MTSS and assessment
Which assessments answer which questions, and how to use them without drowning in data. Here you'll find webinars, podcast episodes and reading on formative assessment, screening, progress monitoring and comparative judgement, and on using data without drowning in it.
Practices in this area:ScreeningDiagnosticsProgress monitoringModerationReporting
Interview
NSW Department of Education · 14:55 · F-12 · Australia
The principal of a specialist school for students with intellectual disability talks through how staff collect and use data to adjust teaching for each student.
FreeOpens at players.brightcove.net
Interview
AERO · Australia
Staff from secondary schools in four states explain how they screen students' literacy, including at the move from primary school, and use the results to decide who needs which support.
FreeOpens at edresearch.edu.au
Talk
Dylan Wiliam · 16:38 · F-12 · UK
Dylan Wiliam sets out what formative assessment is and what it is not. Useful for teams wanting a shared definition before reviewing their practice.
FreeOpens at youtube.com
Webinar
Think Forward Educators, with Daisy Christodoulou · About 1 hour · 2026 · UK
Daisy Christodoulou reviews what research shows about AI marking and feedback on student writing, drawing on No More Marking trials, and what assessment may need to change.
FreeOpens at thinkforwardeducators.org
Interview
AERO · Australia
Intervention teachers and specialists from secondary schools describe how they track progress in literacy and numeracy interventions, from weekly fluency checks to mastery tests, and decide when to reteach or move students on.
FreeOpens at edresearch.edu.au
Explainer
Tessa Daffern · 5:23 · F-2 · Australia
Tessa Daffern on assessing spelling in the early years. Useful for early years teachers reviewing how they assess spelling.
FreeOpens at youtube.com
School story
Center on PBIS · 11:46 · F-12 · USA
A Center on PBIS video of a school team using TIPS (Team-Initiated Problem Solving) in a Tier 2 and 3 coordination meeting. Useful for seeing a structured team meeting modelled.
FreeOpens at youtube.com
Webinar
Think Forward Educators, with Stephanie Stollar · 30 to 60 minutes · 2026 · USA
Stephanie Stollar tackles three common misunderstandings about Tier 1 reading instruction and shows how screening, diagnostic and progress data can shape core teaching that reduces risk.
FreeOpens at thinkforwardeducators.org
Webinar
Think Forward Educators, with Brad Nguyen, Docklands Primary School · About 1 hour · 2025 · Australia
Brad Nguyen explains how Docklands Primary uses the Acadience Math universal screener, what the assessment involves and how the results inform support and school improvement.
FreeOpens at thinkforwardeducators.org
Webinar
Think Forward Educators, with Sacha Giurietto and Reid Smith · About 1 hour · 2025 · Australia
Sacha Giurietto and Reid Smith explain how to set up a whole-school assessment system and run data meetings that lead to changes in teaching.
FreeOpens at thinkforwardeducators.org
Webinar
Think Forward Educators, with Amanda VanDerHeyden · 30 to 60 minutes · 2026 · USA
Dr Amanda VanDerHeyden reflects on two decades of MTSS, why results vary so widely between schools and how aligning data, instruction and decisions improves impact.
FreeOpens at youtube.com
Webinar
Think Forward Educators, with Sarah Asome, Steve Capp and Kate Buck · 30 to 60 minutes · 2023 · Australia
Leaders from Bentleigh West, Chelsea Heights and Brandon Park primary schools explain how they assess and report on reading and maths without benchmark levels or running records.
Free account neededOpens at thinkforwardeducators.org
Webinar
Think Forward Educators, with Karen Woods, Templestowe Heights Primary School · 30 to 60 minutes · 2024 · Australia
Karen Woods explains how she hears students read without benchmarking kits, moving from book groups to shared, choral and paired reading, with the classroom norms that make it work.
Free account neededOpens at thinkforwardeducators.org
Talk
Branching Minds, with Amanda VanDerHeyden · About 1 hour · USA
Amanda VanDerHeyden's keynote on lessons learned from 15 years of multi-tiered systems of support, hosted by Branching Minds. Useful for leaders reviewing their own MTSS.
FreeOpens at youtube.com
Webinar
Learning Difficulties Australia, with Kate Jacobs · About 1 hour 10 minutes · Australia
A Learning Difficulties Australia session with Dr Kate Jacobs on specific learning disorders. A possible starting point before looking at each disorder in turn.
