Tier Factor Background

Tier Factor

 

A Comprehensive Academic, Behavioral and Attendance Program for At- Risk Students

 

Based on “experiential education”, or learning by doing (Kraft & Sakofs, 1988), Drs. Amy Allee and Melinda Strickland developed the Tier Factor Program to actively engage students in making appropriate decisions that directly impact progress. In an effort to empower students, promote increased student attendance and improve academics and behaviors the Tier Factor relies on the student to complete personal ratings related to performance issues in these areas. Based upon the belief that academics, behavior and regular attendance are directly related, creators of the Tier Factor Program incorporated these three elements into a performance-based program in which students are directly responsible for their actions. Students are able to advance to higher tiers based on academic performance, adherence to behavioral policies and self-responsibility in attendance and social growth. In the same vein, students who do not meet certain requirements have consequences and are relegated to lower tiers. Incentives are incorporated into certain tiers in recognition of the students’ progress and weekly achievements.  While “points system” based upon classroom behaviors are widely utilized within alternative schools, the creators of the Tier Factor Program have actively sought to engage students to become active participants in the solution towards developing realistic goals. Students are able to achieve academic and behavioral success through continual evaluation of practices, goal setting, ownership and personal accountability. Excuses are not acceptable and students are not allowed to blame others for inadequacies. The Tier Factor teaches students to be accountable for actions, consequences and to embrace ownership of their educational journey. Students are able to experience first-hand the rewards of succeeding in school. The Tier Factor Program is an effective means to have students be positively responsible for a brighter, hopeful future. The Tier Factor Program is designed to place students in the “drivers’ seat” and allow them to be team captain!  

Academics, Behavior and Attendance (ABA) are the three essential components of the Tier Factor Program.  As mentioned earlier, a direct correlation between regular school attendance and the academic/behavior success among children is an early indicator of dropping out of school.

The Tier Factor program fosters student performance in the ABA areas. Students are responsible for creating and maintaining a portfolio in each academic area. Each day students record their daily classroom assignments and due dates on a student performance sheet. These sheets assist in keeping the students organized and aware of when assignments are due. At the end of each week, students reflect upon their individual classroom performances. A specially designed student evaluation performance document allows students to rank themselves using a Likert Scale in the areas of academics, classroom participation, behavior and other expectations. The performance evaluation tool allows students to examine their performance in the various ABA areas and plays a significant role in promoting ownership of weekly performances. Additionally, teachers within FCEC maintain a performance-based evaluation form in order to track the students’ progress in individual classrooms.

 

 

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