A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n

To Assure the Free Appropriate Public Education of all Children with Disabilities - 1995

Chapter 3

The Relationship of Secondary School Experiences to the Early Post-School Results of Youth with Disabilities

In 1983, the first generation of children with disabilities to complete their entire elementary school education under the provisions of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA, P.L. 94-142, now the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), was about to begin secondary school. The secondary school students with disabilities who preceded them had left school, and reports were surfacing in some States and communities regarding how they were faring as workers, postsecondary students, and citizens (Mithaug and Horiuchi, 1983). Their graduation, employment rates, and wages were low. Most of these students were not participating in postsecondary education. Social adjustment often was difficult.

At that time, the real extent of these problems was not defined. How widespread were these problems? Were students with particular characteristics more prone to have difficulty making the transition from school to adult life? What could schools or service agencies do to support students in making that transition more effectively?

To obtain answers to these kinds of questions, Congress directed the Department of Education to commission a study of "a sample of handicapped¹ students, encompassing the full range of handicapping conditions, examining their educational progress while in special education and their occupational, educational, and independent living status after graduating from secondary school or otherwise leaving special education" [20 U. S. C. 1418(e)(2)(A)]. In 1985, SRI International, under contract to OSEP, began to develop the design, sample, and instruments for the National Longitudinal Transition Study of Special Education Students (NLTS). In 1987, under a separate contract, SRI initiated the study. ²

Since 1987, the NLTS has helped document much of what is known nationally about the experiences of young Americans with disabilities while in secondary school and in the years immediately afterward. Information on secondary school programs is now available, including data on course-taking patterns, support services delivery, and involvement in regular education classes (Wagner, 1993). Information on student performance was also collected, including indicators for absenteeism, grades, reading and mathematics performance levels, and school completion (Wagner, Blackorby, and Hebbeler, 1993). Because the NLTS includes a nationally representative sample of youth with disabilities, it has been able to document the results for youth with disabilities as a whole, and youth in each of the 11 Federal special education disability categories.³ The NLTS has examined the various life paths of young adults after high school, such as participation in postsecondary education, employment, residential arrangements of various kinds, and marriage and parenthood (Wagner, D'Amico, Marder, Newman, and Blackorby, 1992).

This chapter is based on that study and on other research concerning the affect of time spent in regular education on post-school outcomes for young adults with disabilities. The chapter consists of four sections and a summary.

Assessing the Impact of Secondary School Experiences reviews information about the role of supports in creating an inclusive educational environment and discusses a survey of chief State school officers conducted by the National Center on Educational Restructuring and Inclusion (NCERI).
Post-School Results examines the contributions of high school and post-school experiences to the post-school results achieved by youth with disabilities. Four post-school results for youth who had been out of high school up to three years were examined:postsecondary education participation, employment, residential arrangements, and community participation.
Interpreting the Impact of Time in Regular Education discusses the difficulties of analyzing the relationship between the amount of time spent in regular education and positive results for young adults with disabilities.
Understanding the Context describes the time period and conditions under which the data were collected. This section also discusses the use of supports in inclusive environments.

Describing the experiences of students with disabilities and the results they experience in school and beyond is only the first step to understanding how public policy, educational programs, and related services can be used more effectively to help these students improve those results. Policy makers, educators, parents, and service providers also need to know what school experiences help students with disabilities achieve their goals after leaving school. It is important to know whether some school programs or experiences benefit particular kinds of students more than others. To help meet this information need, this chapter addresses the following questions:

What supports were given to students with disabilities in regular high school placements?
What were the post-school results achieved by youth with disabilities?
How did post-school results relate to secondary school programs and experiences? How did these relationships differ for youth with different types of disabilities?

¹ "Handicapped" is used here because it was the language used in the states.

² Findings from the NLTS are based on data from more than 8,000 youth who were ages 13 to 21 and in special education in secondary schools (grade 7 through 12 or ungraded programs) in 1985-86. Data were also collected in 1990 for youth who had been out of school 3 to 5 years.

³ In 1985 when the sample was selected, there were 11 Federal disability classifications. Autism and traumatic brain injury had not yet been added.
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[Summary and Implications]

[Assessing the Impact of Secondary School Experiences]