Tiered Fidelity Inventory (TFI)

The number of resources available to assess your PBIS implementation can be overwhelming. If you don’t know where to start, we recommend using the TFI. Along with guidance from your coach, your team takes the TFI as a group to measure your school’s implementation across one, two, or all three tiers, all in one survey. The survey is perfect for checking in on your initial PBIS efforts, for creating action plans for improvement, and for monitoring your implementation progress over time.

What Does the TFI Do?

The TFI is a fidelity measure, which means it gives you the answer to the question: Are we doing what we said we would do? There are other fidelity measures you can take, but the TFI is the only survey that lets you measure fidelity across all three PBIS tiers of implementation. That's important. Your time is valuable; the surveys you take should make you more efficient. The TFI does that.

Which Tiers Should I Measure?

The first time you take the TFI, you’ll assess all three tiers – even if you haven’t fully implemented them. It gives you a baseline to refer back to later. If you create an action plan focused on just one or two tiers, measure those tiers with the TFI throughout the year. Then, at the end of the year, assess all three tiers again. Often the progress you make in one tier leads to progress across all tiers. Your final assessment shows you where that may have happened for you.

TFI 3 Fidelity Criteria

The Center on PBIS conducted an analysis to facilitate comparison across versions. Based on this analysis, their preliminary recommendation is a benchmark fidelity criterion of 40 points on Tier 1, 30 points on Tier 2, and 38 points on Tier 3 (50% of available points per tier), pending future research.

The TFI 3.0 includes nine more items and an expanded 5-point scoring rubric. As a result, the total available points increased from 90 on the TFI 2.1 to 216 on the TFI 3.0. Because of this change, teams may wish to use points instead of percentages to interpret scores (both types of data will be available in online reports). To see how items in the new survey compare, check out the Item Crosswalk and to see how old and new scores compare see the Conversion Tables and Formulas.

TFI 2.1 Fidelity Criteria

Generally, any tier scored at 70% or higher will start to produce positive outcomes for students. When you reach 70% or higher at a given tier for three consecutive meetings, consider moving toward assessing that tier annually.

How Can I the TFI?

Complete the TFI using our web app PBIS Assessment. Schools working with a PBIS coordinator have access to the web app and reports are available immediately upon completion of the TFI for action planning. Information on how to access PBIS Assessment for free is available on the PBIS Assessment webpage. You can also download a copy of the TFI 3.0.

When Is the Right Time to Take the TFI?

During a typical school year, take your first TFI at the beginning of the year. After that, take another every three to four months. If this is the first time you've heard about the TFI, don't worry! It's never the wrong time to take your first TFI.

What Happens After I Submit the TFI?

PBIS Assessment takes data from the survey you submit and transforms them into four reports your team will use to improve its PBIS implementation. Each report reveals one piece of your implementation puzzle.

• Start with the Total Score Report. See how your overall implementation looks across all three tiers – even if you only assessed one or two.
• Move to focusing your attention on specific tiers in the Scale Report. See which tiers are more fully in place than others and watch how their scores change over time.
• The TFI rates every tier based on its core elements. Generate the Subscale Report to know which core elements require your attention first.
• Drill down one step further using the Items Report to identify which actions your team should add to its action plan.

As your team comes up with solutions, use the reports available for the TFI to guide your decision making and create an action plan driven by data.

For more details on taking the TFI, check out these resources.