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

Post-School Results

Postsecondary Education Participation

• Enrollment in an academic program - whether at any time since the youth left high school he or she had been enrolled in a four-year college or in a two-year college program the parent or youth described as primarily academic; and

• Enrollment in a vocational program - whether at any time since the youth left high school he or she had been enrolled in a postsecondary vocational school (public or private) or in a two-year college program the parent or youth described as primarily vocational.

Youth with disabilities were less likely than their peers in the general population to participate in postsecondary education (Marder, 1992). However, the American Council on Education (1992) reported that of the total number of freshman entering college, the number of freshman with disabilities tripled between 1978 and 1991 (from 2.6 percent to 8.8 percent). NLTS data suggest that, among youth with disabilities out of secondary school up to three years, 16.5 percent enrolled in academic postsecondary programs, and 14.7 percent in vocational postsecondary programs (see table 3.1). It also found that youth in some disability categories pursued postsecondary education in greater numbers than others.

a/ All conditions includes youth in each of the 11 Federal special education disability categories. Percentages are reported separately only for categories with at least 25 youth. Schools were those attended by youth with disabilities in the 1985-86 or 1986-87 school years; special and regular schools are included.

Source: The National Longitudinal Transition Study

Among students with disabilities who did participate in postsecondary academic programs, a large majority (70 percent) spent 75 percent or more of their time in high school in regular education. As shown in table 3.2, only 7 percent of those who went on to postsecondary academics spent less than 25 percent of their time in regular education classrooms during high school. Among those who did not enroll in postsecondary academics, only 45 percent had been in regular education for three-quarters or more of their school day.

                                      Students Taking:
                       ------------------------------------------------                        Postsecondary Academic      Postsecondary                                 Courses           Vocational Courses                          Yes            No        Yes          No
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Percentage of   youth with time in regular education
    0% - 25%             7.2            19.2       17.3        17.2                        (3.7)           (2.4)      (5.6)       (2.3)     26% - 74%           22.5            35.8       29.5        34.3                        (6.1)           (2.9)      (6.8)       (2.9)     75% - 100%          70.3            45.0       53.2        48.5                        (6.6)           (3.1)      (7.4)       (3.1)     n =                  524            1,254       282        1,497 

Source: "Traversing the Mainstream:Regular Education and Students with Disabilities in Secondary School," National Longitudinal Transition Study (NLTS):1993.

No relationship is apparent between pursuing additional vocational training after high school and time in regular education. The distribution of time in regular education is similar for those who did and did not take postsecondary vocational courses. Of those who furthered their education through postsecondary vocational training, 53 percent had spent three-fourths or more of their time in high school in regular education. Among those who did not go on, the figure was 49 percent.

Students' post-school results were expected to be influenced not just by their secondary school programs and courses, but also by how well they did in them. Conventional wisdom holds that students who do well in school are on their way to success in adulthood. A primary indicator of academic performance is staying in school either until graduation or reaching the maximum age of attendance. Leaving school without a diploma or certificate of attendance or completion deprives a young person of the credential that is a prerequisite for many adult opportunities, particularly in the area of postsecondary education and training. Overall, 30 percent of students with disabilities who had been enrolled in 9th through 12th grades left school by dropping out. An additional 8 percent left school before reaching 9th grade. This dropout rate was particularly high for youth with specific learning disabilities or serious emotional disturbance. Of youth with specific learning disabilities who started the ninth grade, 29 percent dropped out, as did 48 percent of students with serious emotional disturbance. As might be expected, dropouts were less likely to enroll in postsecondary vocational, or academic programs. The relationship between dropping out and not continuing one's education held for youth with disabilities as a whole.

Employment

Overall, youth with disabilities as a group were employed at rates well below those of their peers in the general population (Marder, 1992). On the national level, 55 percent of youth with disabilities overall were competitively employed when they had been out of secondary school up to three years (table 3.1). Employment data from a Harris Survey (1994) and SRI (1993) indicate that a larger percentage of individuals with disabilities age 16 to 24 are employed (62 percent) compared to individuals with disabilities age 16 to 64 (31 percent). This suggests that in recent years, more individuals with disabilities are entering the work force after leaving school than was the case in previous decades. This trend may be even larger than it initially appears, because many youth age 16 to 24 are enrolled in secondary school or post secondary programs, and consequently, are expected to have lower employment rates than their older counterparts.

Time in Regular Education and Employment

Two employment results are considered for youth in their first three years after high school.

• Whether the youth currently held a competitive job outside the home for which he or she was paid (sheltered, supported, and volunteer work were not included as competitive paid employment), and

• An estimate of the annual total compensation the youth received for his or her work.⁴

Students with disabilities who had spent more time in regular education courses in high school were more likely to be employed and to earn higher salaries than students who had taken fewer regular education courses (table 3.3). Other analyses show that the relationship between regular education and employment was strongest for those up to 1 year out of school, suggesting that those with more time in regular education were able to locate jobs more quickly. By 2 to 3 years out of high school, their classmates with less time in regular education were employed at similar rates.

                    Currently Employed        Annual Compensation
                    -------------------------------------------------                       Yes      No          None  <$10,000    >$10,000
--------------------------------------------------------------------- Percentage of youth  with time in  regular education      0% - 25%          10.1     25.6         25.6     14.9       5.8                      (2.2)    (3.7)        (3.7)    (4.0)      (2.7)     26% - 74%         33.5     33.1         33.1     34.9       34.9                      (3.5)    (4.0)        (4.0)    (5.3)      (5.5)     75% - 100%        56.4     41.2         41.2     50.1       59.4                      (3.7)    (4.2)        (4.2)    (5.5)      (5.7)     n =                766     1,049        1,049     383        246 

Source: "Traversing the Mainstream: Regular Education and Students with Disabilities in Secondary School," National Longitudinal Transition Study (NLTS):1993.

