I’m not sure how much time you spend gaming, but there was a point when my family played quite a bit of Mario Kart. It’s one of the few games we could all get excited about and play simultaneously. The best part was that no matter how good (or bad) you were, you always had a chance to win. You see, the way that Mario Kart works is that the players who are doing the best only get the basic power-ups, but if you are in last place, you often get the best power-ups! I remember on multiple occasions playing the game, leading the whole race, and then getting hit by a blue shell from one of my kids so that they could win the game, while I ended up in 3^rd or 4^th place!

The game can sense who is the most successful and who might need an additional leg up to be successful. Game designers know the game isn’t fun if the same person always wins. If it isn’t fun, people don’t play it as much, and kids don’t come home from their friend’s house saying, “We have to get Mario Kart!” And ultimately, Nintendo is a company that wants to make money. They make that money by selling more games and getting people to continue to play.

In most of the real world, this is not what happens. The people who are at the top often get the most, and the people who are at the bottom struggle the most. Think about individual finances—the saying goes, “The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer.” This is part of why a healthy MTSS program is so important.

In education, we often find that students who start with the strongest reading skills tend to improve faster than their peers with weaker skills.

When we think about the accumulative advantage in reading instruction (or really in any subject), we have students who show up in our classrooms with a different level of skills than others. Some students’ families may have provided a more literacy-rich pre-K home environment. Some children may have access to more books, technology, and extracurricular activities that have improved their language comprehension skills.

So, let’s return to the connection between Mario Kart and MTSS. Ultimately, what happens is that the game can assess where the players are in terms of skill. Based on those assessments, the game provides players who are not as competent with better power-ups, giving them a chance to be successful in the game.

MTSS is a system that empowers educators. We can assess where our learners are. We understand that all our learners will receive high-quality instruction (Tier 1). Still, some will need targeted small-group interventions (Tier 2), and a few will receive more intensive individual support (Tier 3). Think about Tiers 2 and 3 as being power-ups. Our students who come to us with a strong foundation typically get to where they need to with our typical Tier 1 instruction. But some of our students will need additional power-ups. By providing targeted interventions, we can give our students the tools they need to succeed.

Interventions are one of many ways to provide power-ups to our learners. Other ways to support students might include:

• Access to high-quality resources such as books and technology that support students’ reading
• Libraries help encourage selecting high-interest books, borrowing, and reading at home
• Professional development will provide teachers with the tools they need to know what the best interventions for a student based on their current data and then will support teachers in ongoing assessment of student growth
• Getting families involved in the literacy development of their children is critical – implement programs and workshops that include families and help them know how to support their child at home best
• Promote a culture of reading through things like reading challenges, book clubs, and author visits

The more power-ups we provide, our learning environment can be more equitable. This will help all students grow as readers, especially those who struggle, so that they can close gaps in their reading skills.

Let me know what some of your favorite power-ups are to implement. What gets your kids excited to read? How do you develop a passion for lifelong reading? Please share with us in the comments below!