Changes Over Time in the High School Experiences and Outcomes of Students With Disabilities

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

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate differences in key aspects of the school programs and outcomes of secondary school students with disabilities nationally that have been contemporaneous with critical changes in special education policy and practice over the last decade and a half. Descriptive statistics generated from the National Longitudinal Transition Study (NLTS2) and the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2) are the only data that represent youth with disabilities in this age group nationally as well as youth in each disability category. NLTS and NLTS2 provide statistical estimates that generalize to the national population of students with disabilities and to each federal disability category individually. The experiences of youth with disabilities in high school in either the 1985-86 or 1986-87 school years (NLTS) and in the 2001-2002 school year (NLTS2) are reported in this paper.
Findings illustrate areas of significant progress in educating these students (Wagner, Newman, & Cameto, 2004). For example, analyses of school records for similar-aged students in the two studies show significant increases in students taking more rigorous high school courses (e.g., 11- and 21-percentage-point increases in math and science course taking, respectively), taking courses in general education settings (e.g., a 10-percentage-point increase in social studies course taking in general education settings), and receiving related services or supports (e.g., a 9-percentage-point increase in vocational services receipt). Increases in both supports provided to general education teachers with students with disabilities in their classes and in grades and high school completion rates also are noted. Yet there remains much work to be done. Absenteeism and behavior problems at school have increased; positive changes are not evenly distributed across disability categories, genders, or racial/ethnic groups; and direct assessment scores demonstrate substantial and widespread academic deficits among secondary school students with disabilities. NLTS and NLTS2 each provides an extremely valuable longitudinal perspective on the changes over time in the cohorts of students they represent in that they follow students from secondary school into early adulthood. Taken together, however, comparisons of the two cohorts provide a unique perspective on how special education itself has changed over time. The resulting understanding and discussion of how policy and practice generates positive individual student change is particularly timely as we approach another reauthorization of IDEA.

Wagner, M., Newman, L., & Cameto, R. (2004). Changes over time in the secondary school programs of students with disabilities. A report of findings from the National Longitudinal Transition Study and the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2). Menlo Park, CA: SRI International.

Author

• Mary M. Wagner, SRI International