Multitiered systems of support provide a framework for matching the needs of a struggling student with an appropriate intervention. Experimental evaluations of tiered support systems in grade schools have been conducted for decades but have been less frequently examined in early childhood contexts. A recent meta-analysis of multitiered systems of support in preschool settings exclusively synthesized outcomes from group design studies. Our current review extends this review by synthesizing single-case research examining interventions implemented within tiered support system frameworks in preschool settings. Our data indicate that single-case evaluations of tiered support systems do not frequently meet contemporary standards for rigor or consistently identify functional relations. Recommendations and considerations for future research are discussed.
BartonE. E.LedfordJ. R.LaneJ. D.DeckerJ.GermanskyS. E.HemmeterM. L.KaiserA. (2016). The iterative use of single case research designs to advance the science of EI/ECSE. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 36, 4–14.
2.
BartonE. E.LloydB. P.SpriggsA. D.GastD. L. (2018). Visual analysis of graphic data. In LedfordJ. R.GastD. L. (Eds.), Single case research methodology: Applications in special education and behavioral sciences (3rd ed., pp. 215–238). Routledge.
3.
BartonE. E.PustejovskyJ. E.MagginD. M.ReichowB. (2017). Technology-aided instruction and intervention for students with ASD: A meta-analysis using novel methods of estimating effect sizes for single-case research. Remedial and Special Education, 38, 371–386.
4.
BenedictE. A.HornerR. H.SquiresJ. K. (2007). Assessment and implementation of positive behavior support in preschools. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 27, 174–192.
5.
BryantD. P.BryantB. R.GerstenR.ScammaccaN.ChavezM. M. (2008). Mathematics intervention for first-and second-grade students with mathematics difficulties: The effects of tier 2 intervention delivered as booster lessons. Remedial and Special Education, 29, 20–32.
6.
BurnsM. K.AppletonJ. J.StehouwerJ. D. (2005). Meta-analytic review of responsiveness-to-intervention research: Examining field-based and research-implemented models. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 23, 381–394.
7.
BuysseV.Peisner-FeinbergE. (Eds.). (2013). Handbook of response to intervention in early childhood. Brookes.
8.
BuysseV.Peisner-FeinbergE.SoukakouE.FettigA.SchaafJ.BurchinalM. (2016). Using recognition & response (R&R) to improve children’s language and literacy skills: Findings from two studies. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 36, 11–20.
9.
ChanR. J. (2015). The effectiveness of explicit storybook comprehension instruction for improving preschool children’s narrative comprehension skills. University of Kansas.
10.
Council for Exceptional Children’s Division for Early Childhood, National Association for the Education of Young Children, & National Head Start Association. (2013). Frameworks for response to intervention in early childhood. Communication Disorders Quarterly, 35, 108–119.
11.
EnnisR. P.LosinskiM. (2019). Interventions to improve fraction skills for students with disabilities: A meta-analysis. Exceptional Children, 85, 367–386.
12.
FalligantJ. M.PenceS. T. (2017). Preschool life skills using the response to intervention model with preschoolers with developmental disabilities. Behavior Analysis: Research and Practice, 17, 217–236.
13.
GreenwoodC. R.BradfieldT.KaminskiR.LinasM.CartaJ. J.NylanderD. (2011). The response to intervention (RTI) approach in early childhood. Focus on Exceptional Children, 43(9), 1–22.
14.
GreenwoodC. R.CartaJ. J.GuerreroG.AtwaterJ.KelleyE. S.KongN. Y.GoldsteinH. (2016). Systematic replication of the effects of a supplementary, technology-assisted, storybook intervention for preschool children with weak vocabulary and comprehension skills. The Elementary School Journal, 116, 574–599.
15.
HanleyG. P.HealN. A.TigerJ. H.IngvarssonE. T. (2007). Evaluation of a classwide teaching program for developing preschool life skills. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 40, 277–300.
16.
HardyJ. K.Hawkins-LearS.HemmeterM. L.Grisham-BrownJ. (2017). Blended practices for promoting early math skills. In Grisham-BrownJ.HemmeterM. L. (Eds.), Blended practices for teaching young children in inclusive settings (pp. 311–337). Brookes.
17.
HedgesL. V.PustejovskyJ. E.ShadishW. R. (2012). A standardized mean difference effect size for single case designs. Research Synthesis Methods, 3, 224–239.
18.
HedgesL. V.PustejovskyJ. E.ShadishW. R. (2013). A standardized mean difference effect size for multiple baseline designs across individuals. Research Synthesis Methods, 4, 324–341.
19.
HemmeterM. L.OstroskyM.FoxL. (2006). Social and emotional foundations for early learning: A conceptual model for intervention. School Psychology Review, 35, 583–601.
20.
HongJ. Y. (2013). The effects of a tier 3 pre-kindergarten language intervention on children with hearing loss who communicate orally. University of Kansas.
21.
JacksonS.Pretti-FrontczakK.Harjusola-WebbS.Grisham-BrownJ.RomaniJ. M. (2009). Response to intervention: Implications for early childhood professionals. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 40, 424–434.
22.
JolsteadK. A.CaldarellaP.HansenB.KorthB. B.WilliamsL.KampsD. (2017). Implementing positive behavior support in preschools: An exploratory study of CW-FIT Tier 1. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 19, 48–60.
23.
KaiserA. P.HemmeterM. L. (2014). Introduction to special issue on the center on response to intervention in early childhood: Developing evidence-based tools for a multi-tier approach to preschool language and early literacy instruction. Journal of Early Intervention, 36, 243–245.