The average compensation for all youth, including those who were not employed, was $5,524. Those employed for pay earned an average annual compensation, including wages and benefits, of $10,840. Working youth in most disability categories earned less than $10,000 annually. Those with more time in regular education earned more at both time points, but the difference was greatest for those 2 to 3 years out of school. Increased compensation may be the benefit of a longer work history for the youth with more time in regular education.

Work Experience During Secondary School

Research suggests that paid work experience is more likely to result in jobs for pay after school because it offers youth a chance to develop work-related skills in real work situations (Hasazi, Gordon, and Roe, 1985). The NLTS has shown that work experience programs are a part of the secondary educational experience for many youth with disabilities (Blackorby, 1993). Overall participation was 39 percent over the four years of high school, ranging from 50 percent of youth with multiple disabilities to 27 percent of their peers with visual impairments. In addition, Wagner, Blackorby, and Hebbeler (1993) found that participation in work experience programs was associated with a number of positive secondary school results, most notably a lower dropout rate.

Vocational Education During Secondary School

Vocational education provides access to job-related training, thereby increasing the chances of labor market success for many youth. It is believed that improved vocational skills acquired in secondary school translate into post-school employment benefits (Gill and Edgar, 1990; Hasazi and Cobb, 1988). Two measures of vocational education were examined:participation in unrelated survey vocational classes (any number of unrelated vocational courses such as typing, woodwork, automechanics) and participation in coordinated series of vocational classes (also referred to as a concentration).⁵

The NLTS found that almost all youth with disabilities had access to some form of vocational education in secondary school, and that many of them had those experiences as early as 9th grade (Blackorby, 1993). Far fewer students (34.4%), however, enrolled in a concentration. Other NLTS analyses showed that students with disabilities who took either survey or concentrated coursework in vocational education were significantly less likely to drop out of school than those who took nonvocational (academic) or prevocational (e.g., career exploration, basic work skills) coursework (Wagner, 1991a; Blackorby, 1993).

NLTS data show that both kinds of vocational training contributed significantly to the probability of competitive employment. Among all youth with disabilities, those who took survey courses in vocational education were more likely to be employed in the first three years after high school than those who took no courses at all. Other NLTS analyses suggest that employment gains grew over time for youth taking a concentration of courses, whereas the employment rate was fairly stable over time for those taking unrelated survey courses (Wagner, Blackorby, Cameto, and Newman, 1993).

The greatest benefits for both kinds of vocational course-taking accrued to youth with specific learning disabilities, speech or language impairments, mild mental retardation, and serious emotional disturbances who were not in institutions. Further, concentrating in vocational education was especially lucrative. Concentrators earned $6,247 more annually than students who had been in nonvocational or prevocational courses. Youth with disabilities who had later taken survey vocational courses when in high school also earned nearly $4,000 more per year than peers who took none.

Residential Arrangements

Two-thirds of those living independently after high school had participated in regular education 75 percent or more of their time in high school (table 3.4). This compares with only 43 percent of those who were not living independently. At the other extreme, among those living independently, only 9 percent had been in regular education 25 percent or less of their time in high school. For those not living independently, the figure was 21 percent.

                                               Lived Independently                                                 Yes            No
-------------------------------------------------------------------- Percentage of youth with time  in regular education
    0% - 25%				         8.7           20.7                                                 (2.9)         (2.6)     26% - 74%                                    25.6           36.6                                                 (4.4)         (3.1)     75% - 100%                                   65.7           42.7                                                 (4.6)          (3.2)     n =                                           552          1,316 

Source: "Traversing the Mainstream:Regular Education and Students with Disabilities in Secondary School," National Longitudinal Transition Study (NLTS):1993.

General Community Participation

• Engagement in work- or education-related activities outside the home. Were youth engaged in work, schooling, or job training? To what extent (i.e., full time, part time, volunteer work, sheltered jobs)?

• Residential arrangements. Were youth living independently?With family members?In institutions?

• Social activities. Were youth seeing friends, belonging to groups, establishing relationships and becoming engaged or getting married?

Youth who had spent more time in regular education were significantly more likely to be fully participating in their communities. Community participation was a composite measure of independence that included employment status, postsecondary attendance, residential arrangement, and social activities. Youth with more time in regular education in their backgrounds also were less likely to be inactive in their communities on these dimensions. Table 3.5 shows that over 50 percent of students with disabilities who spent 75 percent or more of their time in regular education were employed or in school, not socially isolated, and either married or engaged.

                       Employed or                           Married or                      in School      Socially Isolated      Engaged
                    -------------------------------------------------                     Yes      No       Yes       No        Yes     No
--------------------------------------------------------------------- Percentage of  youth with time  in regular  education
      0% - 25%        16.3     20.3      30.6     16.1      10.3    18.7                    (2.3)    (5.7)    (11.0)    (2.1)     (4.1)   (2.4)       26% - 74%       30.7     41.0      43.4     32.7      33.4    33.2                   (2.9)    (6.9)     (11.8)    (2.7)     (6.3)   (2.9)       75% - 100%     53.0      38.7      26.0      51.2     56.3    48.1                   (3.2)     (6.9)    (10.4)     (2.9)    (6.6)   (3.1)       n =            1,358      353      150      1,631      224    1,598 

Source: "Traversing the Mainstream: Regular Education and Students with Disabilities in Secondary School," National Longitudinal Transition Study (NLTS): 1993.

Variations Among Disability Groups

⁵ A concentration in vocational education was defined as taking four or more classes within a single vocational education content area (e.g., business occupations.
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[Assessing the Impact of Secondary School Experiences]

[Understanding the Context]