IPG Toolkit · Short course
Choosing an Evidence-Based Intervention That Fits
A short course for school teams on what counts as evidence and how to choose an intervention that fits your students, your setting, and your goals.
Introduction
An evidence-based intervention is not a program that works everywhere. Its evidence comes from a study, and that study tested certain students, in certain schools, on certain outcomes. This course shows you how to read that evidence and how to choose an intervention whose evidence fits your school.
The course was built for teams applying for the Michigan Department of Education’s Innovation & Progress Grant (IPG). Each domain you select in the IPG needs at least one evidence-based intervention at strong, moderate, or promising evidence. The team tasks in each module are built to help you write your grant application: you choose evidence-based interventions that fit your school and record each choice, and the evidence behind it, in the form the IPG proposal asks for. The same steps work for MICIP planning and for any decision about a new program or practice.
Who this course is for
- Building and district teams in grades 7-12 CSI, ATS, and TSI schools writing an IPG application
- School improvement teams choosing interventions for MICIP or other plans
- Alternative and small schools checking how their existing design lines up with the evidence
How to use the materials
Each module takes about 15 minutes to watch, plus a 15- to 20-minute team activity. Every module includes:
- A recorded presentation you can watch together or on your own
- A one-page handout in Word or PDF with the key ideas and a worksheet your team fills in
- A link to the toolkit step where you use what you learned
The team activities are designed for your IPG application. Each one has your team select appropriate evidence-based interventions and document the selection, with the evidence tier, the study, your root cause and your fit rating, so it can go straight into your grant proposal.
Work through the modules in order. Each activity builds on the one before it, so by Module 6 your team has a draft of the EBI section of your plan.
The modules
Schools with an existing model of their own take Modules A and B after Module 5, then finish with Module 6.
Module 1
What makes an intervention evidence-based
Learn what ESSA counts as evidence, why only strong, moderate, and promising evidence counts for the IPG, and why a well-known program is not always an evidence-based one.
Your team leaves with: a sorted list of the programs you run or are considering.
Module 2
Reading the evidence label
Every evidence tier comes with five facts: who was studied, where, what changed, how strong the study was, and what it was compared to. Learn to read them for any intervention.
Your team leaves with: an evidence label for each candidate.
Module 3
How strong is the evidence, and what can you claim
The study design sets the highest tier possible. The review, the sample size, and how closely the study matches your school decide the tier you write in your application.
Your team leaves with: a tier to claim for each candidate, with the study named.
Module 4
Starting from the need, not the program
Name your root cause before you choose an intervention, use the shared root-cause categories, and pick an intervention that moves an outcome your school is measured on.
Your team leaves with: a need statement that links your data, your root cause, and your target.
Module 5
Judging fit for your school
Compare the students and schools in the study with your own, check whether you have the staff, time, and resources to run the intervention, and adjust the tier you claim.
Your team leaves with: a fit rating for each candidate.
Optional Module A
Taking apart an existing school design
For schools with an existing model of their own.
For alternative and other schools whose whole design is already an intervention. Sort each part of your design into three groups: matches a tested model, has drifted from one, or has no qualifying evidence.
Your team leaves with: the first columns of a Design Crosswalk.
Optional Module B
Checking fidelity to core components
For schools with an existing model of their own.
Learn which parts of a tested model carry its evidence, check whether your practice includes them, and plan how IPG funds can close the gaps.
Your team leaves with: a completed Design Crosswalk.
Module 6
Writing the EBI choice into your plan
Fill the four application fields for each domain so your intervention connects to your domain, your root cause, and an MI School Index target.
Your team leaves with: draft language for the EBI section of your plan.
Where the evidence comes from
Every tier in this course comes from the IPG evidence-based intervention menu: 41 interventions for grades 7-12, chosen from more than 200 candidates. Each tier was checked on its source page by a second reviewer. The menu and this course list evidence, not providers. You choose any partner through your own objective, competitive process. The T3 Partner Selection Planner shows you how.
What comes next
After the December 1, 2026 IPG deadline, these modules will grow into a full course for any school or district choosing an intervention. Teams will build a complete EBI Fit Profile as they go.