24.
KaminskiR. A.Powell-SmithK. A. (2017). Early literacy intervention for preschoolers who need tier 3 support. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 36, 205–217.
25.
KelleyE. S.GoldsteinH.SpencerT. D.ShermanA. (2015). Effects of automated Tier 2 storybook intervention on vocabulary and comprehension learning in preschool children with limited oral language skills. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 31, 47–61.
26.
KennedyC. H. (2005). Single case designs for educational research. Allyn & Bacon.
27.
KoutsoftasA. D.HarmonM. T.GrayS. (2009). The effect of tier 2 intervention for phonemic awareness in a response-to-intervention model in low-income preschool classrooms. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 40, 116–130.
28.
KruseL. G.SpencerT. D.OlszewskiA.GoldsteinH. (2015). Small groups, big gains: Efficacy of a tier 2 phonological awareness intervention with preschoolers with early literacy deficits. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 24, 189–205.
29.
LedfordJ. R.GastD. L. (Eds.). (2018). Single case research methodology: Applications in special education and behavioral sciences (3rd ed.). Routledge.
30.
LedfordJ. R.KingS.HarbinE. R.ZimmermanK. N. (2018). Antecedent social skills interventions for individuals with ASD: What works, for whom, and under what conditions?Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 33, 3–13.
31.
LoniganC. J.PhillipsB. M. (2016). Response to instruction in preschool: Results of two randomized studies with children at significant risk of reading difficulties. Journal of Educational Psychology, 108, 114–129.
32.
LuczynskiK. C.HanleyG. P. (2013). Prevention of problem behavior by teaching functional communication and self-control skills to preschoolers. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 46, 355–368.
33.
LuczynskiK. C.HanleyG. P.RodriguezN. M. (2014). An evaluation of the generalization and maintenance of functional communication and self-control skills with preschoolers. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 47, 246–263.
34.
ManolovR.GuileraG.SolanasA. (2017). Issues and advances in the systematic review of single-case research: A commentary on the exemplars. Remedial and Special Education, 38, 387–393.
35.
ManolovR.MoeyaertM. (2017). Recommendations for choosing single-case data analytical techniques. Behavior Therapy, 48, 97–114.
36.
ManolovR.SolanasA.SierraV.EvansJ. J. (2011). Choosing among techniques for quantifying single-case intervention effectiveness. Behavior Therapy, 42, 533–545.
37.
MetheS.VanDerHeydenA. M. (2013). Response to intervention for early mathematics. In BuysseV.Peisner-FeinbergE. S. (Eds.), Handbook of early childhood response to intervention (pp. 433–446). Brookes.
38.
MoeyaertM.ZimmermanK. N.LedfordJ. R. (2018). Synthesis and meta-analysis of single case research. In LedfordJ. R.GastD. L. (Eds.), Single case research methodology (pp. 393–416). Routledge.
39.
NoeS.SpencerT. D.KruseL.GoldsteinH. (2014). Effects of a tier 3 phonological awareness intervention on preschoolers’ emergent literacy. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 34, 27–39.
40.
PriceC. L. (2015). Implementation of a class-wide intervention to teach behavioral expectations in Head Start. University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.
41.
PustejovskyJ. E. (2018). Using response ratios for meta-analyzing single-case designs with behavioral outcomes. Journal of School Psychology, 68, 99–112.
PustejovskyJ. E.SwanD. M.EnglishK. W. (2019). An examination of measurement procedures and characteristics of baseline outcome data in single-case research. https://psyarxiv.com/dv9jg/download?format=pdf
44.
Riley-TillmanT. C.BurnsM. K. (2009). Evaluating educational interventions: Single-case design for measuring response to intervention. Guilford Press.
45.
RoyW. B. (2016). A pilot investigation of a multi-tier system of mathematics instruction for prekindergarten students. The University of Southern Maine.
46.
ShepleyC.Grisham-BrownJ. (2019). Multitiered systems of support for preschool-aged children: A review and meta-analysis. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 47, 296–308.
47.
SpencerE. J.GoldsteinH.ShermanA.NoeS.TabbahR.ZiolkowskiR.SchneiderN. (2012). Effects of an automated vocabulary and comprehension intervention: An early efficacy study. Journal of Early Intervention, 34, 195–221.
48.
SpencerT. D.KajianM.PetersenD. B.BilykN. (2013). Effects of an individualized narrative intervention on children’s storytelling and comprehension skills. Journal of Early Intervention, 35, 243–269.
49.
StormontM. A.SmithS. C.LewisT. J. (2007). Teacher implementation of precorrection and praise statements in Head Start classrooms as a component of a program-wide system of positive behavior support. Journal of Behavioral Education, 16, 280–290.
50.
StrainP. S.McConnellS. R.CartaJ. J.FowlerS. A.NeisworthJ. T.WoleryM. (1992). Behaviorism in early intervention. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 12, 121–141.
51.
VanDerHeydenA. M.WittJ. C.GilbertsonD. (2007). A multi-year evaluation of the effects of a response to intervention (RTI) model on identification of children for special education. Journal of School Psychology, 45, 225–256.
WhitakerL. H. (2012). Implementation of response to intervention (RTI) and Individual Growth Development Indicators (IGDIS): The effects of emergent literacy for preschoolers with and without disabilities. Hofstra University.
56.
WoleryM. (2013). A commentary: Single-case design technical document of the What Works Clearinghouse. Remedial and Special Education, 34, 39–43.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
