Postsecondary School Experiences and Outcomes of Young Adults With Disabilities: Findings From the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2)

• In Event: Changes in the School and Postschool Experiences of Youth With Disabilities: Comparing NLTS (National Longitudinal Transition Study) and NLTS2

Abstract

The proposed paper will describe young adults with disabilities’ postsecondary education experiences and outcomes, a critical domain of young adulthood that is central to the purpose of IDEA and in which participation is increasingly important for financial independence. The paper will begin by documenting changes in postsecondary school outcomes between NLTS (measured in 1990) and NLTS2 (measured in 2005). For example, between these years, the postsecondary enrollment rate of youth with disabilities almost doubled, from 26% to 46%. The paper will then present findings from the final wave of NLTS2 parent/young adult phone interviews and surveys (2009). For example, in 2009, 60% of youth with disabilities who had been out of high school up to 8 years had ever enrolled in postsecondary school. The presentation will include: the pattern of enrollment in various kinds of postsecondary schools of young adults with disabilities; how that compares with that of their peers in the general population; postsecondary education experiences (e.g., field of study, receipt of supports), and their postsecondary school completion rates.
Findings will be presented for postsecondary enrollment overall, as well for each of three types of institutions: 2 year/community colleges; postsecondary vocational/technical schools; and 4 year colleges. Postsecondary experiences and outcomes will be presented for young adults with disabilities as a whole and for those who differ in disability category, length of time out of high school, high school completion status, and demographic characteristics. In addition to these descriptive data, selected multivariate findings, based on propensity scoring methodology will be presented for youth with learning disabilities, identifying the high school course taking, supports, services, and accommodations that are linked to higher rates of postsecondary school enrollment.
NLTS2 provides a unique source of information about postsecondary students with disabilities because it is the only nationally-representative study with data that generalize to the full population of students with disabilities in postsecondary schools. NLTS2 findings indicate that only 28% of postsecondary students with disabilities disclose their disability to their college (Newman et al., 2011). Most studies of postsecondary students with disabilities rely on data about students who self-identify, thereby overlooking the more than 70% of students with disabilities who choose to be “under the radar.” Although this decision not to disclose can be a chance for the student to start fresh and to try college without supports, it can lead to negative consequences (Getzel & Thoma, 2008).
Receipt of accommodations or supports because of a disability depends on students disclosing a disability to their schools. With so few disclosing, it is not surprising that only 19% received this type of help from their postsecondary school, whereas 87% of these students had received accommodations and supports from their high schools. These findings have implications for postsecondary perseverance and completion for students with disabilities (Getzel & Thoma, 2008). Additionally, they indicate a need for secondary schools to improve their students’ preparation for transition, by providing students with a better understanding of the impacts of their specific disability, accommodation needs, and legal rights.

Author

• Lynn A. Newman, SRI International