Facts About the Preparation and Transition of LD Students

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Facts About the Preparation and Transition of LD
Students
A Snapshot from the National Longitudinal
Transition Study-2 (NLTS2) Dr. Jose Blackorby
SRI International October 4, 2006 ETS and
National Center for Learning Disabilities
Symposium on Addressing Achievement Gaps
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Background

• NLTS2 is a reprise of the original National
  Longitudinal Transition Study
• Congressionally mandated, 1983 conducted by
  SRI,1984-1993.
• Comprehensive information on secondary school-age
  students nationally as they transitioned to early
  adulthood.
• Comparison of NLTS and NLTS2 important to the
  analysis agenda facilitating valid comparisons
  has influenced the NLTS2 design.

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Primary Research Questions

• What are the characteristics of
  studentsreceiving special education in high
  school?
• What educational programs and servicesdo they
  receive as they age?
• What are their achievements in high school and
  early adulthood in terms of education,
  employment, social adjustment, and independent
  living?
• What services and experiences contribute to
  better results?
• How do programs, experiences, achievements, and
  other factors differ for youth with different
  characteristics?
• How have programs, experiences and achievements
  changed since the late 1980s for young people
  with disabilities?

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NLTS2 Generalizes to

• Students receiving special education who were 13
  to 16 when the study began in 2001, as they
  transition into young adulthood.
• Each of the 12 special education
  disability categories.
• Each single-year age cohort.

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NLTS2 Sample

• 501 LEAs and 38 special schools representing
  variation in
• Geographic region.
• District size (student enrollment).
• District wealth (student poverty).
• 11,272 eligible students
• Randomly selected by disability category.
• Sampling rates higher for 16-year-olds to
  increase the number of youth who will be out of
  school the longest at the end of the study.

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Data Collection Components

• Parents
• Telephone interviews (CATI).
• Only respondent, wave 1.
• First respondent (preceding youth interview),
• subsequent waves.
• Simultaneous respondent, last three waves.
• Youth
• Telephone interviews (CATI) if able to answer by
  phone (2nd to 5th waves).
• Mail surveys (multiple components tailored to
  youths status) if able to answer, but not by
  phone (2nd to 5th waves).
• Direct assessment/In-person interview
• Assessment of reading, math, social studies, and
  science.
• Interview of self-concept and self-determination.

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Data Collection Components (continued)

• Mail surveys of
• One of each students general education teachers
  about access to general education curriculum and
  student performance in that classroom context.
• School staff best able to describe each
  students overall school program (often special
  education personnel) to describe program (e.g.,
  placements), vocational education, special
  education, transition planning, and performance
  (e.g., days absent).
• School principals regarding school
  characteristics and policies and aggregate
  measures of school performance.
• High school transcripts of courses taken and
  grades.

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Data Collection Timeline
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Data Sources

• Wave 1 (2001-02)
• Parent interview (n9,230)
• Students School Program Survey (n6,038),
  completed by the school staff member most
  knowledgeable about the students overall
  program.
• Teacher Survey (n2,822) completed by a
  general education academic teacher.
• Publicly available school data.
• Wave 2 (2003)
• Parent/Youth interview (n4,270)

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Todays Agenda

• During school
• Transition planning
• School Programs
• Academic performance
• School completion

• In the early years after school
• Postsecondary education
• Employment
• Social engagement and adjustment

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Parents Expectations
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Parents Expectations for Youth with Learning
Disabilities
Youth will
lt1
Source NLTS2 Wave 1 Parent Interview.
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Transition Planning Experiences - Themes -
Initiation of transition planning -
Participants - Decision making - Goals -
Supports - Post-school services identified
- Contacts made
13
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Transition Planning Themes

• Mixed results in best practices being met for all
  students with disabilities and students with
  learning disabilities.
• Process develops over time as students progress
  through school.

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Student Has a Transition Plan, by Grade Level
Source NLTS2 with student school program survey.
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Transition Planning Best Practices

• Begin transition planning by age 14 or earlier.
• IEPs to include
• Transition-related content focusing on students
  course of study no later than age 14.
• Statement of needed postschool transition
  services and interagency responsibilities, or
  linkages no later than age 16.

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Age Transition Planning Started for Students
with Transition Plans
Mean age 14.4 years
Source NLTS2 Wave 1 Students School Program
Survey.
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Transition Planning for Youth withLearning
Disabilities
Transition planning being done
Has received instruction intransition planning
Has course of study likely toachieve transition
goals
Suitability of school program to achieving
transition goals
Very well suited
Fairly well suited
Somewhat well suited
Not at all well suited
Source NLTS2 Wave 1 Students School Program
Survey.
19
Most Frequently Identified Post-High School
Service Needs of Youth with Learning Disabilities
Source NLTS2 Wave 1 Student's School Program
Survey, 2002.
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Transition Planning Best Practices

• Together with their parents, students with
  disabilities are expected to play a vital role.
• Students preferences and interests must be
  considered.
• Coordinated planning among special and general
  education personnel and community service
  agencies, as well as parents and students, best
  meet transition needs of youth.

