Makes Sense Strategies™ (MSS) integrates principles of universal design, strategic instruction, differentiated instruction, standards-based instruction and the use of graphic organizers and think-sheets to form a powerful synergy for teaching vocabulary, reading, writing, math, content area subjects, and behavior literacy to all students. The strategies are deigned for use in diverseability classrooms and reflect an extensive body of evidenced-based scientific research on pedagogy. MSS is designed to facilitate access to the general education curriculum by focusing on strategies that make the to-be-learned content more learnable and memorable by enhancing the clarity of the information and skills, providing explicit instruction and authentic learning experiences, while facilitating students’ use of high-impact information processing strategies and thinking skills.

MSS is disseminated in the form of software which can be accompanied by on-going staff development. The software provides teachers with an extensive set of instructional resources, including over 450 interactive graphic organizers and think -sheets for students, as well as interactive unit- and lesson-planning think-sheets for teachers. The software also includes an extensive array of MSS Power Point presentations for pre-service and in-service teacherdevelopment and an array of resources for planning, facilitating, and evaluating the fidelity of MSS implementation.

Teacher development in the use of MSS typically employs a two-pronged strategy. First, a trainer-or-trainers model is employed to support implementing schools. To become qualified as a MSS Staff Developer, individuals must meet a set of qualifications that demonstrate expertise in MSS. To receive the staff development and MSS software, schools must meet several requirements that reflect a strong commitment to employ MSS for an extended period and to evaluate fidelity and its impact. Second, pre-service teacher-candidates receive instruction in the use of MSS throughout their teacher-education programs at participating colleges and universities so that they are well versed in MSS applications at the beginning of their teaching career.

General and Special Education teachers, all students, Institutes for Higher Education Teacher- education faculty, and pre-service teacher-candidates are the primary implementers/users of MSS. MSS has wide utility, and thus is used to support a number of school improvement initiatives. For example, in Alabama, use of the MSS Behavior Literacy think-sheets has been incorporated in the Positive Behavior Support initiative. A number of reading specialists provide support in the use of MSS in support of reading initiatives, and MSS is a primary tool for supporting writing skills associated with the Alabama Writing Assessment. Use of MSS has also been integrated into the initiative for Schools in Need of Support and the related Peer-assistance Model as well as the Alabama Leadership Academy on Differentiated Instruction. Collaboration with the Alabama Science and Math Initiative is ongoing as this initiative gets underway. Other examples include Colorado where MSS is part of a state-wide initiative on Differentiating Instruction. Local school districts also employ MSS as a component of their school improvement initiatives. For example, MSS plays a central role in all middle and high schools in Los Angeles Unified Schools (CA) , Fairfax County Schools (VA) and Norfolk Public Schools (VA) as they address the expectations of IDEA 2004 and No Child Left Behind (NCLB). To be effective, however, MSS need not be a state-wide or district-wide initiative. A large number of elementary, middle and high schools have independently taken the initiative to incorporate MSS.

The impact of MSS is evaluated on several levels. First, general indices of progress toward state improvement as a function of all initiatives (of which MSS is included), demonstrate significant improvement measures such as drop-out rates, school attendance, referrals to special education, and academic performance on state assessments. Second, studies which compare specific elementary, middle, and high schools that implement MSS with similar Non-MSS “control” schools that have consistently demonstrated dramatic increases in academic measures such as performance on the Alabama Writing Assessment in the MSS schools. These data also indicate that although all MSS schools, regardless of good or poor past performance prior to MSS implementation, make dramatic increases, schools with prior histories of very-low to low performance experience the greatest benefit. Data also suggest that performance following the first year of MSS implementation continues to improve as a function of maintaining focus on fidelity implentation. When schools loose this focus, performance scores rapidly decline. Third, scientific studies examining the impact of specific MSS techniques and strategies employed in general education classrooms consistently demonstrate that both students with disabilities and typical learners in elementary, middle, and high schools make significant gains in performance measures such as vocabulary acquisition, concept learning, writing, and classroom test scores and grades.