FreeOpens at youtube.com
Webinar
Learning Difficulties Australia, with Sarah Asome · About 55 minutes · Australia
Victorian school leader Sarah Asome presents on response to intervention for Learning Difficulties Australia. Useful for teams building or reviewing their own tiers of support.
FreeOpens at youtube.com
Webinar
The Windward Institute, with Hugh Catts · About 1 hour 20 minutes · USA
Researcher Hugh Catts presents for the Windward Institute on identifying dyslexia early. Relevant to Foundation and Year 1 teams and anyone responsible for screening.
FreeOpens at youtube.com
Webinar
Iowa Reading Research Center · About 1 hour · USA
An Iowa Reading Research Center webinar on teaching and assessing handwriting using evidence. Helpful for schools without an agreed way to check handwriting fluency.
FreeOpens at youtube.com
Series
National Center on Intensive Intervention · Series · Eight modules · USA
Eight free training modules from the National Center on Intensive Intervention on delivering intensive maths intervention and adjusting it using student data. Suited to interventionists and maths leaders.
FreeOpens at intensiveintervention.org
Webinar
Learning Difficulties Australia, with Tessa Daffern · About 1 hour 10 minutes · Australia
Tessa Daffern presents for Learning Difficulties Australia on using assessment to guide the teaching of spelling.
FreeOpens at youtube.com
Explainer
Five from Five · 1:44 · Australia
A short animation on what the five-minute Year 1 Phonics Check is and what it tells schools about early decoding.
FreeOpens at youtube.com
School story
AERO · 2:43 · Secondary · Australia
Staff at a Ballarat secondary college explain why they adopted a multi-tiered system of supports, how the tiers work in practice and what has changed.
FreeOpens at edresearch.edu.au
Interview
NSW Department of Education · 13:50 · Primary · Australia
The principal and curriculum leader of a small Blue Mountains primary school explain their shared assessment schedule and how results feed into teaching.
FreeOpens at players.brightcove.net
Talk
Dylan Wiliam · About 40 minutes · 2025 · UK
Dylan Wiliam's talk from researchED Madrid 2025, arguing that assessment for learning is more than formative assessment. Useful for teams reviewing how they use assessment.
FreeOpens at youtube.com
Webinar
Think Forward Educators, with Daisy Christodoulou · 30 to 60 minutes · 2024 · UK
Daisy Christodoulou shares what No More Marking has learned from comparative judgement of more than two million pieces of student writing, and how teachers can use those insights.
Free account neededOpens at thinkforwardeducators.org
Interview
AERO · 4:35 · Secondary · Australia
Teachers and leaders from five schools show how they timetable intervention and decide how intensive each student's support should be.
FreeOpens at edresearch.edu.au
Tracking reading growth
The Structured Literacy Podcast · with Jocelyn Seamer
Jocelyn Seamer addresses the common challenge of tracking students' reading progress when a school no longer uses a benchmark assessment.
FreeOpens at buzzsprout.com
Formative assessment
Education Research Reading Room · with Paul Spenceley
Paul Spenceley, a science teacher involved in Wiliam and Black's King's College formative assessment project, shares classroom techniques he has refined over three decades.
FreeOpens at ollielovell.com
Assessment design
Education Research Reading Room · with Daisy Christodoulou
Daisy Christodoulou discusses getting assessment right, how assessment shapes what happens in classrooms, and the use of comparative judgement.
FreeOpens at ollielovell.com
Using data to drive intervention
Knowledge for Teachers · with Matthew Burns
Matthew Burns explains the different categories of assessment, what each is for, and how data can inform reading and maths instruction and intervention.
FreeOpens at knowledgeforteachers.podbean.com
Reading assessment in 3 to 6
The Structured Literacy Podcast · with Jocelyn Seamer
Jocelyn Seamer works through assessing and grading reading in Years 3 to 6 and aligning practice with the Australian Curriculum achievement standards.
FreeOpens at buzzsprout.com
Whole-class feedback
Education Research Reading Room · with Lissie Doyle
Lissie Doyle explains how to run test feedback so students think hard about the process and learn from their mistakes.
FreeOpens at ollielovell.com
Mark R. Shinn · Substack · 2026 · USA
Shinn explains multiple gating, a simple stepwise approach to reading screening that tests everyone briefly and only assesses further when needed, as an alternative to overloaded screening systems.
FreeOpens at markrshinnphd.substack.com
Daisy Christodoulou (No More Marking) · Substack · 2025 · UK
A clear introduction to comparative judgement, where teachers compare two pieces of writing rather than marking against a rubric, why it is more reliable, and what adding AI judges changes.
