3 is the most intensive level of support, for the small number of students who have not responded sufficiently to strong Tier 1 and Tier 2. It is more intensive on every dimension: smaller groups or one-to-one teaching, more frequent and often longer sessions, a narrower focus on foundational skills, and highly explicit instruction with more modelling, more practice and more immediate feedback. It is often delivered by staff with specialist training. Within the model, Tier 3 is expected to be needed by only a very small proportion of students, commonly cited as around one to five per cent.

Practical example

A student has continued to struggle with decoding despite strong core teaching and a period of targeted Tier 2 support. They now receive daily, individualised instruction focused tightly on the specific foundational gaps their assessment identified, taught very explicitly, with progress monitored closely.

Common misconception

Misconception: Tier 3 is another name for special education, so a student in Tier 3 has been diagnosed with a disability.

Correction: Tier 3 is a level of instructional intensity, not a diagnosis or a placement. Some students receive intensive Tier 3 support and go on to no longer need it. The information gathered at Tier 3 can contribute to a later referral or diagnosis, but the two are not the same thing.

Frequently asked questions

Q: Who receives Tier 3?
A: A very small group of students, commonly around one to five per cent, with the most significant difficulties, who have not made sufficient progress with quality Tier 1 and Tier 2 support.

Q: What does the instruction focus on?
A: The specific foundational skills that assessment shows are not yet secure, taught with the highest level of explicitness and the greatest amount of practice and feedback. It is narrow, deliberate and closely monitored.

Q: How is Tier 3 related to diagnosis or special education?
A: It can inform them but is not the same as them. Tier 3 is intensive instruction, and the detailed response data it produces is often valuable evidence if a formal assessment or referral later takes place.