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Active Participants in Transition Planning
Outside agencies others
Involved in discussions about services and
goalsSSA staff, employers, representatives of
postsecondary schools, and advocates, etc.
Source NLTS2 Wave 1 Students School Program
Survey.
22
Decision-Making at IEP Meetings
Parents report goals are determined
Source NLTS2 Wave 1 Students School Program
Survey.
23
Students Role in Transition Planning, by Grade
Level
Source NLTS2 Wave 1 Students School Program
Survey.
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Transition Planning Best Practices

• A variety of supports can be necessary for
  students to make progress towards their goals
  including
• A course of study specified in the transition
  plan
• Instruction focused on transition planning skills
• Identification of postschool service or program
  needs.

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Transition Plan Specifies Course of Study to
Achieve Transition Goals, by Grade Level
Source NLTS2 Wave 1 School Program Survey.
26
Student Receives Instruction in Transition
Planning, by Grade Level
Source NLTS2 Wave 1 Students School Program
Survey.
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Postschool Services Identified in Students
Transition Plans, by Grade Level
(all other needs lt4 social work, mental health,
and behavioral interventions)
Source NLTS2 Wave 1 Students School Program
Survey.
28
Information about Postschool Services Provided
to Parents, by Grade Level
Source NLTS2 Wave 1 Students School Program
Survey.
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Contacts Made by Schools Regarding Post-High
School Programs or Services
Source NLTS2 Wave 1 Students School Program
Survey.
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Suitability of Students Programs to Achieve
Transition Goals, by Grade Level


none reported Not at all suited.
Source NLTS2 Wave 1 School Program Survey.
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Parents Satisfaction with Transition Planning
and Goals
Goals are appropriate
Transition planning was
Source NLTS2 Wave 1 Parent Interview.
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Secondary School Academic Experiences
- Academic course-taking and settings-
General education classes- Taking college
entrance exams
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Academic Course-taking by Youth with Learning
Disabilities
Source NLTS2 Wave 1 Students School Program
Survey.
34
Instructional Setting by Type of Academic Class
Source NLTS2 Wave 1 Students School Program
Survey.
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Difference in Taking Academic Courses in General
Education Setting 1987 to 2001
Source NLTS school record abstract and NLTS2
Wave 1 Students School Program Survey.
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General Education Academic Class Level
Source NLTS2 Wave 1 Teacher Survey.
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Extent of Curriculum Modification in General
Education Academic Classes
Source NLTS2 Wave 1 Teacher Survey.
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Accommodations and Modifications Provided to
Students with LD in General Education Classes
Source NLTS2 Wave 1 General Education Teacher
Survey.
39
Participation in Standardized Testing for
Students with Learning Disabilities
Source NLTS2 Wave 1 Students School Program
Survey.
40
Accommodations for Standardized Testing for
Students with Learning Disabilities
Source NLTS2 Wave 1 Students School Program
Survey.
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Grades, Retention, Test Performance,School
Completion
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Grades and Retention Among LD Students
Source NLTS2 Wave 1 Students School Program
Survey.
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Language Arts Skills of LD Students
Mean percentile
20
31
Source NLTS2 student assessments, 2002 and 2004.
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Mathematics Performance of LD Students
Mean percentile
28
28
Source NLTS2 student assessments, 2002 and 2004.
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Content Knowledge of LD Students
Mean percentile
28
26
Source NLTS2 student assessments, 2002 and 2004.
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High School Completion
NOTE Includes only students who receive letter
grades.Source SEELS and NLTS2 Wave 1 parent
interviews, 2000 and 2001, respectively.
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Postsecondary Education
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Postsecondary School Enrollment of Youth with
Learning Disabilities
Sources NLTS2 Wave 2 Parent/Youth Interviews and
for General Population, NLSY 2000 data for 5-
through 19-year-olds. Note Includes youth
enrolled in any postsecondary classes since
leaving high school.
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Vocational Preparation and Work Experience

• - Vocational course-taking
• - Vocational services, job training and
  work experience
• - Work-related activities
• - Paid employment

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Vocational Course-taking by Youth with Learning
Disabilities
Student takes
Settings for
Source NLTS2 Wave 1 School Program Survey.
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Difference in Vocational Education
Course-taking 1987 to 2001
Source NLTS school record abstract and NLTS2
Wave 1 Students School Program Survey.
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Participation in Job Training and Work
Experience
Percentage participating in 2001-02
Percentage receiving during high school
Source NLTS2 Wave 1 Students School Program
Survey.
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Postsecondary Employment of Youth with Learning
Disabilities 1987 to 2003
Sources NLTS2 Wave 2 Parent/Youth Interviews And
For General Population, NLSY 2000 data for 5-
through 19-year-olds. Note Includes youth
enrolled in any postsecondary classes since
leaving high school
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Postsecondary Employment of Youth with Learning
Disabilities 1987 to 2003 (contd.)
Sources NLTS2 Wave 2 Parent/Youth Interviews and
for General Population, NLSY 2000 data for 5-
through 19-year-olds. Note Includes youth
enrolled in any postsecondary classes since
leaving high school
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Social Adjustment Experiences and Outcomes