FreeOpens at substack.nomoremarking.com
Daisy Christodoulou (No More Marking) · Substack · 2026 · UK
Christodoulou explains why grades suggest sharper differences between students than really exist, the distortions this causes, and why reporting the probability of each grade gives a more honest picture.
FreeOpens at substack.nomoremarking.com
Mark R. Shinn · Substack · 2026 · USA
Shinn reflects on how to read progress monitoring graphs from curriculum-based measures, including rate of improvement and when the data signal that an intervention should change.
FreeOpens at markrshinnphd.substack.com
Karen Woods, Journal of Think Forward Educators · Journal article (PDF) · 2024 · Australia
Karen Woods answers a common question from schools that have dropped benchmarking, namely how to listen to students read and what to look for.
Opens at thinkforwardeducators.org
AERO · Explainer · 2024 · Australia
AERO's explainer sets out the features of a multi-tiered system of supports and what each tier involves, from strong classroom teaching to intensive help. Written for Years 7 to 9 but useful to any school.
FreeOpens at edresearch.edu.au
Department of Education, Victoria · Guide · 2022 · Australia
Victoria's guide for teachers on numeracy difficulties, including dyscalculia. It explains core number abilities, a three-phase assessment process and intervention across the response to intervention tiers.
FreeOpens at education.vic.gov.au
Jamie Clark · One-page guide · Australia
Summarises Dylan Wiliam and Siobhan Leahy's five formative assessment strategies with practical tips for minute-by-minute teaching decisions.
FreeOpens at jamieleeclark.com
Tom Sherrington and Valentina Devid (DistillED) · Newsletter article · 2026 · Australia
A guest piece reframing formative assessment as formative action, using short loops that turn classroom evidence into immediate teaching decisions.
FreeOpens at newsletter.jamieleeclark.com
Harriett Janetos (Making Words Make Sense) · Substack · 2026 · USA
Janetos weighs the time cost of running records against what they actually tell teachers, and argues for alternative assessments that pinpoint gaps in decoding and word knowledge.
FreeOpens at harriettjanetos.substack.com
Jen O'Sullivan · Substack · 2026 · International
After her daughter's late dyslexia diagnosis despite strong standardised scores, the author lists signs teachers can watch for in reading, spelling and writing that test scores can miss.
FreeOpens at readwritejen.substack.com
Kylie Hoey · Substack · 2026 · Australia
Explains why reported progress can appear to drop when schools adopt better teaching and more reliable assessment, and how leaders can prepare parents and staff for it.
FreeOpens at kyliehoey.substack.com
Alex Blanksby (VIC Maths Notes) · Substack · 2026 · Australia
Argues for standardised assessments at the end of Year 6 and Year 10 in Australia, weighing objections and explaining what such data could tell schools about maths gaps.
FreeOpens at vmnalex.substack.com
Daisy Christodoulou (No More Marking) · Substack · 2026 · UK
Drawing on a national history essay assessment, Christodoulou looks at what judges reward, including factual accuracy, and offers advice on writing clearer criteria for both human and AI markers.
FreeOpens at substack.nomoremarking.com
Mark R. Shinn · Substack · 2026 · USA
A long defence of oral reading fluency measures as a screening and progress monitoring tool, answering the common worry that they ignore comprehension.
FreeOpens at markrshinnphd.substack.com
Daisy Christodoulou (No More Marking) · Substack · 2025 · UK
Christodoulou argues that detailed written comments describe weaknesses without helping students fix them, and makes the case for whole-class feedback and practice that changes what students do next.
FreeOpens at substack.nomoremarking.com
Mark R. Shinn · Substack · 2026 · USA
Drawing on 40 years of MTSS work, Shinn describes how benchmark screening has grown into too many tests, and argues for a simpler purpose and fewer measures.
FreeOpens at markrshinnphd.substack.com
AERO (Kate de Bruin and colleagues) · 2023 · Research report
An AERO review of reviews on helping Years 7 to 9 students who are well behind in literacy and numeracy. It finds good grounds for multi-tiered support and looks at screening, progress monitoring and interventions.
FreeOpens at edresearch.edu.au
What Works Clearinghouse · Practice guide · USA
A What Works Clearinghouse practice guide with five recommendations for finding struggling readers early and giving them tiered, evidence-based support in the primary years.
FreeOpens at ies.ed.gov
Substack · UK
Opens at substack.nomoremarking.com
Substack · UK
Opens at dylanwiliam137385.substack.com
