Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI)

TSI Identification

For a school to be identified for TSI, a student group at the school must be performing in the bottom 10% of schools in the state. If multiple student groups meet the criterion, the school will receive multiple TSI identifications. Student group performance is determined based on indicators related to the long-term goals defined in the ESSA State Plan. Identifications are based on the following groups:

A school must meet the threshold for a group for two consecutive years to be identified.

The DPI makes TSI identifications every year. LEAs receive ESSA Accountability Reports via SAFE. There is a district summary and a report for each individual school. For more details consult this Guide to the ESSA Accountability Report.

School Responsibilities

Required improvement activities, to be monitored by the LEA:

• Consult and involve stakeholders in planning: at minimum, schools must engage teachers (including those for general and special education and English learners), school administrators, other school staff, students (if age-appropriate), and families (must include representatives of specific student groups present in the school).
• With stakeholders, develop a comprehensive improvement plan that modifies practices, policies, and/or professional development to address the issues that led to the CSI identification. This may be a new plan or modified existing plan. Changes can be strategically phased over multiple years for sustainability.

  • The plan must include evidence of the required activities above,

  • The plan must be informed by indicators in the ESSA State Plan (e.g., data included in the ESSA Accountability Report) and must address each student group for which the school has an identification, and

  • The plan must include one or more evidence-based improvement strategy that meet ESSA Tiers of Evidence 1, 2, or 3. Strategies should address identified root cause(s) that are grounded in data and focused on educator practices contributing to the issues that led to identification.
  • To support successful implementation, the plan should include the following:
    • A theory of action to reach a strategic goal
    • Action steps, timelines, and responsibilities
    • Professional learning and coaching support
    • Regular collection and analysis of data to monitor implementation and impact
• Implement the improvement plan. This includes collecting educator practice data and student outcome data for analysis and adjusting action steps and future plans accordingly.
• Improve outcomes, no longer meeting criteria for identification.

Exit

Schools exit this identification automatically if they are not re-identified in the following year. If a school has multiple TSI identifications, it must meet the exit requirement for each.

A school making satisfactory progress will exit within the number of years specified by the LEA; if a school does not exit within that timeframe, the LEA is required to take further action. More exit details are available in the guidance document “Exiting an ESSA Identification.”

LEA and DPI Responsibilities

Resources and Supports

Visit the Resources and Supports for Continuous Improvement page for links to tools, technical assistance, and more information.