MTSS or Data Lead: a guide for teachers
By Devin Lewis, Founder of NextGround
- Runs assessment cycles
- Designs interventions
- Leads teams
- Monitors progress
You might like this if
- You like the story inside the data
- You track what's working
- You enjoy problem-solving meetings
What the job is
MTSS and data leads run the system that catches struggling students early and tracks whether the support they get is working.
A day in the role
Reviewing screener results, facilitating a problem-solving meeting about five students, checking progress monitoring graphs, and training teachers on a new intervention.
Teaching skills that translate
Small-group instruction becomes intervention design, and regrouping students by data becomes running data cycles for a whole campus.
How teachers get there
There's no single credential for this role. Build evidence by leading data meetings and keeping records of interventions and results.
Pay and outlook
Occupation: Instructional coordinators (closest match; their duties include analyzing student test data)
- Median pay
- $77,440
- Projected growth
- 2% through 2035
View the source. Data as of May 2025 wages, 2025 to 2035 projections, Bureau of Labor Statistics.