Using Data to Intensify Math Instruction: An Evaluation of the Instructional Hierarchy.

This article focuses on a study examining the effects of aligning math intervention strategies with students' skill proficiency stages, as defined by the Instructional Hierarchy (IH), within a virtual tutoring environment. Four U.S. elementary students received either acquisition or fluency-building interventions matched or mismatched to their assessed skill levels on appropriate and challenging math tasks. Results indicated that interventions aligned with students' skill proficiency led to improved math performance, while misaligned (contraindicated) interventions did not yield gains and were associated with higher math anxiety and lower acceptability for some students. The study highlights the importance of diagnostic assessment and individualized intervention alignment in multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) to intensify math instruction effectively, especially in the context of learning disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.