• Social adjustment supports
• Youth behavior problems
• Progress toward social adjustment goals

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Receipt of Social Adjustment Supports by Youth
with Learning Disabilities
Source NLTS2 Wave 1 School Program Survey.
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Youth Behavior Problems
School report of
Parent report of
Source NLTS2 Wave 1 School Program Survey.
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Perceptions of Youths with LD of Their Own
Self-Determination Abilities
Only 28 of youth with LD consider themselves to
have a disability. Sources NLTS2 Student
Assessments, 2002 and 2004.
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Perceptions of Youths with LD of Their Own
Self-Determination Abilities (contd.)
I know how to get Information I need
I can get school staff to listen to me
I feel useful and important
I can tell others my age how I feel if they
upset me
I can handle pretty muchwhatever comes along
Source NLTS2 Wave 2 Youth Interview, 2003.
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What Have We Learned?

• Schooling
• More than half of students with LD have a primary
  transition goal of postsecondary education.
• Like students in the general population, the
  course load of students with LD is heavily
  academic, having become increasingly so over
  time.
• General education participation is the norm 88
  of students with LD participate, spending an
  average of 60 of their classes there.
• Participation in general education academic
  classes has increased most such classes are at
  grade level.
• Thus students with LD are increasingly better
  prepared for postsecondary education, 17 take
  college entrance exams.

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What Have We Learned?

• Schooling (concluded)
• Students with LD continue to need support for
  general education academic participation.
• About two-thirds who participate in general
  education academic classes get at least some
  curricular modification there.
• Most also have other forms of modification or
  accommodation most commonly, more time to take
  tests and complete assignments.
• Most modifications and accommodations can help a
  student get by but do not address fundamental
  problems of student performance.
• Tutoring is provided by the school to only about
  1 in 10 students with LD. Parents provide
  tutoring to 1 in 10 and other lessons to 1 in 4.

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What Have We Learned?

• Career Preparation
• Employment is the most commonly cited primary
  transition goal of students with disabilities
  (57).
• About one-third take prevocational education and
  half take occupationally specific vocational
  education in a given semester.
• Vocational course-taking has declined over time
  as academic courses have become more prominent.
• The large majority of students with LD get
  vocational supports/services at some time in high
  school 1 in 6 do not.
• Career assessment and counseling are most common
  more direct services or programs (e.g., work
  study) are fairly rare.
• Sixty percent of students with LD work for pay,
  more often during summers than during the school
  year about half earn more than 6 per hour.

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What Have We Learned?

• Transition Planning
• About two-thirds of students with LD receive
  instruction in transition planning.
• Most students with LD and parents go to
  transition planning meetings. One in 5 students
  do not participate in the meetings
• 1 in 6 have a leadership role.
• About one-third of parents would like to be more
  involved and one-fourth of students would like
  more choice in transition goal-setting.
• Three-fourths are reported by school staff to
  have a course of study likely to achieve their
  goals 4 in 10 are reported to have a school
  program very well suited to their transition
  goals.

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What Have We Learned?

• Connecting Activities
• About 1 in 5 students with LD receive case
  management services from or through their school.
• Most students with LD have some form of
  postschool service need identified in transition
  planning, mostly postsecondary education supports
  and vocational services.
• Needs related to independent living or
  self-management are rarely identified.
• Contacts on behalf of students as part of
  transition planning generally reflect students
  primary goals.

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Whats Available from NLTS2 on the Web

• Reports
• Changes Over Time in the Secondary School
  Experiences of Students with Disabilities
• Services and Supports for Secondary School
  Students with Disabilities
• Transition Planning for Students with
  Disabilities
• The Achievements of Youth with Disabilities
  During Secondary School
• Going to School Instructional Contexts,
  Programs, and Participation of Secondary School
  Students with Disabilities
• Youth with Disabilities A Changing Population
• Life Outside the Classroom for Youth with
  Disabilities
• The Individual and Household Characteristics of
  Youth with Disabilities

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Whats Available from NLTS2 on the Web(continued)

• Data Tables
• Parent Interview Wave 1 and Wave 2
• School Surveys Wave 1 and Wave 2 (soon)
• Student Assessment (soon)
• Fact Sheets
• Minorities Among Children and Youth with
  Disabilities
• Use of Psychotropic Medications by Children and
  Youth with Disabilities
• Special Education Serving Children Earlier,
  Providing Expanded Services
• Standardized Testing among Secondary School
  Students with Disabilities
• A Profile of Students with ADHD Who Receive
  Special Education Services

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Whats Available from NLTS2 on the Web (concluded)

• NLTS2 Data Briefs (distributed by NCSET)
• Introducing NLTS2
• Who are Secondary Students in Special Education
  Today
• Youth Employment
• Social Activities of Youth with Disabilities
• The Characteristics, Experiences, and Outcomes of
  Youth with Emotional Disturbances
• Transition Planning for Youth with Disabilities
  (in press)

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For more information

• www.nlts2.org