The effects of discipline interventions of the multi-tier system of support on discipline referrals and grades

The purpose of this study was to determine if the implementation of the Multi-Tier System of Support (MTSS) interventions influenced the number of office discipline referrals and student achievement as measured by students’ Grade Point Averages (GPAs). The MTSS program included three interventions: Tier 1 (a new discipline ladder), Tier 2 (a new discipline ladder and mentor teachers) and Tier 3 (a new discipline ladder, mentor teachers, and group counseling). The study employed a quantitative research design and used an existing data set. The first three research questions sought to determine if there were statistically significant differences between the total number of office discipline referrals for students during the 2017-2018 school year and the 2018-2019 school year after implementation of the MSTT Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 interventions. The last three questions ascertained if there were statistically significant differences in the GPAs of the three Tier groups after implementation of the MTSS interventions. The analysis of the data and findings showed mixed results. The Tier 1 student group demonstrated a statistically significant change in the number of discipline referrals. There was not a positive effect in the number of discipline referrals after implementation of the MTSS Tier 1 intervention of a new discipline Ladder. The students in the Tier 1 student group actually had more office discipline referrals after the implementation of the MTSS interventions. There was a slight decline for the number of discipline referrals for the students in Tier 2. However, this change was not statistically significant. There was statistically significant decline in the number of discipline referrals for the students in Tier 3. The study showed very little changes in GPAs for any of the Tiers. There were no statistically significant differences in students’ GPAs before and after implementation of MTSS for interventions with Tiers 1, 2, and 3. The study revealed that the subgroups among the Tier 1, 2 and 3 groups with the largest change in the mean for number of discipline referrals occurred with 11th and 12th grade students. Among the 12th grade students, female students demonstrated the most significant reduction in the mean of discipline referrals.