Including college and career readiness within a multitiered systems of support framework

Current practices of college and career readiness (CCR) emerged from within secondary school reform efforts. During a similar timeframe, evidence-based schoolwide interventions – positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) and response to interventions (RTI) – were developed, first targeting elementary initiatives and then translated to secondary schools. We provide an overview of a recently established CCR framework underscoring both academic and nonacademic factors necessary for student success. To operationalize CCR approaches within secondary schools, an effort must be made to utilize existing interventions and strategies as well as data-informed efforts included within multitiered systems of support (MTSS). Therefore, we examine how CCR can be extended within secondary MTSS approaches and extend current methods by recommending measures aligning CCR elements within essential data-based decision making and fidelity of implementation tenets of MTSS. By embedding CCR within established MTSS approaches, improved post-school outcome for all students, including those with disabilities, can be achieved.